What if eating better could actually help you sleep better and sleeping better could make it easier to fuel your body well?
It turns out these two things are way more connected than most athletes realize. And if you’ve ever noticed that you’re absolutely ravenous after a terrible night of sleep…there’s a reason for that.
In this episode, I’m joined by nutrition and sleep researcher Marie-Pierre St-Onge to dig into the fascinating, bi-directional relationship between sleep and nutrition.
Marie-Pierre’s background is in nutrition, and her research explores how sleep duration, diet quality, meal timing, and other lifestyle factors influence energy balance and cardiometabolic health. She’s also the co-author of Eat Better, Sleep Better.
And I loved this conversation because it confirms something my team and I see with our endurance athletes all the time: when we improve how an athlete fuels during the day, sleep often improves right along with it.
We talk about what happens to hunger when you’re sleep deprived, why eating more earlier in the day may benefit both sleep and metabolic health, and what athletes with evening workouts can do when training and bedtime are uncomfortably close together.
We also get into magnesium, tart cherry juice, melatonin, sleep trackers, women’s hormonal changes, and why your watch’s sleep score shouldn’t necessarily dictate how you feel about your day.
What You’ll Learn
Why sleep and nutrition have a bi-directional relationship, meaning poor sleep can change how you eat, while what you eat may also affect how well you sleep
What happens to hunger and satiety hormones when you’re sleep deprived and why you may legitimately feel hungrier after a rough night
Why overeating after several nights of poor sleep isn’t necessarily a willpower problem and what I want you to get curious about instead
What researchers found when people restricted their sleep by about 90 minutes for six weeks
Why a higher-quality diet with more fruits, vegetables, fiber, whole grains, nuts, and seeds is associated with better sleep
The fascinating connection between eating five servings of fruits and vegetables per day and less fragmented sleep
Why I’m such a fan of front-loading nutrition
How eating later in the day may affect your body’s ability to wind down for sleep
What the research actually says about magnesium, tart cherry juice, melatonin, and GABA for sleep
Why consistent bedtimes and wake times matter and how “social jet lag” can affect your health and eating patterns
How hormonal changes throughout the menstrual cycle and the menopause transition may influence women’s sleep
Why your Garmin, Apple Watch, Oura Ring, or other sleep tracker can be useful data but shouldn’t override how you actually feel
Resources Mentioned
Connect with Me:
Don’t Forget to Subscribe!
Click that follow button to stay updated on future episodes packed with actionable insights and expert advice for endurance athletes.
Have Questions or Suggestions?
Send me a message, and I might cover it in a future episode!
This episode of Endurance Eats is brought to you by Alex Larson’s 1:1 Nutrition Coaching.
If you’ve ever wondered, Am I eating enough? Am I fueling this right? Why do I still feel tired? you’re not alone. Alex Larson Nutrition helps endurance athletes cut through the confusion and build a fueling plan that actually works for their training, lifestyle, and goals.
You can learn more at alexlarsonnutrition.com.
This Episode is Brought to You By Carb Culture Shop
Grab your merch from the shop with saying that endurance athletes just get!
This episode is brought to you by Thorne.
Shop Thorne Supplements and get 15% off https://www.thorne.com/u/alexlarsonnutrition
