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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2024 Apr 29;21(5):571.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph21050571.

Effect of Peanut Butter Intake on Sleep Health in Firefighters: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Tiffany J Oberther  1 , Andrew R Moore  1 , Austin A Kohler  1 , David H Shuler  1 , Nicole Peritore  1 , Angelia M Holland-Winkler  1
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Effect of Peanut Butter Intake on Sleep Health in Firefighters: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Tiffany J Oberther et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Sleep is often impaired in firefighters due to the psychologically and physiologically intense nature of their work and working shift schedules. Peanut butter is affordable and a substantial source of monounsaturated fatty acids, which may aid sleep health. Thus, this study sought to determine if a daily serving of peanut butter consumed before bedtime for seven weeks altered sleep quality and quantity among full-time firefighters. Forty firefighters (peanut butter group = 20; control group = 20) participated in this eight-week randomized controlled trial. All participants completed a subjective questionnaire on mood, focus, and alertness twice daily and wore an Actigraph wristwatch to measure sleep variables, including latency, efficiency, time in bed, time asleep, wake after sleep onset, number of awakenings, and time spent awake. After a baseline week, the peanut butter group consumed two tablespoons of peanut butter two hours prior to bedtime for seven weeks. Compared to the control group, the peanut butter group did not demonstrate significant changes (p > 0.05) in sleep measures or subjective feelings of mood, focus, or alertness after consuming peanut butter for seven weeks. Therefore, peanut butter as a source of peanuts did not alter sleep quality or quantity in this group of firefighters.

Keywords: VAS; actigraphy; monounsaturated fatty acids; peanuts; shift work; sleep awakenings; sleep efficiency; sleep latency.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Graphs displaying the descriptive results and changes in sleep variables throughout the course of the study. The weekly average for each participant at each week (time point) was used to compute the mean value for their respective groups [control and peanut butter (PB)], represented as markers on each graph. Whiskers represent standard error of respective mean group values. (a): Latency (minutes/night) is a measure of the time before sleep onset; (b): Efficiency is a ratio of the time asleep to the time spent in bed; (c): Time in Bed (minutes/night) is the time spent in bed each night; (d): Time Asleep (minutes/night) is the time spent asleep each night; (e): Wake after Sleep Onset (minutes) is the time until the first awakening after sleep onset; (f): Number of Awakenings/night is the number of times woken up during the time in bed period; (g): Total Time Awake (minutes/night) is the amount of time spent awake during the sleep period.
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