Date Time Junk food linked to sleep problems in teens Eating too much junk food has been linked with poor sleep quality in teens, a University of Queensland-led study has found. UQ School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences researcher Associate Professor Asad Khan said frequent consumption of soft drinks and fast food was strongly associated with sleep disturbance in adolescents around the world. “This is the first study to examine unhealthy diets and stress-related sleep disturbance on a global scale in high school students from 64 countries,” Dr Khan said. “Overall, 7.5 per cent of adolescents reported stress-related sleep disturbance, which was more common among females than males.