Table 2 Chrononutrition and sleep quality

Gabel et al. (2019) [21]

Single-arm clinical trial

23 (M, F) obese population

25–65 years

8-hour TRE (10 am-6 pm)

12 weeks

PSQI

• Mean PSQI score was below 5 at week 1 (4.7 ± 0.5) and week 12 (4.8 ± 0.7), indicating good sleep quality.

• Poor sleepers (PSQI > 5, n = 10) showed no significant changes after 12 weeks of TRE (6.3 ± 0.8 vs. 7.2 ± 1.0)

Parr et al. (2020) [26]

Single-arm clinical trial

19 (M, F) overweight, obese, and DM-2 population

35–65 years

9-hour TRE (10 am-7 pm)

4 weeks

PSQI

• PSQI scores did not significantly change from pre- (7.00 ± 4.29) to postintervention (6.68 ± 3.84; p = 0.79).

Cienfuegos

et al. (2020) [20]

Parallel-arm RCT

58 (M, F) obese population

18–65 years

1: 4-hour TRE (3–7 pm)

2: 6-hour TRE (1–7 pm)

3: Control (no mealtime restrictions)

8 weeks

PSQI

• PSQI did not change after 4-hour TRE (baseline: 5.9 + 0.7 vs. week 8: 4.8 + 0.6) or 6-hour TRE (baseline: 6.4 + 0.8 vs. week 8: 5.3 + 0.9) compared to controls.

Lowe et al.

(2020) [25]

Parallel-arm RCT

116 (M, F) overweight and obese population

18–64 years

1: 8-hour TRE (12 − 8 pm)

2: Control (3 meals and snacks each day)

12 weeks

PSQI

• Mean difference in pre- and post-TRE group was − 0.018 (95% CI, − 0.455 − 0.420; p = 0.94 for ∆TRE). There were no significant changes in PSQI between either group (p = 0.28).

Wilkinson et al. (2020) [28]

Single-arm clinical trial

19 (M, F) overweight, obese, and prediabetes population

59 ± 11.14 years

10-hour TRE (self-selected)

12 weeks

PSQI and mCC app

• There was a minor, but not significant, tendency towards better sleep on the PSQI (mean change, − 0.68 ± 2.06; p = 0.164).

• Daily morning sleep quality reported via mCC app improved by as much as 23% (16.28 ± 24.88; p = 0.019) after 10-hour TRE.

Kesztyus et al.

(2020) [24]

Secondary analysis of 2 pilot studies in a pre-post design

99 (M, F) overweight and obese population

48.9 ± 1.1 years

8–9–hour TRE (self-selected)

12 weeks

EQ- 5D VAS

• Sleep quality changed significantly by 9.6 ± 13.9 points(p < 0.001), but sleep duration was not extended on VAS.

Jayakumar et al. (2023) [22]

Parallel-arm RCT

Total 42

Control (n = 15), TLE (n = 27)

14–18 years Adolescents

3 groups: 8-hour TLE (participants self-selected their eating window) + real-time continuous glucose monitor, 8-hour TLE + blinded continuous glucose monitor, or a prolonged eating window.

12 weeks

PSQI

• No significant difference seen in total PSQI score change between TLE and control over the study period (p > 0.05).

• Median PSQI total score decreased from 6 at week 0 (IQR, 5–10) to 5 at week 12 (IQR, 2–7), suggesting improvement in sleep quality in the TLE group.

ADF Studies

Kalam et al. (2021) [23]

Single-arm clinical trial

31 (M, F) obese population

18–65 years

ADF with fast day (600 kcal) and feast day (ad libitum) + low carb/high protein diet

24 weeks

PSQI

• Among poor sleepers, PSQI significantly decreased from baseline (9.3 ± 0.9) to month 3 (7.2 ± 0.7; p < 0.05).

• However, by month 6, the PSQI score (8.0 ± 0.9) showed minor reduction with no significant difference compared to baseline or month 3.

IF Studies

Teong et al. (2021) [27]

Secondary analysis of open label RCT

46 (F)

[CR group = 24, IF group = 22] overweight and obese population

35–70 years

IF group fasted for 24 h on 3 non-consecutive days/week, from breakfast to the following day’s breakfast.

8 weeks

PSQI

• No significant changes were seen in PSQI score postintervention in either group.

• The difference in mean PSQI between baseline and after 8-week intervention following 12-hour overnight fast in IF group was − 1.1 ± 2.2 (p = 0.293)