You need more sleep. Better sleep.
In fact, you need 7 to 8 hours – in a row – every night. And your kids need even more.
When you don’t get enough good sleep, you’re at risk for a bunch of health problems. That’s because your body and brain use this downtime for “housekeeping” activities, like repairs and maintenance (healing), and taking out the trash (clearing out toxins).
Without that cleanup time, your body gets overstressed… and so does your gut.
That last part is critical because – weird as it sounds – your gut microbiome (the trillions of bacteria that live in your gut) controls how well and whether you’ll get a good night’s sleep tonight.
Quick Answer: Good sleep starts in your gut. Insomnia is very common, affecting an estimated 77% of adults, and it comes in two forms: acute (a few days, usually from a life stressor) and chronic (disrupted sleep at least three nights a week for three or more months). Your gut microbiome helps produce the compounds that regulate sleep, including melatonin, serotonin, and GABA, so when harmful bacteria take over (a state called dysbiosis), sleep often suffers. Supporting a balanced gut microbiome with high-quality spore probiotics is one natural way to encourage the deeper, more consistent sleep your body needs to repair and recharge.
How Common Is Insomnia?
Insomnia is extremely common. Research shows 77% of adults, and 89% of women, struggle with it, and about 33% of adults have chronic insomnia, many without realizing it.
Who’s Not Sleeping?
If you’re having trouble sleeping, you’ve got a lot of company.
Research shows that…
- 77% of adults, including 89% of women, struggle with insomnia
- 33% of adults have chronic insomnia (but 27% of them didn’t know it!)
- 7% of kids in high school (grades 9-12) don’t get enough sleep
And that’s just the tip of the insomnia iceberg. Because it only includes people officially diagnosed with insomnia…those numbers are probably low.
What Are the Types and Symptoms of Insomnia?
There are two types: acute insomnia, which lasts a few days and clears on its own, and chronic insomnia, which means disrupted sleep at least three nights a week for three or more months. Symptoms range from taking a long time to fall asleep to waking repeatedly or far too early.
What Counts as Insomnia?
There are two kinds of insomnia: acute and chronic.
Acute insomnia strikes from time to time, usually because of something going on in your life. It lasts for a few days, maybe a week, and then disappears on its own.
Chronic insomnia involves having disrupted sleep at least three nights a week for at least three months. That’s a lot of lost sleep – and it puts you at risk for a whole host of health issues. Plus, that much sleep deprivation makes you more likely to get in a car crash.
| Feature | Acute insomnia | Chronic insomnia |
|---|---|---|
| How long it lasts | A few days up to about a week | At least 3 nights a week for 3+ months |
| Typical trigger | A specific life event or stressor | Often linked to other health issues, including gut imbalance |
| How it resolves | Usually clears on its own | Best addressed by treating the underlying cause |
Insomnia symptoms include things like:
- lying in bed for a very long time before falling asleep (that’s called sleep onset latency)
- staying awake for most of the night
- sleeping for only short periods (like two hours at a time)
- waking up throughout the night
- waking up much earlier than you need to
- feeling like you didn’t get any sleep at all
What Are the Health Effects of Insomnia?
Beyond feeling tired and foggy, chronic insomnia is linked to serious conditions including high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and depression, and it raises the risk of car crashes.
What Happens When You Don’t Sleep?
You know how you feel when you don’t get enough sleep: draggy, irritable, foggy, fatigued.
But those aren’t the only negative effects of dealing with insomnia – especially when it lasts for a long time.
It turns out that chronic insomnia is almost always linked with other, very serious health conditions. Studies show that people struggling with insomnia are more likely to suffer from:
- high blood pressure (hypertension)
- coronary heart disease
- heart failure
- type 2 diabetes
- obesity
- depression
So, getting back to a healthy sleep schedule will do more than make you feel less tired and cranky – it will also improve your overall health.
How do you fix your sleep issues? Start by fixing your gut.
How Does Your Gut Affect Your Sleep?
Your gut microbiome helps make the compounds that regulate sleep, including melatonin, serotonin, and GABA. A balanced gut supports better sleep, while a gut overrun by pathogens is associated with insomnia.
