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    How To Wind Down for Better Sleep—Especially if You’re an Introvert

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    Original Post | Erica Sloan・December 15, 2021

    Picture the pinnacle of social exhaustion: Perhaps, you’ve just spent four hours at a work holiday party, meeting the humans behind a bunch of Zoom squares IRL for the first time. Or, maybe you had a day of reconnecting with family members you haven’t seen in two, time-blurred pandemic years. It would seem that hitting the hay would be the most obvious solution—but once you get into bed, your body seems to say, Not so fast. For introverts, in particular, the draining nature of being social can leave you, paradoxically, chasing sleep.

    In general, that counterproductive scenario springs from the difference between feeling fatigued and feeling tired, says psychologist and behavioral sleep-medicine specialist Shelby Harris, PsyD, DBSM, author of The Women’s Guide to Overcoming Insomnia. While the former reflects a total drain of energy (which tends to happen for an introvert after a social event), the latter is more about physical sleepiness, which is that drowsy feeling that allows you to drift off to dreamland.

    “For introverts, socializing tends to overstimulate the brain and body, leading some to feel irritable, indecisive, or on edge.” —behavioral sleep-medicine specialist Shelby Harris, PsyD

    “For introverts, socializing tends to overstimulate the brain and body, leading some to feel irritable, indecisive, or on edge, or even to get physical symptoms, like a headache or muscle aches,” says Dr. Harris. “While all of that can be extremely exhausting, it doesn’t necessarily lead to feeling sleepy.” By contrast, a social event can actually flood the brain with uppers like dopamine, adrenaline, and cortisol, which, for an introvert, tend to be perceived negatively, says Mike Dow, PsyD, psychotherapist at Field Trip Health, a psychedelic-assisted therapy practice. In fact, these neurotransmitters can keep you reeling long after an event wraps up (cue: the introvert hangover).RELATED STORIESHow To Make Waking Up in the Dark Suck Less, According to…Not an Early Bird or Night Owl? Science Suggests There May Be…

    Trying to get to sleep in that state can require a whole lot more than simply getting into bed; after all, the process of falling asleep is nothing like an on-off switch, biologically, says Dr. Harris. For an introvert, especially, easing your mind into sleep mode is best done with a calming pre-bed ritual. Below, the experts share tips for socially exhausted introverts who want nothing more than to get a good night’s sleep.

    It’s especially hard for introverts to sleep after a highly social experience, but these 5 tips can help

    1. Create a container for your thoughts.

    “Introverts are internal processors,” says psychologist Laurie Helgoe, PhD, author of Introvert Power: Why Your Inner Life Is Your Hidden Strength. “They often take inputs from conversations and process them later, which can mean mulling over what someone said, replaying or continuing a conversation, coming up with a better comeback, and the like.”https://556d592cd02b0abe412f5bc25f63d090.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

    Journaling can help put a pause to that spiral by providing a space for you to essentially unload all of your thoughts, and, if you’d like, feel free to return to them later—ideally at a time when you’re not trying desperately to get catch precious zzz’s.

    2. Talk back to negative self-talk.

    In re-assessing a social event (as introverts are wont to do), you may find that certain percolating thoughts devolve into negative or anxious ones. For example, it’s easy to start over-evaluating and hyper-personalizing, says Dr. Dow. “Maybe you start thinking, ‘Was Cindy looking at me weird? I must have done something wrong.’ And as the night goes on, the thoughts can turn more catastrophic in nature, leading to something like, ‘If I don’t get a good night’s sleep, I’m going to botch this presentation tomorrow, and if that happens, I could get fired,’ and so on,” he says.https://556d592cd02b0abe412f5bc25f63d090.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

    In that case, he suggests employing one of the classic strategies of cognitive behavioral therapy, which is to reconsider thoughts and feelings not as facts but merely as information, which you can choose to disregard. “Access the best parts of yourself to talk back to those inner voices,” he says.

