Sleep Patterns and Tryptophan Consumption among Students at Spanish Universities: The Unihcos Project Morales-Suárez Varela, María Amezcua Prieto, María Del Carmen Peraita Costa, Isabel Mateos Campos, Ramona Ayán Pérez, Carlos Ortiz Moncada, Rocío Fernández-Villa, Tania Grupo de Investigación UniHcos, / Students Surveys and questionnaires Tryptophan The objective of this cross-sectional study was to explore sleep patterns and the potential relationship between sleep and tryptophan intake among Spanish university students. A total of 11,485 students self-reported their sleep and dietary patterns and habits. Tryptophan intake was calculated using a food intake matrix and results were presented as quartiles of total intake. Short sleep duration prevalence was 51.0%, with males exhibiting a significantly higher frequency. A total of 55.0% of participants presented inadequate sleep efficiency, with males again presenting a higher rate. Median tryptophan intake was 692.16 ± 246.61 mg/day, 731.84 ± 246.86 mg/day in males and 677.24 ± 244.87 mg/day in females (p = 0.001). Dietary tryptophan intake below the first quartile (<526.43 mg/day) was associated with a higher risk of short sleep duration in males (1.26; 95%CI: 1.02–1.55) and females (1.19; 95%CI: 1.05–1.34) and with the Athens Insomnia Scale insomnia in males (2.56; 95%CI: 1.36–4.82) and females (1.47; 95%CI: 1.10–2.05). Regarding academic specializations, females in the humanities field showed a higher risk of Athens Insomnia Scale insomnia due to low tryptophan intake (Q1: 3.15; 95% CI: 1.04–9.55 and Q2: 3.41; 95%CI: 1.01–11.5). In summary, lower tryptophan consumption appears to be associated with poorer sleep quality in Spanish university students; however, other social factors affecting students may also influence sleep quality. These findings have important implications for nutritional recommendations aimed at enhancing tryptophan intake to improve sleep quality. 2024-09-03T09:01:47Z 2024-09-03T09:01:47Z 2024-07-22 journal article Morales-Suárez-Varela, M.; Amezcua-Prieto, C.; Peraita-Costa, I.; Mateos-Campos, R.; Ayán, C.; Ortiz-Moncada, R.; Fernández-Villa, T., on behalf of the Grupo de Investigación UniHcos. Sleep Patterns and Tryptophan Consumption among Students at Spanish Universities: The Unihcos Project. Nutrients 2024, 16, 2376. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16142376 https://hdl.handle.net/10481/93825 10.3390/nu16142376 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ open access Atribución 4.0 Internacional MDPI