Omega-3 Supplements May Help Children Sleep Better
Lee Swanson Research Update
aking a daily omega-3 supplement may help children sleep better, according to new research from the UK. In a study conducted at the Center for Evidence-Based Intervention at the University of Oxford, researchers evaluated the effects of supplementation with DHA (600 mg/day) for 16 weeks on sleep quality in 395 healthy children aged 7–9 years. Sleep quality was assessed subjectively via parental questionnaire and objectively in a randomly selected subsample of 43 subjects via sleep actigraph, a motion-recording device used to evaluate sleep patterns and measure sleep disruptions.
Forty percent of the study population demonstrated clinical sleep problems, and there was a significant association between poor sleep scores and low blood DHA levels. In the actigraphy subsample, DHA supplementation led to an average of seven fewer sleep disturbances and nearly one hour more sleep per night. According to the study authors, “…evidence from actigraphy suggests that docosahexaenoic acid supplementation may improve children’s sleep.”
Montgomery P, et al. Fatty acids and sleep in UK children: subjective and pilot objective sleep results from the DOLAB study—a randomized controlled trial. J Sleep Res. 2014 Mar 8. doi: 10.1111/jsr.12135