We already know avocados are good for your heart. Now there’s early evidence they may help support better sleep, too — a key but often neglected pillar of cardiovascular health.
In a new study supported by the Avocado Nutrition Center, researchers found that adults who ate one avocado a day for six months reported longer sleep duration compared to those who ate fewer than two per month. The findings come from a secondary analysis of the largest randomized controlled trial on avocados to date, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
“Sleep is emerging as a key lifestyle factor in heart health, and this study invites us to consider how nutrition — and foods like avocado — can play a role in improving it,” said Dr. Kristina Petersen, study author and associate professor of nutritional sciences at Penn State University.
The trial included 969 U.S. adults with elevated waist circumference, a known risk factor for heart disease. Participants followed their usual diet but were randomly assigned to eat either one avocado daily or very few (less than two per month). After six months, the daily avocado group saw modest improvements in diet quality, cholesterol levels and self-reported sleep duration.
This marks the first time avocado consumption has been linked to sleep, a factor now included in the American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8™ framework for heart health. While the study wasn’t originally designed to evaluate sleep as a primary outcome, it opens new doors for research into how nutrients like tryptophan, folate and magnesium — found in avocados — might support both rest and recovery.
The research was funded by the Hass Avocado Board through the Avocado Nutrition Center. Researchers note the findings are promising but not conclusive, and further studies with more rigorous sleep measurement tools are needed.