Fan Rui, Jia Yingmin, Chen Zhou, Li Siting, Qi Bing, Ma Aijin
School of Food and Health, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 100048, China.
Hebei Key Laboratory of Walnut Nutritional Function and Processing Technology, Hengshui 053000, China.
Foods. 2025 Mar 21;14(7):1080. doi: 10.3390/foods14071080.
Insomnia affects one-third of the world's population; the negative effects of insomnia are significant, and traditional insomnia medications have numerous side effects and cause considerable suffering. This has aroused interest in obtaining sleep-improving substances from foods. This study conducted a comprehensive literature review using Web of Science and PubMed with keywords like "sleep", "insomnia", and "food". A subsequent summary of the literature revealed that certain foods, including milk, , , ginseng, , and , etc., are purported to enhance sleep quality by prolonging sleep duration, reducing sleep latency, and alleviating anxiety. The mechanisms of these foods' effects mainly occur via the central nervous system, particularly the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)ergic systems. Although this review supports the fact that they have potential, further research is needed. There are also issues such as more limited foods, fewer mechanisms, fewer pharmacokinetic studies, and more traditional research models being involved. These need to be addressed in the future to adequately address the problem of insomnia. It is hoped that this study will contribute to research into foods with sleep-improving properties and, in the future, provide an effective natural alternative for those seeking medication.
失眠影响着全球三分之一的人口；失眠的负面影响巨大，而传统的失眠药物有诸多副作用，会造成相当大的痛苦。这引发了从食物中获取改善睡眠物质的兴趣。本研究使用科学网和PubMed以“睡眠”“失眠”和“食物”等关键词进行了全面的文献综述。随后的文献总结表明，某些食物，包括牛奶、人参等，据称可通过延长睡眠时间、缩短睡眠潜伏期和减轻焦虑来提高睡眠质量。这些食物发挥作用的机制主要通过中枢神经系统，特别是γ-氨基丁酸（GABA）能和5-羟色胺（5-HT）能系统。尽管本综述支持它们具有潜力这一事实，但仍需要进一步研究。还存在食物种类更有限、作用机制更少、药代动力学研究更少以及涉及更多传统研究模型等问题。未来需要解决这些问题，以充分应对失眠问题。希望本研究将有助于对具有改善睡眠特性的食物进行研究，并在未来为寻求药物治疗的人提供一种有效的天然替代品。
