Low vitamin D levels were associated with less sleep and poorer quality sleep in a study published in the journal Sleep, the Vitamin D Council reports.

Men with serum levels below 30.5 ng/ml were 2.15 times more likely to experience short duration and 45-65 percent more likely to have lower sleep efficiency than those with levels above 40.5 ng/ml. Those with levels below 40.5 ng/ml were 45 percent more likely to have greater minutes of wake after sleep than those with levels greater than 40.5 ng/ml, but this was no longer significant after adjusting for confounding variables.

The strength of the research lies in the fact that sleep was monitored via actigraph monitoring system rather than being reported by the participants as in previous studies with similar objectives.

While this study does not attempt to prove causation, the Vitamin D Council notes that vitamin D receptors are found on nuerons in the brain, explaining a likely mechanism by which vitamin D could impact sleep and sleep quality.

“In conclusion, we found that low levels of serums 25(OH)D in older men are associated with short sleep duration and poorer sleep efficiency. If vitamin D indeed play a causal role in poorer sleep, then low levels of serum 25(OH)D may put men at risk for poor sleep,” researchers wrote.

Click here to read more from the Vitamin D Council.

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