Overview

• Mass General Brigham investigators report seven blood metabolites associated with excessive daytime sleepiness, with results published in eBioMedicine.
• Five of the seven signals were lipids, and class-level associations for linoleic acid and sphingomyelins were linked to lower sleepiness risk across multiple cohorts.
• Compounds tied to diet showed divergent links, with tyramine from fermented or overripe foods associated with higher sleepiness, particularly in men.
• Findings originated in roughly 6,000 participants from the HCHS/SOL cohort and were replicated using data from UK Biobank, Finnish Health 2000, and MESA.
• Authors emphasize the observational design based on questionnaire-defined sleepiness and call for sleep-lab validation and trials testing dietary strategies, including omega-3 and omega-6 intake.