Timing meals won’t fix sleep, large TRE study finds

A 12-week trial in nearly 200 adults with overweight/obesity compared early, late, and self-selected eating windows (time-restricted eating). Sleep duration, efficiency, awakenings, mood, and overall well-being were similar across all groups; only the early-window group showed a small ~12-minute increase in total sleep time versus usual care. The findings suggest that simply moving dinner earlier or later does not meaningfully improve sleep, though time-restricted eating can aid weight management. Results apply to adults 30–60 without serious sleep problems, and limitations include mild baseline sleep issues, unadjusted chronotype, caffeine use, and potential industry ties. Future research with polysomnography and diverse populations is needed.