    3. Write in a gratitude journal.

    Taking time to remember all the things for which you’re grateful—whether they include highlights from the social activity of the day, or something else entirely—can also help you forgo the kind of thought-spiraling that tends to ward off sleep.https://556d592cd02b0abe412f5bc25f63d090.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

    “Because introverts are natural problem-solvers, they can get stuck in focusing on what’s not working,” says Dr. Helgoe. “But a gratitude list can help you balance that problem orientation by reminding you of what is working.” And that, in and of itself, can be incredibly soothing.

    4. Practice some non-screen-based relaxation.

    While it’s tempting to scroll through Instagram or scan emails in bed to occupy a restless mind, that level of mental stimulation, combined with the melatonin-suppressing blue light, is a recipe for wakefulness. Instead, do anything non-screen-related that feels calming and relaxing, whether that’s reading, knitting, listening to music, or even coloring or doing a simple crossword or jigsaw puzzle, says Dr. Harris. (You can also practice mindfulness meditation, but because this can be challenging to really sink into with an overactive mind, Dr. Harris says it’ll be most beneficial for someone who already has a daytime meditation practice.

    If you’re really at a loss for where to start, try connecting with each of the five senses, says Dr. Dow: “Soothe your sense of touch with a bath, your sense of smell with a lavender candle, your sense of sight with dimmed lighting, your sense of hearing with calming music or a meditation track, and your sense of taste with a nighttime tea.”

    5. And if you’re tossing and turning, get out of bed.

    Trying to make sleep happen often keeps it from, well, happening. So, instead of remaining in bed and trying to will yourself asleep, get up, walk into another room, and return to whatever wind-down exercise you were doing beforehand in dim lighting, says Dr. Harris: “Simply changing what you’re doing and where you’re doing it can often help stop an overactive mind in its tracks.”

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    7 Midnight Snacks That RDs Say Can Help Lull You Back To Sleep

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    Original Post | Well + Good Food and Nutrition

    We’ve all had those nights where we inexplicably wake up in the middle of the night with a grumbling belly. Maybe it was that HIIT workout you braved for the first time, your marathon of meetings-slash-evening-errands that left you with little time to eat an adequate dinner, or maybe you were just dreaming about delicious pasta (the best type of reverie).

    While you could certainly go forth and eat gobs of Nutella straight from the jar—convenience and tastiness are both extremely key, after all—you don’t need to be an registered dietitian to conclude that the sugar content isn’t exactly a recipe for sound sleep the rest of the night. “High fat and high sugar foods like ice cream and cookies are a double whammy of not helping you sleep well, because fat takes a long time to digest,” says Dawn Blatner, RDN, author of The Superfood Swap. “Giving your gut foods that are difficult to digest distracts your body from sleep, and then sugar causes spikes and crashes of blood sugar and those will interrupt sleep, too.”

    Blatner also suggests avoiding alcohol since, even though your nightcap can make you feel sleepy, it will disrupt your sleep cycle later in the night and lead to lower quality sleep. Caffeinated teas or too much of anything liquid should also be consumed in moderation, she adds, as having to use the bathroom can keep you awake.

    So what should you eat if you’re in the mood for a mid-snooze nosh? Read on for these RD-approved suggestions for healthy midnight snacks that will help you get right back to your REM cycle.

    7 healthy midnight snacks that will help lull you back to sleep

    1. Tart Cherries

    “Tart cherries are a natural source of melatonin, a hormone that regulates the body’s internal clock and sleep-wake cycle,” says Blatner. If you can’t find tart cherries at the supermarket, she suggests opting for tart cherry concentrate, which is the super-charged version of tart cherry juice with two tablespoons packing in the equivalent of a whopping 60-plus cherries. Instead of guzzling it (remember that sugar and excessive amounts of liquid can keep you awake), create yourself a little ‘natural’ jello shot before bed. “All you do is mix two tablespoons of tart cherry concentrate with a tablespoon of chia seeds and chill it in the fridge. Try topping it with greek yogurt to combat the tartness,” Blatner says.RELATED STORIES‘I’m a Registered Dietitian, and This Is the One Food I Always…Why Snacking on Hemp Seeds Can Help You Sleep More Soundly

