Fiber: Fiber has been proven to enhance the production of healthy bacteria in the body. In addition to promoting a healthier gut and better sleep, fiber can also prevent allergies, arthritis, and Type 2 Diabetes.
Research suggests that your gut health can affect your sleep, and vice versa. This is in part due to the connection between your brain and what's known as your gut microbiome — the trillions of bacteria and other microscopic organisms that live in your gut.
Another recent study suggested that taking a multi-strain probiotic containing Lactobacilli and Bifidobacterium could be especially helpful for promoting sleep.
Eating a plant-based diet that includes fermented foods and fiber from colorful fruits and vegetables, having healthy sleep habits and managing stress levels are other ways to support a healthy gut. If you want to adopt a healthier lifestyle, start easy with small diet changes and build from there.
If your gut microbiome is struggling to digest tryptophan and turn it into serotonin, you're likely going to find it much more difficult to feel sleepy when it's time to head to bed. You may also be more prone to experiencing restless sleep, or find that you're waking up more often.
Troubles with sleeping also affect gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and functional dyspepsia (FD). IBS patients have more difficulties with sleep, including taking longer to fall asleep, repeated night-time waking, and excessive day-time sleepiness.
Lack of sleep can increase stress, which affects the gut.
This can lead to a host of issues including bloating, inflammation, stomach pains, food sensitivities, and changes to the gut microbiome,” says Dr. Barish.
The gut microbiome and inflammation may be linked to sleep loss, circadian misalignment, affective disorders, and metabolic disease.
The ideal time to take probiotics is right before bed because "the gut is pretty inactive at night. If you think about it, you don't usually wake up in the middle of the night to poop,” says Patricia Raymond, MD, a gastroenterology and internal medicine physician and clinical advisor for Gastro Girl.
Sleep quality also seems to benefit from probiotic supplementation. Takada et al. (13) reported an improvement in sleep quality in academic students during a period of increasing stress after 11 weeks of probiotics consumption.
In the gut it seems that melatonin plays significant roles in regulating intestinal motility, the immune system, GI secretion, and the release of peptides involved in energy balance such as peptide YY[55].
Drinking plenty of water and staying hydrated is a great way to regulate digestion. Drinking lukewarm water has been shown to be good for digestion as well. Also, try eating plenty of foods high in water content. This includes fruits and vegetables like watermelons, tomatoes, lettuce, and celery.
Initial evidence suggests that intermittent fasting may benefit your gut health, particularly by increasing the diversity of your gut microbiome and the “good” gut bugs that make their home there. Certain foods may improve your gut health while intermittent fasting, as well as help support you during fasting periods.
Water-only fasting could have a profound and long-lasting effect on gut microbiome. However, juice fasting has a relatively limited effect on gut microbiome. Water-only fasting could be a potential tool to reduce Fusobacterium.
We recommend staying on the diet for at least 3-4 weeks as it will take about that long to “heal the gut.” Some patients may take up to 3 months to reestablish a normal functioning intestinal mucosa.
Research has shown that probiotic supplementation can enhance sleep quality or relieve stress in recent years. Therefore, this study assesses and sheds light on the potential sleep-improving effect of probiotics in alleviating insomnia by modulating intestinal microbiota composition.
Due to the effect a leaky gut can have on digestion and the body's immune response, higher cortisol levels are also common with this condition. The increase of this stress hormone throughout the body can make it more difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep.