Jan 16, 2016 08:44 AM EST By Rashmi Kalia, UniversityHerald Reporter

A new study suggests that one's day-to-day diet can affect the quality of one's sleep, CBS News reports.

"Our main finding was that diet quality influenced sleep quality," said principal investigator Marie-Pierre St-Onge, in a press statement.

For the study, the researchers analyzed 26 participants and found that people who ate less fiber and consumed more fatty foods experienced less deep, slow-wave sleep.

The researchers also found that high intake of sugar was associated with more wakeful periods.

"This study emphasizes the fact that diet and sleep are interwoven in the fabric of a healthy lifestyle," said American Academy of Sleep Medicine President Dr. Nathaniel Watson, who was not involved in the study, according to Science Daily.

"For optimal health it is important to make lifestyle choices that promote healthy sleep, such as eating a nutritious diet and exercising regularly."

The study participants were made to spend five days and nights at a sleep lab and were made to consume monitored diets.

At night, the researchers conducted a sleep study on the participants by monitoring their brain waves, oxygen levels, heart rate and other factors to detect changes in normal sleep cycles.

Researchers found that the participants fell asleep faster when they ate the nutritionist's planned meals, which were lower in saturated fat and higher in protein.

"It was most surprising that a single day of greater fat intake and lower fiber could influence sleep parameters," said St-Onge, who is also an assistant professor in the department of medicine and the Institute of Human Nutrition at Columbia University Medical Center in New York.

Dr. Shalini Paruthi, a fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and an associate professor of internal medicine and pediatrics at SLU School of Medicine, pointed out that the study was small and limited.

"We have to keep in mind this was definitely a pilot study," Paruthi said.

"The takeaway is a little broad."

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