A recent study performed by Lopes et al. looked at the relationship between times of eating, sleep patterns, and sleep apnoea severity in those with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). A total of 296 patients with OSA with severities ranging between mild to severe were enlisted. The semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was administered to each participant with questions asking about their dietary intake over the past year. Participants then undertook a polysomnography to gauge the effect of their meal times over their sleep apnoea.
It was found that those who ate meals later in the day experienced worse sleep parameters such as daytime sleepiness and poorer sleep quality. Furthermore, these participants had longer wake after sleep onset, time in stage one sleep, sleep latency, and higher AHI than those who ate earlier. Similar studies have shown a relationship between high fat meals and an increase in the patient’s AHI.
The significance of the study suggests that those who are diagnosed with severe level of OSA may be able reduce the severity of their sleep disruption, to a degree, by having their meals earlier in the day. This is not to say that OSA is in anyway overcome by the timing of meals alone. The authors do note that these results have limited clinical significance.
You can read the full study here: http://jcsm.aasm.org/ViewAbstract.aspx?pid=31522