    2. Pumpkin Seeds

    “Pumpkin seeds are an excellent source of magnesium, and studies have found that magnesium improves insomnia and sleep efficiency,” says Blatner. Almonds, cashews, and peanuts are other good sources of magnesium that all make for ideal healthy midnight snacks.

    3. Cottage Cheese

    Cottage cheese contains the amino acid L-tryptophan. “Tryptophan plays a role in the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that’s associated with healthy sleep,” says Blatner. “Research has found people who ate cottage cheese about 30 minutes to an hour before going to bed experienced better metabolic health, muscle quality, and overall health than people who didn’t.”https://79dbc014217aa09ddae4500b65493fc3.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

    We know it’s no cheesy mozzarella pizza or ricotta cheesecake, but you can optimize your enjoyment of cottage cheese with a sprinkle of cinnamon (which has its own sleep benefits). “You can also try topping it with tahini or sunflower seed butter, which both contain tryptophan as well,” says Blatner.

    4. Warm Milk

    “New research suggests that the casein protein in cow’s milk interacts with trypsin, a digestive enzyme in the stomach, to produce a sleep-enhancing peptide complex called CTH, or casein tryptic hydrolysate,” says Blatner. “The added vitamin D in milk may also play a role in maintaining healthful sleep.”

    5. Kiwi

    “Research suggests that the antioxidants and natural serotonin in kiwis can improve both sleep quality and quantity,” says Blatner. Kiwis are naturally sweet and delicious as-is, but you can jazz them up by lightly dipping them in dark chocolate. “Dark chocolate has magnesium, a helpful sleep mineral, but it also has a little caffeine, so go easy on it.”

    6. Banana with Peanut Butter

    “Foods that contain unsaturated fats, like peanut butter, can help improve serotonin levels and boost satiety to keep you feeling satisfied and full during sleep,” says Carissa Galloway, RDN, a nutrition consultant at Premier Protein. “Eating bananas with peanut butter can also be helpful before bed, as bananas contain magnesium which, as mentioned, help support good sleep.” The combination of bananas plus peanut butter makes for one of the most delicious healthy midnight snacks out there.

    7. Chamomile Tea

    “There are numerous studies that support the benefits of chamomile tea in promoting a healthy nighttime routine,” says Galloway. Chamomile tea contains flavonoids, which are compounds found in certain foods, including one called apigenin. “Apigenin connects with receptors in our brains to help reduce insomnia and promote a state of steady sleep.”

    So when you find yourself wide awake in the wee hours, sip a cup of chamomile tea with a splash of steamed almond milk, or have a batch of Blatner’s chamomile cookies on hand.

    All that said, bear in mind that more important than what you eat before bed, is the amount. “Having a large amount of any food will take too much effort for your body to digest instead of resting,” says Blatner. A light nosh of one of the foods recommended here, on the other hand, will send you right into the sweetest of dreams.

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    The Effects of Sleep Deprivation on Your Body

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    Original Post | Healthline May 15 2020

    The following is a fantastic article describing the effects of sleep deprivation on your body, broken down by system. Medically reviewed by Stacy Sampson, D.O., Family Medicine — Written by Stephanie Watson and Kristeen Cherney on May 15, 2020

    If you’ve ever spent a night tossing and turning, you already know how you’ll feel the next day — tired, cranky, and out of sorts. But missing out on the recommended 7 to 9 hours of shut-eye nightly does more than make you feel groggy and grumpy.

    The long-term effects of sleep deprivation are real.

    It drains your mental abilities and puts your physical health at real risk. Science has linked poor slumber with a number of health problems, from weight gain to a weakened immune system.

