What You Eat Shapes How You Sleep: Dr. Marie-Pierre St-Onge on the Food-Sleep-Heart Connection
The relationship between diet and sleep is bidirectional, and it runs through the cardiovascular system. In a new episode of the Better Sleep Council podcast Catching Zzz’s, Dr. Marie-Pierre St-Onge, founding director of the Center of Excellence for Sleep and Circadian Research at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, lays out the evidence that snack choices at night can influence sleep quality, and that poor sleep, in turn, reshapes dietary preferences.
Dr. St-Onge is among the most cited researchers in the field. She chaired the American Heart Association’s first scientific statement on sleep and cardiometabolic health, and a follow-up statement on multidimensional sleep health. She is also the author of Eat Better, Sleep Better: 75 recipes and a 28-day meal plan that unlock the food-sleep connection.
What the science shows
The conversation, hosted by Mary Helen Rogers, covers the dietary patterns that promote restorative sleep and the habits that sabotage it. Dr. St-Onge’s research has shown that high-fiber diets are associated with more time spent in slow-wave sleep, the deep, restorative stage of non-REM sleep. Diets high in sugar and saturated fat, by contrast, are linked to lighter, more fragmented sleep.
The mechanism involves multiple pathways. Blood sugar fluctuations can trigger sympathetic nervous system activation during the night, pulling the sleeper out of deep sleep. Saturated fat intake has been linked to reduced slow-wave sleep and more nighttime awakenings. Conversely, certain foods such as kiwi fruit, tart cherries, and fatty fish contain melatonin or precursors to serotonin that may facilitate sleep onset.
Dr. St-Onge’s work also highlights the role of meal timing. Late-night eating, particularly large meals close to bedtime, disrupts the natural circadian signal that prepares the body for sleep. Digestion requires metabolic resources that compete with the restorative processes of sleep.
Why it matters
Poor sleep and poor diet form a self-reinforcing cycle. Sleep-deprived individuals show increased activation in brain reward regions in response to high-calorie foods and reduced activity in prefrontal areas responsible for impulse control. They consume more calories, more fat, and less fiber, which then further degrades sleep quality.
The cardiovascular connection is the third leg. Short sleep duration and poor sleep quality are independent risk factors for hypertension, coronary artery disease, and stroke. Dr. St-Onge’s AHA scientific statements have formally recognized sleep as a pillar of cardiometabolic health alongside diet and physical activity.
For the general public, the message is practical: shifting toward a Mediterranean-style dietary pattern, rich in fiber, unsaturated fats, and plant-based foods, while limiting sugar and saturated fat, is likely to improve both sleep and heart health. The same foods that benefit the cardiovascular system also support better sleep.
Bottom line
Diet and sleep are not separate domains of health. They are metabolically linked, and the cardiovascular system sits at their intersection. High-fiber, low-sugar eating patterns promote deeper sleep; late-night, high-fat meals interfere with it. Breaking the cycle requires treating sleep and nutrition as one integrated intervention.
Source: Better Sleep Council. Catching Zzz’s podcast. How Eating Habits Impact Sleep Quality and Heart Health with Dr. Marie Pierre St-Onge & Mary Helen Rogers. June 11, 2026. https://bettersleep.org/blog/how-eating-habits-impact-sleep-quality-and-heart-health/