Scientists have pinpointed why millions of people struggle to get a good night’s sleep—and it’s not lumpy pillows or a racing mind, the problem lies in their GUT.
In a new study, published in medical journal General Psychiatry, researchers explored the link between nodding off and the presence of certain types of bacteria in the digestive system.
Study lead Shangyun Shi, from Nanjing Medical University in China, concluded that there appears to be a direct link between gut bacteria and the risk of insomnia.
Ms Shi used the data from 386,533 people with insomnia and compared it with data taken from two studies into microbiomes—totalling 26,548 people—who had 71 groups of bacteria in common.
She concluded that certain types of bacteria seem to boost or lower the risk of insomnia, and the sleep disorder itself also seems to alter the presence of certain types of bacteria.
The analysis revealed a total of 14 groups of bacteria were positively associated (1-4 per cent higher odds), and 8 groups negatively associated (1-3 per cent lower odds), with insomnia.
Insomnia was also noted to have an effect on gut microbiome.
It was linked to a reduction of 43 per cent to 79 per cent of seven groups of bacteria, and a more than four-fold increase in the abundance of 12 other groups.
Future treatments for insomnia could include ways to manage levels of gut bacteria (file photo)
One group in particular, the odoribacter class of bacteria which is also linked to was associated with insomnia.
High levels of odoribacter are linked with good gut help and lower levels of inflammation in the body, while lower levels have been observed in people living with diagnoses of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Ms Shi said her study further cemented the link between ‘the effects of insomnia on gut microbiota, and vice versa’, adding that they have a complex two-way relationship.
Future treatments for insomnia could therefore include ways to manage levels of gut bacteria, including the use of probiotics, prebiotics, or faecal microbiota transplantation.
However, Ms Shi noted that the study was not without limitations which needed further exploration.
Firstly, all the study participants were of European descent.
This is important to note as the make-up of the microbiome varies among different ethnicities and geographies.
Furthermore, lifestyle factors such as diet and lifestyle weren’t accounted for.
These are known to have an effect the microbiome, and the interplay between genes and the environment,
The NHS estimates that around a third of Britons experience insomnia, with a similar figure in the US.
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