Does it take forever for you to fall asleep? Or do you nod off pretty quickly but then wake up in the middle of the night and get stuck awake until morning?
Spending hours tossing and turning… waking up cranky and tired… or and almost never feeling refreshed in the morning – These are all telltale signs that you’re battling it out with insomnia.
And while even a few sleepless nights can have you feeling desperate for a solution, it’s likely you’re already clued into the knowledge that sleeping pills – and their dozens of dangerous side effects – can often make you feel even worse than another restless night.
Stress, too much caffeine, blue light – These common wrongdoers are typically targeted when you can’t seem to catch any zzzz’s… However, the true root cause of your sleep issues may be much different than you think.
But before we reveal the culprit behind the curtain, let’s have a deeper look at the impact of insufficient sleep.
Quick Answer: One often-overlooked reason for poor sleep is an imbalanced gut microbiome. Beneficial gut bacteria help your body produce the chemicals that support sleep, including GABA, melatonin, and serotonin. When pathogenic bacteria take over, production of those sleep compounds drops and substances that interfere with rest can rise, which is linked with lighter, more disrupted sleep. Research has even found that people with insomnia tend to have lower microbial diversity in their gut. The good news is that supporting a balanced microbiome, with spore probiotics and targeted prebiotics plus less stress, sugar, and processed food, may help your body make the sleep chemicals it needs naturally.
How Does Poor Sleep Affect Your Health?
Poor sleep affects your whole body. Even one rough night can leave you irritable, foggy, and run down, and ongoing insomnia has been linked with higher blood pressure, heart problems, cognitive decline, migraines, low mood, and weight changes.
If you’ve ever gone without a good night’s sleep, you know how awful that makes you feel the next day. Even the occasional off night under the covers can make you irritable, anxious, foggy, or nauseous.
But go without good sleep for more than a night or two, and the health detriment quickly escalates. Ongoing insomnia has been linked with:
Doubly as shocking: Researchers who analysed 25 years’ worth of sleep data found what they described as an “unequivocal” link between insufficient sleep and premature death.
Of course, none of this is terrifically helpful to focus on when it’s 3am and you’re counting sheep between gritted teeth for the umpteenth time… So let’s look at what you can actually DO.
Surprisingly, your best bet for a great night's rest may start with focusing less on your head and paying more attention to your gut.
What Is the Surprising Reason You Can’t Sleep?
Sleep starts in your gut. Beneficial gut bacteria produce the chemicals your body uses for sleep, such as GABA, melatonin, and serotonin, so when the microbiome falls out of balance, your natural sleep support can drop.
Here’s a fact hot off the press from the latest sleep research that catches many people off guard: Sleep starts in your gut. More specifically, it begins with your gut bacteria.
Your gut microbiome contains trillions of bacteria, some of which are beneficial probiotics and some of which are harmful pathogens. In a healthy gut (known as a gut that’s “in balance”), a wide variety of diverse probiotics will vastly outnumber the pathogens. And, it’s these colonies of helpful probiotics that hold the key to a great night of sleep.
That’s because probiotics produce the chemicals your body needs for sleep, including:
- GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid): the brain chemical that helps your brain and body relax enough to fall asleep
- Melatonin: the sleep hormone that manages your body’s sleep function
- Serotonin: the “feel-good” brain chemical that allows you to sleep more soundly
Your body relies on probiotic gut bacteria to create these essential sleep building blocks. But when your gut microbiome falls out of balance and pathogenic bacteria take over, they limit production of those sleep compounds. Plus, those pathogens actively produce compounds that interfere with sleep.
And scientists have now discovered just how close the link between gut imbalances and insomnia really is.
Can Your Gut Bacteria Reveal Whether You Have Insomnia?
Research suggests so. Studies have found that people with insomnia tend to have lower microbial richness and diversity in their gut, and an imbalanced microbiome is associated with trouble falling and staying asleep.
This falls right in the realm of weird science: Researchers can tell if you have insomnia by looking at your poop.
Here’s an excerpt from the article:
The gut microbiomes of insomnia patients compared with healthy controls were characterized by lower microbial richness and diversity… Gut microbiota may serve as an important indicator for auxiliary diagnosis of insomnia and provide possible new therapeutic targets in the field of sleep disorders.
In layman's terms: An unbalanced gut, one where pathogenic bacteria dominate, makes it harder for you to fall asleep and stay asleep. It’s connected with poor quality sleep and makes insomnia symptoms more severe.
Here’s why that’s great news: To get good rest, rather than relying on unhealthy methods to knock yourself out, you can instead focus on getting your gut microbiome in balance to naturally ramp up production of your important sleep chemicals…
Just Thrive Gut Health Products
How Do You Keep Your Gut in Healthy Balance for Better Sleep?
Limit the things that throw your microbiome off, such as stress, sugar, antibiotics, and processed foods, and give it extra support with spore probiotics and targeted prebiotics that feed only your beneficial bacteria.
A lot of things can knock your gut microbiome out of balance:
- Stress
- Sugar
- Antibiotics
- Processed foods
And once pathogens take the majority, they’ll fight hard to keep it. That’s when your gut microbiome will need extra support in the form of spore probiotics and targeted PREbiotics.
Clinically proven spore probiotics make it to your gut 100% alive and ready to get to work. Once there, they quickly produce chemicals that allow other beneficial probiotic bacteria to grow and flourish. They help keep pathogens under control, while also supporting your healthy production of crucial sleep compounds… along with dozens of other health benefits.
PREbiotics supply the preferred food of probiotic bacteria. Prebiotics are special forms of indigestible fiber that nourish and encourage a diverse, healthy population of probiotics. This is great if you’re looking to ratchet up your gut health support, however…
It’s worth noting that not all prebiotics are created equal. In fact, most brands on the market are incapable of distinguishing between your good and bad bacteria. This can be a huge problem. After all, if you’re looking to starve out the pathogens to help your probiotics prosper, the last thing you want is to feed the bad guys. That’s why it’s crucial to choose a prebiotic that is intelligently designed to fuel ONLY the beneficial microbes.
Frequently Asked Questions About Sleep and Gut Health
Can your gut affect your sleep?
Yes. Beneficial gut bacteria help your body produce sleep-related chemicals like GABA, melatonin, and serotonin. When the microbiome falls out of balance, production of those compounds can drop, which is linked with poorer sleep.
What chemicals do gut bacteria make that support sleep?
Probiotic gut bacteria help produce GABA, which supports relaxation, melatonin, which helps regulate the sleep cycle, and serotonin, the feel-good chemical tied to more restful sleep.
What throws the gut microbiome out of balance?
Common culprits include chronic stress, a high-sugar diet, antibiotics, and processed foods. Once pathogens take the majority, the gut often needs extra support to rebalance.
How can probiotics support better sleep?
Clinically studied spore probiotics reach the gut alive and help beneficial bacteria grow, support healthy production of sleep compounds, and keep pathogens in check. Pairing them with targeted prebiotics can amplify that support.
Are sleeping pills a good long-term fix?
This article notes that sleeping pills carry many side effects and can leave some people feeling worse. Supporting a balanced gut microbiome is presented as a gentler way to encourage your body’s own sleep chemistry. Talk with your healthcare provider about what is right for you.
Realize A Well-Rested You With Just Thrive
A healthy gut microbiome supports restful sleep… and you can encourage your widest, most well-rested smile with Just Thrive Probiotic and Just Thrive Precision PREbiotic.
Just Thrive Probiotic contains four clinically studied spore probiotics that work together to help a diverse population of beneficial bacteria flourish in your gut microbiome.
Just Thrive Precision PREbiotic preferentially nourishes the probiotic bacteria in your gut microbiome, encouraging them to grow and thrive.
Set the stage for a good night’s sleep by adding Just Thrive Probiotic and Just Thrive Precision PREbiotic to your daily routine.
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