    Read on to learn the causes of sleep deprivation and exactly how it affects specific body functions and systems.

    Causes of sleep deprivation

    In a nutshell, sleep deprivation is caused by consistent lack of sleep or reduced quality of sleep. Getting less than 7 hours of sleep on a regular basis can eventually lead to health consequences that affect your entire body. This may also be caused by an underlying sleep disorder.

    Your body needs sleep, just as it needs air and food to function at its best. During sleep, your body heals itself and restores its chemical balance. Your brain forges new thought connections and helps memory retention.

    Without enough sleep, your brain and body systems won’t function normally. It can also dramatically lower your quality of life.

    A review of studies in 2010Trusted Source found that sleeping too little at night increases the risk of early death.

    Noticeable signs of sleep deprivation include:

    Stimulants, such as caffeine, aren’t enough to override your body’s profound need for sleep. In fact, these can make sleep deprivation worse by making it harder to fall asleep at night.

    This, in turn, may lead to a cycle of nighttime insomnia followed by daytime caffeine consumption to combat the tiredness caused by the lost hours of shut-eye.

    Behind the scenes, chronic sleep deprivation can interfere with your body’s internal systems and cause more than just the initial signs and symptoms listed above.

    Central nervous system

    Your central nervous system is the main information highway of your body. Sleep is necessary to keep it functioning properly, but chronic insomnia can disrupt how your body usually sends and processes information.

    During sleep, pathways form between nerve cells (neurons) in your brain that help you remember new information you’ve learned. Sleep deprivation leaves your brain exhausted, so it can’t perform its duties as well.

    You may also find it more difficult to concentrate or learn new things. The signals your body sends may also be delayed, decreasing your coordination and increasing your risk for accidents.

    Sleep deprivation also negatively affects your mental abilities and emotional state. You may feel more impatient or prone to mood swings. It can also compromise decision-making processes and creativity.

    If sleep deprivation continues long enough, you could start having hallucinations — seeing or hearing things that aren’t really there. A lack of sleep can also trigger mania in people who have bipolar mood disorder. Other psychological risks include:

    You may also end up experiencing microsleep during the day. During these episodes, you’ll fall asleep for a few to several seconds without realizing it.

    Microsleep is out of your control and can be extremely dangerous if you’re driving. It can also make you more prone to injury if you operate heavy machinery at work and have a microsleep episode.

    Immune system

    While you sleep, your immune system produces protective, infection-fighting substances like antibodies and cytokines. It uses these substances to combat foreign invaders such as bacteria and viruses.

    Certain cytokines also help you to sleep, giving your immune system more efficiency to defend your body against illness.

    Sleep deprivation prevents your immune system from building up its forces. If you don’t get enough sleep, your body may not be able to fend off invaders, and it may also take you longer to recover from illness.

    Long-term sleep deprivation also increases your risk for chronic conditions, such as diabetes mellitus and heart disease.powered by Rubicon Project

    Respiratory system

    The relationship between sleep and the respiratory system goes both ways. A nighttime breathing disorder called obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can interrupt your sleep and lower sleep quality.

    As you wake up throughout the night, this can cause sleep deprivation, which leaves you more vulnerable to respiratory infections like the common cold and flu. Sleep deprivation can also make existing respiratory diseases worse, such as chronic lung illness.

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    Digestive system

    Along with eating too much and not exercising, sleep deprivation is another risk factor for becoming overweight and obese. Sleep affects the levels of two hormones, leptin and ghrelin, which control feelings of hunger and fullness.

    Leptin tells your brain that you’ve had enough to eat. Without enough sleep, your brain reduces leptin and raises ghrelin, which is an appetite stimulant. The flux of these hormones could explain nighttime snacking or why someone may overeat later in the night.

    A lack of sleep can also make you feel too tired to exercise. Over time, reduced physical activity can make you gain weight because you’re not burning enough calories and not building muscle mass.

