Healthy Gut and Sleep



Having a healthy gut is very important. It keeps you regular in the bathroom, your energy and mood are elevated, you don’t get diarrhoea or constipation often and you never feel bloated or gassy.

But, as it turns out, having a healthy gut is crucial for another very important thing…

Having a healthy gut might just be what you need for long, quality sleep

Statistics show a large percentage of adults suffer from sleeplessness or insomnia from time to time. This can include a difficulty falling asleep, sleeping through the night or even waking up too early in the morning.

In their desperation, many people turn to sleeping pills, supplements and other remedies to improve their sleep. However, more and more research is suggesting that a good night’s sleep might be related to a healthy gut.

The gastrointestinal tract is filled with microbes that are collectively referred to as the microbiome. The microbiome mainly consists of bacteria, but also fungi and even viruses.

 

Bacteria in the gut come in two forms:

  1. Good - aid in food digestion, immune system function, production of serotonin (the feel-good hormone), metabolic health, and the flushing of toxins from the body
  2. Bad - can lead to different health problems, gastrointestinal distress and more

Aside from the other benefits that good bacteria provide, they also help us sleep better. They do that by communicating with your brain via the vagus nerve. Now, thanks to that constant communication between your gut and your brain, you can influence and improve your sleep.

 

How does the microbiome influence our sleep?

1. It works together with your circadian rhythm – your circadian rhythm is a 24-hour internal clock, which regulates your sleep-wake cycle. There is a multitude of hormones that help regulate this internal clock, of which one major player is melatonin. This hormone is secreted by the pineal gland in response to the change of time.

We normally feel alert and sleepy during the same time each day and this is due to the circadian rhythm. Energy levels dip at night and pick back up in the morning.

Healthy bacteria can increase the production of melatonin by increasing tryptophan in your blood. Tryptophan is an amino acid which helps produce and regulate different hormones in the body, including melatonin. Tryptophan can also convert to serotonin in the body, another hormone that has been shown to help regulate our sleep-wake, among other things.

Aside from hormonal regulation, research suggests that our microbiome has its own rhythm that intertwines with the circadian rhythm.

2. It reduces our stress and anxiety levels – gut bacteria can aid in the production and regulation of beneficial hormones which lower our stress levels and make us feel more at ease.

Furthermore, having a healthy and balanced microbiome also helps lower cortisol, a well-known stress hormone. During periods of high stress, cortisol is elevated and this can wreak havoc on your entire body. One of the big issues that commonly arises is sleeplessness.

 

What can we do?

It’s obvious that improving our gut health is critical for better sleep, among many other things.

  1. Provide your body with enough probiotics through food and inexpensive supplements. Foods that are rich in probiotics include; pickles, kimchi, tempeh, yoghurt, and kefir. Aside from including such foods into your diet, you could also consider supplementing with a probiotic. They are inexpensive and highly beneficial.
  2. Provide your body with enough fibre that provides numerous health benefits, promotes a healthy gut and proper digestion. Fruits, vegetables, legumes, seeds, nuts and whole grains are great options to increase your fibre intake
  3. Exercise regularly, cut out junk foods from your diet as much as you can, limit the intake of trans fats and very salty foods, avoid the use of antibiotics as much as possible and generally avoid foods which your gut doesn’t tolerate well

 

References:

  • Sleep and Health. A resource from the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School. http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/need-sleep/whats-in-it-for-you/health
  • Sleep and Sleep Disorder Statistics. American Sleep Association. https://www.sleepassociation.org/about-sleep/sleep-statistics/
  • Circadian Disorganization Alters Intestinal Microbiota. Robin M. Voigt, Christopher B. Forsyth, Stefan J. Green,Ece Mutlu, Phillip Engen, Martha H. Vitaterna, Fred W. Turek, Ali Keshavarzian. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0097500
  • Serotonin and the sleep/wake cycle: special emphasis on microdialysis studies. Portas CM, Bjorvatn B, Ursin R. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10622375

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