Dados do Trabalho

Título

Last mealtime is associated with morning fatigue among College students

Introdução

Several studies have shown how the pace of modern life has affected sleep duration and quality in recent decades. Changes in our lifestyle including eating habits have led to studies on chrononutrition to investigate the association between mealtimes and sleep disturbances. In this context, it seems to make sense to analyze the possible association between the time of the last meal of the day and fatigue when waking up.

Objetivo

To verify the association between the time of the last meal and fatigue 30 minutes after waking up among College students.

Métodos

The study was conducted using online forms filled out by 123 students engaged in courses in the medical field at a private College in São Paulo. To analyze the association between dinnertime and fatigue when waking up, a chi-square test was performed.

Resultados

The mean age of students in the sample was 21.8 years (SD 10.1), and 89% of them were female. Among the 79 students who reported feeling tired during the first half hour after waking up, 27% had dinner before 20:00 and 73% reported having dinner after 20:00. The results showed an association between having dinner after 20:00 and reporting fatigue half an hour after waking up.

Conclusões

The association of a late-night meal with morning fatigue is probably related to non-restorative sleep. Further studies are needed to investigate the relationship between sleep quality, chronotype, fatigue and mealtimes.
Support:2021/05367-6 (FAPESP), 156943/2021-2 (PIBIC).

Palavras-chave

Nutrition, Sleep and Students.