Research data using twins reveals ``four factors'' that improve morning awakening and subsequent arousal



Being able to wake up and stay awake in the morning is directly linked to your productivity and well-being for the day. Data tracking a total of more than 1,000 subjects for two weeks revealed ``four factors'' that affect morning awakening and arousal.

How people wake up is associated with previous night's sleep together with physical activity and food intake | Nature Communications

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-34503-2

These 4 Key Things Can Help You Wake Up Feeling Great, Scientists Say : Science Alert
https://www.sciencealert.com/these-4-key-things-can-help-you-wake-up-feeling-great-scientists-say

The research team pointed out that the inability to maintain arousal throughout the day causes many problems such as traffic accidents and work accidents. Lack of sleep and associated wakefulness problems are causing negative effects such as reduced productivity, increased health care costs, and thousands of deaths per year, costing developed countries about 2% of their gross domestic product. About.

Therefore, the research team used data from a longitudinal study called `` Personalized Responses to Dietary Composition Trial (PREDICT 1) '' that tracked diet, exercise, sleep, etc. for 2 weeks for more than 1000 subjects, including many twins. , studied the factors that influence morning awakening and alertness. By using data including twins, the research team explained that they were able to exclude variations due to genetic factors.



PREDICT1 subjects ate various types of breakfast with different nutritional compositions, recorded what other meals they ate with a dedicated app, and regularly reported their arousal by self-reporting. In addition to wearing

continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) that continuously measures blood sugar levels, he also wore a wristwatch with an accelerometer to measure the amount of exercise for the day.

As a result, it was found that the following factors influence morning awakening and alertness.

◆ 1: Sleep
Subjects were more alert on days when they slept longer than usual and woke up later than usual.

◆2: Momentum
High activity during the previous day was associated with less waking in the middle of sleep and higher wakefulness levels in the morning, whereas high activity at night was associated with worse wakefulness the following morning.

◆3: Breakfast
Eating a carbohydrate-rich breakfast led to an increase in alertness, but eating a protein-rich breakfast with the same calorie reduced alertness.

◆4: Blood sugar level
When a drink containing glucose was consumed instead of breakfast, and the blood sugar level was rapidly raised, the level of wakefulness decreased markedly thereafter.

In addition to the above, it was found that the subject's age and mood were also factors that influenced the arousal level, but the research team focused on the above factors that can be managed by themselves.



Although there is room for improvement in that the data used in this study are based on self-reporting of arousal level, standardized meals and exercise measurement with accelerometers were used, and only questions were asked. Outperforms most studies on which it depends.

The research team said, ``Our results reveal factors associated with arousal, and these factors are often not fixed. In fact, most of the factors associated with arousal are modifiable. There is, and behavioral intervention is possible.'

in Science, Posted by log1h_ik