Vitamins for Sleep? New Study Tests Whether Micronutrients Shape Teen Sleep

A Brigham Young University study published in Frontiers in Nutrition explored whether what teens eat is linked to how they sleep—timing, quality, and circadian patterns. Researchers led by Sarah L. H. Kamhout recruited 80 adolescents aged 14 to 18 and used the National Cancer Institute’s ASA-24 tool to record intake of 26 micronutrients over randomly assigned 24-hour periods. Sleep was tracked objectively with wrist actigraphy for 7 to 20 days and cross-checked with daily diaries, scored using the Sadeh algorithm. The team also ran dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) tests with saliva sampling every 30 to 45 minutes, defining onset at over 4 pg/mL.