    Sleep deprivation also causes your body to release less insulin after you eat. Insulin helps to reduce your blood sugar (glucose) level.

    Sleep deprivation also lowers the body’s tolerance for glucose and is associated with insulin resistance. These disruptions can lead to diabetes mellitus and obesity.

    Cardiovascular system

    Sleep affects processes that keep your heart and blood vessels healthy, including those that affect your blood sugar, blood pressure, and inflammation levels. It also plays a vital role in your body’s ability to heal and repair the blood vessels and heart.

    People who don’t sleep enough are more likely to get cardiovascular disease. One analysis linked insomnia to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

    Endocrine system

    Hormone production is dependent on your sleep. For testosterone production, you need at least 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep, which is about the time of your first R.E.M. episode. Waking up throughout the night could affect hormone production.

    This interruption can also affect growth hormone production, especially in children and adolescents. These hormones help the body build muscle mass and repair cells and tissues, in addition to other growth functions.

    The pituitary gland releases growth hormone throughout each day, but adequate sleep and exercise also help the release of this hormone.

    Treatment for sleep deprivation

    The most basic form of sleep deprivation treatment is getting an adequate amount of sleep, typically 7 to 9 hours each night.

    This is often easier said than done, especially if you’ve been deprived of precious shut-eye for several weeks or longer. After this point, you may need help from your doctor or a sleep specialist who, if needed, can diagnose and treat a possible sleep disorder.

    Sleep disorders may make it difficult to get quality sleep at night. They may also increase your risk for the above effects of sleep deprivation on the body.

    The following are some of the most common types of sleep disorders:

    To diagnose these conditions, your doctor may order a sleep study. This is traditionally conducted at a formal sleep center, but now there are options to measure your sleep quality at home, too.

    If you’re diagnosed with a sleep disorder, you may be given medication or a device to keep your airway open at night (in the case of obstructive sleep apnea) to help combat the disorder so you can get a better night’s sleep on a regular basis.

    Prevention

    The best way to prevent sleep deprivation is to make sure you get adequate sleep. Follow the recommended guidelines for your age group, which is 7 to 9 hours for most adults ages 18 to 64.

    Other ways you can get back on track with a healthy sleep schedule include:

    • limiting daytime naps (or avoiding them altogether)
    • refraining from caffeine past noon or at least a few hours prior to bedtime
    • going to bed at the same time each night
    • waking up at the same time every morning
    • sticking to your bedtime schedule during weekends and holidays
    • spending an hour before bed doing relaxing activities, such as reading, meditating, or taking a bath
    • avoiding heavy meals within a few hours before bedtime
    • refraining from using electronic devices right before bed
    • exercising regularly, but not in the evening hours close to bedtime
    • reducing alcohol intake

    If you continue to have problems sleeping at night and are fighting daytime fatigue, talk to your doctor. They can test for underlying health conditions that might be getting in the way of your sleep schedule.

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    Addressing Sleep Could Help Women Avoid Weight Gain During Menopause

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    Original Article | Posted by Sree Roy | Apr 1, 2021

    Addressing sleep symptoms during menopause may reduce susceptibility to weight gain, according to a small study presented virtually at ENDO 2021, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting.

    “Our findings suggest that not only estrogen withdrawal but also sleep disturbances during menopause may contribute to changes in a woman’s body that could predispose midlife women to weight gain,” says lead researcher Leilah Grant, PhD, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Mass, in a release. “Helping women sleep better during menopause may therefore reduce the chances a woman will gain weight, which in turn will lower her risk of diabetes and other related diseases.”

    Woman Battling Weight Issues from Lack Of Sleep

    Rates of obesity increase in women around the age of menopause. Menopause-related weight gain is often thought to be caused by the withdrawal of the female hormone estrogen. Estrogen is unlikely to be the only contributing factor, however, since all women stop producing estrogen in menopause while only about half of women gain weight, Grant says. Another common symptom, also affecting around half of women during menopause, is sleep disturbance, which has independently been linked to changes in metabolism that might increase the risk of weight gain.