Healthy Gut, Healthy Sleep
Strange, but true: A good night’s sleep starts in your gut.
Your gut microbiome contains trillions of bacteria, but they all fall into two main groups:
- probiotics – good bacteria that keep you strong and healthy
- pathogens – bad bacteria that weaken you and make you sick
In a healthy, well-balanced gut, probiotics outnumber pathogens. And you need a thriving population of probiotics in your gut in order to sleep well at night. In fact, a new groundbreaking study found that people with insomnia have very different gut microbiomes, filled with more pathogens, than people who get enough sleep.
That’s because a balanced microbiome full of many different types of beneficial bacteria supports better sleep. Those probiotics produce all kinds of important sleep-well compounds, including:
- Melatonin, the sleep hormone – your gut microbiome produces a hefty supply of melatonin, acting as a sort of “Plan B” when your pineal gland (the primary melatonin producer) is running low
- Serotonin, the “feel-good” brain chemical – beneficial gut bacteria produce 90% of the serotonin your body uses, and serotonin helps you sleep more soundly
- GABA, the “calm-down” brain chemical – your gut microbiome produces GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), and GABA lets your brain and body relax enough to fall asleep
Your body counts on the probiotics in your gut to create these natural ‘sleep aids.’ But when bad bacteria take over your microbiome, they shut down production… and produce some anti-sleep compounds of their own.
Probiotics (beneficial gut bacteria) help you sleep well.
Pathogens (bad gut bacteria) keep you up at night.
Can Gut Problems Cause Insomnia?
Yes. When harmful bacteria outnumber good ones (dysbiosis), the gut makes fewer sleep-supporting compounds and more inflammatory toxins, which can disrupt your sleep-wake cycle and worsen insomnia.
Gut Problems Lead to Sleep Problems
When bad bacteria outnumber good bacteria in your gut microbiome – a condition called dysbiosis – they set off a whole bunch of sleep obstacles, causing insomnia.
For one thing, your body can’t produce enough of those sleep-better chemicals like GABA and melatonin. And that’s just the beginning.
When your gut is in dysbiosis, those pathogens produce an overwhelming number of toxic substances. Toxins called lipopolysaccharides, or LPS toxins, are the worst of the bunch. LPS toxins attack the protective lining of your gut, allowing food particles, pathogens and toxins to escape into your blood stream – a condition known as toxic streaming.
Toxic streaming triggers all sorts of immune system responses, but especially inflammation. Because of that, toxic streaming can:
- interfere with your body’s sleep-wake cycle
- affect hormone production (including melatonin, the sleep hormone)
- increase stress levels.
And all of those make your insomnia worse… and threaten your shot at a good night’s sleep.
Frequently Asked Questions About Insomnia and Gut Health
How common is insomnia?
Very common. Research suggests 77% of adults, and 89% of women, struggle with insomnia, and roughly a third of adults have chronic insomnia.
What is the difference between acute and chronic insomnia?
Acute insomnia lasts a few days and usually clears on its own. Chronic insomnia means disrupted sleep at least three nights a week for three or more months.
Can your gut affect your sleep?
Yes. Your gut microbiome produces sleep-regulating compounds like melatonin, serotonin, and GABA, and studies have found people with insomnia tend to have less balanced gut microbiomes.
How do probiotics help with sleep?
By supporting a balanced gut microbiome, spore probiotics help maintain the production of sleep-supporting compounds and reduce the imbalance that can interfere with sleep.
What are the health effects of chronic insomnia?
Chronic insomnia is linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and depression, and it increases the risk of accidents, so it is worth addressing.
To get your sleep back on track, fight toxic streaming, and stop insomnia from keeping you up all night, you need a well-balanced gut. And the best way to conquer dysbiosis is with high-quality spore probiotics.
So, if you’d like to fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up feeling refreshed and rested, add Just Thrive Probiotic to your daily routine. Just Thrive contains a unique blend of four clinically proven spore probiotics. This combination has been shown to defeat toxic streaming – a key enemy of a good night’s sleep.
Try Just Thrive Probiotic today… for a well-balanced gut and a well-rested morning.
