Sleep findings differed between Ramadan fasting and other time-restricted eating studies
The review reported shorter self-reported sleep and worse subjective sleep quality with Ramadan fasting, while non-Ramadan studies showed a different pattern.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
The pooled findings varied by fasting context. Ramadan studies reported shorter self-reported sleep and poorer self-rated sleep quality. Non-Ramadan time-restricted feeding studies reported longer sleep overall, but their sleep-quality scores did not differ significantly from control groups. The abstract offers no numerical effect sizes, so it cannot show whether the changes were large enough to matter in daily life.
The abstract gives no effect sizes, follow-up periods, or participant characteristics. Although objective sleep measurements were included in the review, their results are not separately reported, limiting comparison with the self-reported findings.
Which sleep measures mattered
The review distinguished reported sleep duration from sleep quality measured with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. A higher score on that questionnaire indicates poorer perceived sleep quality, so duration and quality should be interpreted separately.
Why context matters
Ramadan fasting and other restricted eating schedules were analyzed separately. Their differing results caution against treating all fasting patterns as interchangeable, while the abstract does not establish whether timing, duration, or other differences account for the findings.
The original publication
Effects of time restricted feeding on sleep: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Lima GS, Vallim JRDS, Marques CG et al.
Chronobiol Int · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 41208478
- Record checked
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