Chrononutrition Strategies for Sleep and Health in Older Adults with Chronic Kidney Disease

The intersection of nutritional science, sleep health, and nephrology presents a critical area for advancing the care of older adults living with chronic kidney disease (CKD). As the global population ages, the concurrence of sleep disruption and CKD has emerged as a significant contributor to increased risk of malnutrition, sarcopenia, inflammation, and metabolic dysregulation, all of which negatively impact patient outcomes. Recent advances highlight the importance of chrononutrition, encompassing not just what is eaten, but also when and how meals are timed relative to circadian rhythms, in influencing metabolic health and aligning physiological processes. Despite growing awareness, comprehensive research that integrates chrononutrition, dietary quality, and their direct effects on sleep and clinical markers in CKD, particularly among older adults, remains sparse.

This Research Topic aims to foster a multidisciplinary exploration of how targeted nutritional strategies can serve as practical tools to improve sleep quality and allied clinical outcomes in older adults across the spectrum of CKD, including those undergoing dialysis. The goal is to investigate the mechanisms by which meal timing, dietary patterns, and nutrient adequacy interact with circadian biology and sleep architecture, as well as their implications for frailty, protein-energy wasting, and general well-being. Through clinical studies, interventional trials, and evidence reviews, this topic seeks to clarify how holistic and feasible nutrition-based interventions can be implemented in real-world healthcare settings to optimize both sleep and kidney health outcomes.

This Research Topic encompasses interventions, assessments, and evidence syntheses focused on food and human nutrition that impact sleep health, nutritional status, and CKD endpoints in older adults, with particular focus on chrononutrition and practical care strategies. Submissions are encouraged in the following areas:

o Assessment of chrononutrition (e.g., meal timing, eating windows, circadian-aligned diets) in CKD and aging populations

o Nutrition interventions targeting sleep quality, insomnia symptoms, and actigraphy/PSQI outcomes

o Associations between diet quality, protein-energy adequacy, and CKD-related outcomes, including frailty and sarcopenia

o Feasibility and effectiveness of nutritional interventions in dialysis care and non-dialysis CKD

o Real-world implementation and operational challenges of integrating nutritional and sleep health approaches in clinical practice

o Mechanistic insights into the interactions between nutrition, circadian rhythms, and metabolic health in CKD

o Syntheses or systematic reviews evaluating the evidence base for chrononutrition in kidney disease and sleep health

We invite original research, clinical studies, interventional trials, and evidence syntheses that maintain a primary emphasis on food and human nutrition.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Chrononutrition, circadian-aligned diets, time-restricted eating, meal timing relative to circadian rhythms, real-world implementation of nutrition–sleep interventions in CKD/dialysis

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.