Low-carb diets may curb daytime sleepiness

Filed under: Study — Tags: narcolepsy — luis @ 4:22 pm

According to a new study, low-carb diets can lead to modest improvements in daytime sleepiness in patients with narcolepsy.

bq. Dr. A. M. Husain of Duke University Medical Center and colleagues examined the effects of low-carb diets on daytime sleepiness and other symptoms in nine patients with narcolepsy. The findings are reported in the medical journal Neurology.

The participants were asked to follow diet guidelines based on the popular Atkins approach. Their symptoms were assessed when the study began and after 2, 4, and 8 weeks, using three standard sleepiness tests. One patient withdrew from the study due to an inability to adhere to the diet. In the remaining subjects, one of the tests showed a significant improvement in sleepiness, whereas the others did not.