    [RELATED: Insomnia Symptoms Worsen Throughout Menopause Transition]

    To better understand the role of sleep disturbances and hormonal changes in menopausal weight gain, the researchers studied 21 healthy premenopausal women.

    They used an experimental model simulating the sleep disturbance experienced in menopause to examine the effects of poor sleep on the body’s use of fat.

    Participants had two nights of uninterrupted sleep followed by three nights of interrupted sleep, where they were woken by an alarm every 15 minutes for 2 minutes each time. The researchers then restudied a subset of nine participants in the same sleep interruption protocol after they were given a drug called leuprolide, which temporarily suppressed estrogen to levels similar to menopause.

    Compared to a normal night of sleep, after three nights of disturbed sleep there was a significant reduction in the rate at which the women’s bodies used fat. A similar reduction in fat utilization was also seen when estrogen was suppressed, even during normal sleep. The combination of low estrogen and sleep disturbance also reduced fat utilization, but the effect was not larger than either exposure on their own.

    “In addition to estrogen withdrawal, sleep disturbances decrease fat utilization,” Grant says. “This may increase the likelihood of fat storage and subsequent weight gain during menopause.”

    If you are struggling with any sleep issues as a result of a diagnosis of sleep apnea, please contact us today for a consultation. We can help ensure better nights for better days!

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    Beta-blockers May Contribute to Sleep Disturbances

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    We do not wish to infer that anyone should stop beta blocker use, but just explain why the use of beta blockers may interrupt with the treatment of insomnia.

    Posted by Sleep Review Staff | Mar 16, 2021 

    Beta Blocker and Sleep Disturbance

    Unusual dreams, insomnia and sleep disorders may be linked to beta-blockers, according to new research published in Hypertension, an American Heart Association journal.

    Beta-blockers are a class of medications that reduce the heart rate, the heart’s workload and the heart’s output of blood, which, together, lower blood pressure. They are a common treatment for cardiovascular diseases, including heart failure, arrhythmias, chest pains and high blood pressure. Researchers have suspected beta-blockers of having negative psychological side effects, including depression, anxiety, drowsiness, insomnia, hallucinations and nightmares.

    “The possible mental health side effects of beta-blockers have been the subject of discussion in the scientific community for many decades,” Reinhold Kreutz, MD, PhD, a professor at the Berlin Institute of Health, Institute of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology and the study’s supervising and corresponding author, says in a statement.

    The researchers analyzed data for more than 50,000 individuals from 258 studies including beta-blockers in double-blind, randomized controlled trials. Nearly 70% of the studies were clinical trials focused on high blood pressure treatment, and 31 assessed depression in placebo-controlled trials.

    Results from the comprehensive analysis also revealed that despite being the most frequently reported mental health side effect, depression did not occur more frequently during beta-blocker treatment compared to placebo treatment. And the rate of discontinuing medication use due to depression was not any different for those taking beta-blockers compared to those on other treatments.

    “Our results indicate that concerns about adverse mental health events, especially depression, should not affect the decision about beta blockers. Beta-blockers are mostly safe regarding psychological health,” said Kreutz. “We found no indication of an association between beta-blocker use and depression. The same was true for most of the other mental health symptoms, as reported in the studies that were included in our analyses. However, sleep-related symptoms such as unusual dreams or insomnia did emerge during beta-blocker therapy for some patients.”

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    The Sleep-Gut Connection

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    Original Article | Posted Jan 08, 2016, Authored by Michael J Breus, MD

    What is Sleep Gut?

