This study in twins found that how effectively an individual awakens in the hours following sleep is associated with sleep quantity/quality the night before, physical activity the day prior, a breakfast rich in carbohydrate, and a lower blood glucose response following breakfast.
- Nights when an individual slept longer than their own typical sleep amount (rather than a standardised sleep amount), were associated with a superior (i.e., higher) degree of next-morning alertness.
- More than just sleep duration, however, sleeping later into the morning than is typical for a given individual (which in part, can give rise to longer sleep duration), predicted higher levels of alertness that following morning.
- Beyond sleep, the second main feature predicting day-to-day changes in morning alertness was the intensity of physical activity the day prior.
In particular, when the extent of an individual’s physical activity was comparatively greater the day prior, individuals experienced higher levels of alertness the next morning.
- The final factor predicting fluctuations in morning alertness was the unique macronutrient composition of food that the individual consumed for their breakfast, not on the day prior, or even the night prior, but the morning of.
Compared to a reference breakfast meal consisting of a standardised (moderate) amount of fat, carbohydrates, and protein (approximately 40/50/10% of energy, respectively)...
...when individuals consumed a higher amount of carbohydrates (77CHO/16FAT/7PRO% of energy breakfast), they experienced higher levels of ensuing alertness.
In contrast, the “High Protein” breakfast predicted a diminished, rather than enhanced, level of alertness following sleep, relative to the reference meal.
- Lastly, the consumption of a pure glucose liquid bolus (oral glucose tolerance test, OGTT) was associated with a marked reduction in alertness levels−the largest drop relative to all the other standardised breakfast meals.
Importantly, this study demonstrates that how effectively an individual awakens in the hours following sleep is not associated with their genetics, but with modifiable factors.
Therefore these factors represent lifestyle-realistic opportunities, or interventional levers, that may aid how an individual (and collectively, a society) awake each day, and sustain that waking alertness.
How people wake up is associated with previous night’s sleep together with physical activity and food intake (open access)
doi.org/10.1038/s41467…
#nutrition #diet
doi.org/10.1038/s41467…
#nutrition #diet
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