How Does Nutrition Affect Sleep Quality

How Does Nutrition Affect Sleep Quality

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Welcome back to the More Than Teeth Podcast, where we explore the deep connections between sleep, health, and quality of life. In this episode, Dr. Michael Bennett is joined by Chelsea Atkinson, a registered dietitian nutritionist, to unpack the critical role nutrition plays in sleep health, emotional stability, and chronic disease prevention. Their conversation ranges from gut health and stress to childhood eating habits and long-term wellness.

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From Athletic Performance to Healing Nutrition

Chelsea's journey into nutrition began as a college athlete. After transitioning from gymnastics to track and field, she took a nutrition class that opened her eyes to how profoundly diet influences performance and healing. Later, as a mother, she became even more aware of the connection between food, development, and behavior in children.

"I wanted my kids to have the best nutrition possible," she explains, "but I knew I couldn’t force it. So I focused on how I fed them as much as what I fed them.”

Dr. Bennett highlights how underdeveloped jaws and facial structures in children—often linked to poor nutrition—can lead to airway obstructions and fragmented sleep. Crowded teeth, he notes, are not just a cosmetic concern but a signal of crowded airways.

“Good nutrition from infancy is vital,” says Dr. Bennett, “because these structures contain the breathing passages. If they don't develop properly, sleep disorders follow.”

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Healing Through Nutritional Change: Gut Health and Inflammation

Chelsea shares her own experience of chronic digestive pain, which resolved only after identifying hidden food sensitivities, eliminating certain foods, and focusing on gut health.

“Once I got the inflammation down with probiotics, fiber, and cutting out triggers,” she recalls, “all my symptoms disappeared. It wasn’t about allergy meds—it was about healing my gut.”

She explains how stress, especially chronic stress, alters the gut microbiome by allowing bad bacteria to overgrow. This imbalance triggers systemic inflammation and affects nutrient absorption—setting the stage for anxiety, sleep disruption, and emotional instability.

One of the most profound parts of Chelsea’s work involves helping patients uncover the emotional roots of their eating patterns. She cites examples of clients who struggled with weight loss not because of poor habits, but because of unresolved grief, trauma, or loss.

“Food becomes a coping tool,” she explains. “We turn to it for joy, comfort, or distraction. But healing only happens when we understand the why behind our choices.”

She encourages clients to keep a list of alternative coping strategies taped to the pantry door—things like going for a walk, reading, or calling a friend. She also teaches clients to distinguish between true physical hunger ("belly hunger") and emotional or sensory triggers ("head hunger").

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Sleep, Cravings, and Hormonal Imbalance

Dr. Bennett explains how sleep disorders distort hunger and fullness hormones. When we don’t sleep well, our bodies overproduce ghrelin (the hunger hormone) and underproduce leptin (the satiety hormone), creating stronger cravings and less satisfaction from meals.

“That’s why someone with sleep apnea wakes up ravenous and exhausted,” he says. “They’re burning out just trying to survive the night.”

Chelsea adds that dehydration often mimics hunger signals. Her advice: when in doubt, drink water first.

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Meal Timing and Intermittent Fasting: A Nuanced View

What about meal timing and fasting? Chelsea explains that while intermittent fasting can work for some, it must be approached as a long-term lifestyle—not a quick fix.

She emphasizes the importance of balanced meals at consistent intervals to keep energy and mood stable. “Food gives us energy. Why would we skip it when we need it most—like at the beginning of the day?” she says.

She recommends protein-rich breakfasts, adding healthy fats and fiber to slow digestion and prevent blood sugar spikes that lead to energy crashes and mood swings.

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Child Nutrition: Setting the Foundation Early

As a specialist in pediatric nutrition, Chelsea has strong opinions on feeding children. She encourages structure: planned meals and snacks every few hours, balanced with proteins, complex carbs, and healthy fats.

She also recommends fun but limited access to “fun foods”—treats like candy, soda, or chips. Rather than banning them, she teaches moderation.

“If you completely ban sweets, kids just learn to sneak them,” she says. “I teach parents to set daily limits and let kids choose when to use them.”

She emphasizes modeling behavior: children mimic adult eating habits. “They watch us. If we hydrate, they hydrate. If we eat vegetables, they’ll try too.”

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Tips for Making Nutritious Habits Stick

Chelsea’s practical advice includes:

• Use visibility to your advantage: Keep fruit bowls visible and stock the front of the fridge with chopped veggies and hummus, not cookies.
  
  
• Make water fun: Buy colorful water bottles or use straws to encourage hydration.
  
  
• Avoid food shame: Don’t vilify treats—teach balance and satisfaction.
  
  
• Eat with awareness: Practice checking hunger levels on a 0–10 scale before eating.
  
  
• Get kids involved: Let them help prep meals, mix cereals, or pick new fruits at the store.
  
  

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Sleep and Inflammation: A Two-Way Street

As Dr. Bennett emphasizes throughout the podcast, poor sleep increases inflammation—and poor diet worsens it. Addressing one without the other often results in limited progress.

That’s why their collaborative model—integrating airway therapy with nutritional coaching—is so effective for patients struggling with fatigue, chronic pain, ADHD-like symptoms, and metabolic conditions.

Chelsea’s final recommendation: “The real transformation comes with small, consistent changes over time. Don’t focus on numbers on a scale—focus on how you feel, how you sleep, and how your body functions.”

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Learn More

Chelsea offers online consultations and courses through her website: chelsearosenutrition.com. Patients of Dr. Bennett’s practice can also access a NutriScreen assessment as part of their care.

When we fuel our bodies with anti-inflammatory, gut-healing nutrition, we give ourselves the best chance to sleep deeply, heal fully, and live vibrantly. As Dr. Bennett says:

“Nutrition isn't just about feeling full—it's about healing. And healing starts with sleep.”

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