    There’s a lot of discussion these days about sleep gut health—how a healthy gut can support overall health, and the ways a compromised gut may contribute to illness and disease. We’re learning more about the complexity of the vast, dense, microbial world of the human gut and its influence over immune health, hormone balance, brain function, and mental and physical equilibrium. What relationship exists between sleep and this microbial ecosystem within the body? Emerging science demonstrates that there is a very real and dynamic connection between the microbiome and sleep itself.

    Sleep Gut
    Sleep Gut from over eating.

    What is the Microbiome?

    The term microbiome can mean a couple of different things. It is sometimes used to describe the collection of all microbes in a particular community. In scientific terms, the microbiome can also refer to the genes belonging to all the microbes living in a community. The microbiome is often seen as a genetic counterpart to the human genome.  

    The genes that make up a person’s microbiome are far more numerous than human genes themselves—there are roughly 100 times more genes in the human microbiome than in the human genome. This makes sense when you consider that there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 trillion microbes living in (and on) each of us—a combination of many different types, including bacteria, fungi, viruses, and other tiny organisms.

    This vast array of microbial life lives on our skin and throughout the body. The largest single collection of microbes resides in the intestine—hence the attention to “gut” health. Here, trillions of microscopic organisms live and die—and appear to exert a profound effect on human health.

    The Microbiome and Sleep

    The human microbiota is a complicated, dynamic ecosystem within the body. It appears to interact in some important ways with another fundamental aspect of living—sleep. As with much about the microbiome, there is a tremendous amount we don’t know about this interaction. That said, there are some fascinating possible connections and shared influences. Scientists investigating the relationship between sleep and the microbiome are finding that this ecosystem may affect sleep and sleep-related physiological functions in a number of ways—shifting circadian rhythms, altering the body’s sleep-wake cycle, and affecting hormones that regulate sleep and wakefulness. Our sleep, in turn, may affect the health and diversity of the human microbiome.

    The microbial life within our bodies is in perpetual flux, with microbes constantly being generated and dying. Some of this decay and renewal naturally occurs during sleep. There’s no answer yet, however, to the important question: What role does sleep itself play in maintaining the health of the microbial world inside us, and which appears to contribute so significantly to our health?

    There are some important signs of a significant connection: We’ve seen research demonstrating that circadian rhythm disruptions can have negative effects on gut microbiota. (More on this shortly.) There’s also evidence that the disordered breathing associated with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a common sleep disorder, may disrupt the health of the microbiome. Scientists put mice through a pattern of disrupted breathing that mimicked the effects of OSA, and found that the mice that lived with periods of OSA-like breathing for six weeks showed significant changes to the diversity and makeup of their microbiota.article continues after advertisement

    Sleep and the Gut-Brain Connection

    A significant, fast-growing body of research illustrates the far-reaching effects of the microbiome over brain function and brain health—as well as the influence of the brain over gut health and the microbiome. This “gut-brain axis” appears likely to have a profound influence over nearly every aspect of human health and physiological function, including sleep.

    The constant communication and interplay between the gut and the brain has the potential to influence and intersect with sleep directly and indirectly. Let’s take a closer look at the ways that might occur:

    Mood. Studies indicate that the health and balance of the gut microbiota has a significant influence over our mood and emotional equilibrium. Disruptions and an imbalance of gut microbes have been strongly connected to anxiety and depression. This has potentially significant implications for sleep, as both anxiety and depression can trigger or exacerbate sleep disruptions.

    Stress. Research is also revealing a complicated, two-way relationship between stress and gut health that also may exert influence over sleep and sleep architecture. Stress is an extremely common obstacle to healthy, sufficient sleep.

    Pain. Studies link gut health to pain perception, specifically for visceral pain. An unhealthy microbiome appears to increase sensitivity to this form of pain. Like so many others, this connection travels the communication pathway between the gut and the brain. The connection between sleep and physical pain or discomfort is significant—the presence of pain can make falling asleep and staying asleep much more difficult.

    Hormones. Several hormones and neurotransmitters that play important roles in sleep also have significant influence over gut health and function. The intestinal microbiome produces and releases many of the same neurotransmitters—dopamine, serotonin, and GABA among them—that help to regulate mood, and also help to promote sleep.

