Health, Sleep, Diet
A new study has found that a high-protein diet may promote deeper sleep. The research, conducted by Dragana Rogulja at Harvard University, examined how 3400 genes influence sleep in fruit flies. The team monitored the flies as they slept on platforms atop loudspeakers, which intermittently produced vibrations. Low-frequency vibrations woke up about 85 per cent of the flies that had two genes silenced.
Removing these genes from the gut alone was enough to make the insects more likely to wake up during vibrations. Further analysis found that certain cells in the gut produce a chemical messenger known as CCHa1 when exposed to proteins. This messenger then travels from the gut to the brain, where it suppresses arousal during sleep.
To confirm this, the team fed flies either a high-protein diet or a regular diet for one day. Half as many flies on the high-protein diet woke up in response to vibrations as flies on a regular diet. A similar experiment in mice produced comparable results.
Rafael Pelayo at Stanford University in California commented that the idea makes sense. He said: “If you have some better-quality food, in this sense a protein-rich diet, then that would make you sleep deeper. At least it did in flies and mice. This may not apply to humans.”
The findings also only apply to mechanical stimuli like shaking. The genetic alterations didn’t change how easily animals awoke to other disturbances like heat or sound, meaning many other pathways control arousal during sleep as well.
A study by Dragana Rogulja and her team at Harvard University has found that a high-protein diet may promote deeper sleep. The research examined how certain genes influence sleep in fruit flies, and found that low-frequency vibrations woke up about 85 per cent of the flies that had two genes silenced. When these genes were removed from the gut alone, the insects were more likely to wake up during vibrations. Further analysis found that certain cells in the gut produce a chemical messenger when exposed to proteins, which then travels to the brain and suppresses arousal during sleep.
The team then fed flies either a high-protein diet or a regular diet for one day. Half as many flies on the high-protein diet woke up in response to vibrations as flies on a regular diet. Similarly, a similar experiment in mice produced comparable results. It is important to note, however, that the findings only apply to mechanical stimuli like shaking and that many other pathways control arousal during sleep as well. It remains to be seen whether the findings apply to humans.