Mediterranean Diet Adherence and Sleep Quality in Spanish Adults: Divergent Associations Between Subjective and Objective Measures
- 1Departamento de Enfermería, Facultad de Enfermería y Fisioterapia, Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (IBSAL), Universidad de Salamanca, Campus Miguel de Unamuno s/n, 37007 Salamanca, Spain
- 2Departamento de Ciencias Biomédicas y del Diagnóstico, Facultad de Medicina, Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca (IBSAL), Universidad de Salamanca, Campus Miguel de Unamuno s/n, 37007 Salamanca, Spain
- 3Complejo Asistencial Universitario de Palencia, Avd. Donantes de Sangre s/n, 34005 Palencia, Spain
Abstract
Objective: We aimed to examine the association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) and sleep quality assessed using both subjective and objective methods in a general adult population. Design: This is a cross-sectional study. Adherence to the MD was evaluated using the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener, while sleep quality was assessed subjectively using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and objectively using wrist actigraphy over five consecutive days. Multivariable linear and logistic regression models were applied, adjusting for key sociodemographic and clinical confounders. Settings: We investigated a general adult population from Spain with a total of 500 Spanish adults aged 25–65 years. Results: Higher MEDAS scores were significantly associated with better subjective sleep quality. Each one-point increase in MD adherence was associated with lower PSQI scores, and participants with higher adherence had lower odds of poor sleep quality, although this association did not reach statistical significance. Cluster analysis identified a dietary pattern characterized by higher consumption of fruits, vegetables, fish and olive oil that was associated with better perceived sleep quality. No significant associations were observed between MD adherence and objective sleep parameters, including sleep efficiency, sleep fragmentation or wake after sleep onset. Conclusions: Greater adherence to the MD was associated with better perceived sleep quality but not with objectively measured sleep parameters. These findings suggest that dietary patterns may influence sleep perception rather than objective sleep characteristics and highlight the potential role of the MD as a modifiable factor related to sleep-related well-being.
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BibTeX
@article{alonsodominguez2026mediterranean,
title = {{Mediterranean Diet Adherence and Sleep Quality in Spanish Adults: Divergent Associations Between Subjective and Objective Measures}},
author = {Rosario Alonso-Domínguez and Jesús González-Sánchez and César Jiménez-Vaquero and Irene Ailing García-Yu and Natalia Sánchez-Aguadero and Andrea Crespo-Sedano and José Ignacio Recio-Rodríguez},
journal = {Nutrients},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/nu18203305},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/20/3305},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Mediterranean Diet Adherence and Sleep Quality in Spanish Adults: Divergent Associations Between Subjective and Objective Measures
AU - Rosario Alonso-Domínguez
AU - Jesús González-Sánchez
AU - César Jiménez-Vaquero
AU - Irene Ailing García-Yu
AU - Natalia Sánchez-Aguadero
AU - Andrea Crespo-Sedano
AU - José Ignacio Recio-Rodríguez
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Nutrients
DO - 10.3390/nu18203305
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/20/3305
AB - Objective: We aimed to examine the association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) and sleep quality assessed using both subjective and objective methods in a general adult population. Design: This is a cross-sectional study. Adherence to the MD was evaluated using the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener, while sleep quality was assessed subjectively using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and objectively using wrist actigraphy over five consecutive days. Multivariable linear and logistic regression models were applied, adjusting for key sociodemographic and clinical confounders. Settings: We investigated a general adult population from Spain with a total of 500 Spanish adults aged 25–65 years. Results: Higher MEDAS scores were significantly associated with better subjective sleep quality. Each one-point increase in MD adherence was associated with lower PSQI scores, and participants with higher adherence had lower odds of poor sleep quality, although this association did not reach statistical significance. Cluster analysis identified a dietary pattern characterized by higher consumption of fruits, vegetables, fish and olive oil that was associated with better perceived sleep quality. No significant associations were observed between MD adherence and objective sleep parameters, including sleep efficiency, sleep fragmentation or wake after sleep onset. Conclusions: Greater adherence to the MD was associated with better perceived sleep quality but not with objectively measured sleep parameters. These findings suggest that dietary patterns may influence sleep perception rather than objective sleep characteristics and highlight the potential role of the MD as a modifiable factor related to sleep-related well-being.
SN - 2072-6643
ER -