    • Melatonin, the “darkness hormone” essential to sleep and a healthy sleep-wake cycle, also contributes to maintaining gut health. Deficiencies in melatonin have been linked to increased permeability of the gut—the so-called “leaky gut” increasingly associated with a range of diseases. Melatonin is produced in the gut as well as the brain, and evidence suggests that intestinal melatonin may operate on a different cyclical rhythm than the pineal melatonin generated in the brain.
    • Cortisol is another hormone critical to the human sleep-wake cycle. Rising levels of the hormone very early in the day help to promote alertness, focus, and energy. Cortisol levels are influenced in several ways within the gut-brain axis: The hormone is central to the stress and inflammatory response and also exerts an effect on gut permeability and microbial diversity. The changes to cortisol that occur amid the interplay of the gut and brain are likely to have an effect on sleep.

    “Circadian Rhythms” of the Gut?

    There is some pretty fascinating research connecting the gut microbiome to circadian rhythms, the 24-hour biological rhythms that regulate our sleep and wake cycles, in addition to many other important physiological processes. A growing number of studies now suggest that the vast and diverse microbial ecosystem of the gut has its own daily rhythms. These microbiome rhythms appear to be deeply entwined with circadian rhythms—research suggests that both circadian and microbial rhythms are capable of influencing and disrupting the other, with consequences for health and sleep.

    The rhythms of gut microbes are affected by diet, both the timing of our eating and the composition of the foods we consume. A recent study found that mice eating a healthy diet generated more beneficial gut microbes, and that the collective activity of microbial life in the gut followed a daily—or diurnal—rhythm. That rhythm, in turn, supported circadian rhythms in the animal. Mice fed a high-fat, stereotypically “Western” diet, on the other hand, produced less optimal microbial life. The gut microbes of these mice did not adhere to a daily rhythm themselves, and also sent signals that disrupted circadian rhythms. These mice gained weight and became obese, while the mice that ate healthfully did not.

    Scientists bred a third group of mice without any gut microbes at all. These mice had no signals to send from a gut microbiome. Circadian disruption occurred in these mice—but they did not gain weight or suffer metabolic disruption, even when fed the high-fat diet. This suggests a couple of important conclusions. First, that microbial activity is key to normal circadian function—and therefore to sleep. Second, that the microbiome is a key player along with diet in the regulation of weight and metabolism.

    Circadian Rhythms and Microbiome: A Two-Way Street

    Research in humans has returned similar results: The human microbiome appears to follow daily rhythms influenced by timing of eating and the types of foods consumed and to exert effects over circadian rhythms. Research has also found that the relationship between these different biological rhythms works both ways. Scientists have discovered that disruptions to circadian rhythms—the kind that occurs through jet lag, whether through actual travel or from “social” jet lag—disrupts microbial rhythms and the health of the microbial ecosystem. People who experience these changes to microbial rhythms as a result of circadian disruption suffer metabolic imbalance, glucose intolerance, and weight gain, according to research. And there’s preliminary evidence suggesting that gender may play some role in the relationship of gut microbial health, metabolism, and circadian function: a study using mice found that females had more pronounced microbiome rhythms than males.

    New Understanding of Circadian Role in Metabolism?

    We’ve known for some time about the relationship between sleep, circadian rhythms, and metabolic health. Disrupted sleep and misaligned circadian rhythms have been strongly tied to higher rates of obesity and to metabolic disorders including Type 2 diabetes. Our emerging knowledge of the microbiome and its relationship to circadian function may in time deliver a deeper understanding of how health is influenced by sleep and circadian activity.

    Science has really only just begun to delve into the world of the microbiome and its relationship to sleep as well as health more broadly. All the early signs suggest that this is a profoundly important area of research; it will be fascinating to see where this takes us, and what it means for sleep.