Gut microbiota aids in sleep and improves health!

As Christmas approaches and winter descends, the significant temperature fluctuations between day and night not only send shivers down our spines but also heighten the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

Taking precautions when venturing outdoors, especially keeping your head warm, can significantly mitigate issues like abnormal blood vessel constriction and sudden blood pressure surges caused by abrupt temperature changes. This, in turn, protects your cardiovascular system from damage and rupture due to the body's stress response to cold, thereby preventing the onset of these diseases.

The dangers of winter cold to individuals with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular conditions are temporary and preventable with slight attention. However, there's a daily behavior that people often overlook, yet it profoundly impacts the health of those with these conditions – and that is sleep!

Numerous studies indicate that good sleep quality reduces the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, while insufficient or poor sleep can lead to elevated blood pressure and abnormal heart rhythms. Maintaining good sleep quality is therefore crucial for lowering the risk or improving the current state of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases!

Gut Microbiota and Sleep

The gut-brain axis engages in bidirectional communication through immune modulation, neuroendocrine pathways, and the vagus nerve. When the gut microbiota is imbalanced and harmful bacteria proliferate, various neurotoxins and metabolites enter the brain via the vagus nerve. This impacts brain function, stress responses, and sleep.

A study published in Frontiers in Psychiatry revealed that gut microbiota not only influences the host's digestion, metabolism, and immune function but also regulates the host's sleep and mental state through the microbiota-gut-brain axis.

Gut microbiota can produce metabolites of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), a natural compound that acts as the safest sedative for the human brain, possessing natural sleep-inducing, anti-anxiety, and anti-depressant effects.

Gut microbiota can promote the gut's production of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which regulate sleep and can improve sleep disorders.

Furthermore, many gut bacteria produce short-chain fatty acids, particularly butyrate, which eventually form butyrates in the body, promoting sleep.

Microbial Clocks Influence Our Body Clocks

Every organ and cell in our body has its own biological clock, and the microbial communities within our gut are also under circadian rhythm control.

Staying up late and experiencing sleep disturbances can disrupt the composition and health of gut microbiota. Every time we stay up late, trillions of gut bacteria are forced into overdrive, breaking their natural rhythms. This can lead to the overgrowth of harmful bacteria and damage the intestinal lining.

Diet, Microbiota, Circadian Rhythms, and Sleep Disorders

We often hear that a healthy diet, lifestyle, and reasonable eating habits contribute to mental and physical well-being.

It's understandable that spicy foods, stimulants, and adverse food reactions (intolerances and allergies) affect sleep. However, why are skipping meals, eating too quickly or too much, irregular meal timing, and poor food quality also considered dietary causes of sleep disorders?

Fundamentally, dietary intake is linked to gut microbiota composition, as the food we consume is the primary substrate for microbial growth. Changes in our diet can reshape our gut microbiota within days.

Disruptions in feeding rhythms and circadian rhythms can lead to time-specific alterations in gut bacteria, ultimately resulting in gut dysbiosis. An imbalanced gut microbiota can, in turn, affect sleep quality through the gut-brain axis.

Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis F1-7 enhances serotonin and its receptor protein expression.

N: Normal group, M: Model group, P: Model + positive drug group,

 KGM+F1-7: Model + F1-7 + low oligosaccharide group

The tryptophan levels in the model group were higher than in the normal group, with a significant difference (p<0.05);

After intervention with the KGM+F1-7 composition, the tryptophan levels in constipated mice significantly decreased, comparable to the normal group.

The serotonin levels in the model group were lower than in the normal group, with a significant difference between the model group and the normal group (p<0.05);

Serotonin, specifically 5-HT, stimulates local enteric neural reflexes, initiating intestinal secretion and propulsive motility.

5-HT4 GPCR is a receptor protein that senses serotonin.

After gavage administration of the KGM+F1-7 composition, the expression of the 5-HT4 GPCR gene significantly increased.

X11 increases intestinal serotonin

Lacticaseibacillus paracasei X11 can significantly enhance the expression of serotonin. The increase in SERT demonstrates an increase in intracellular serotonin and its successful physiological effect.

Lacticaseibacillus paracasei X11 restores intestinal microbiota diversity in mice.

Fecal microbiota analysis was performed on mice using 16S rRNA MiSeq sequencing. The results showed that the gut microbiota diversity in the MOD group decreased, and after treatment with Lacticaseibacillus paracasei X11, the gut microbiota diversity was moderately restored.

Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis F1-7 increases short-chain fatty acid concentrations

After administration of the KGM+F1-7 composition, the levels of acetic acid, propionic acid, and butyric acid in constipated mice were significantly increased, confirming that the KGM+F1-7 composition can increase short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentrations.

One-third of our lives are spent sleeping, and each sleep is a "major cleaning" moment for the body. Sleep not only helps various organs metabolize waste products but also affects gut health. The circadian rhythm of gut microbiota, in turn, affects sleep. Cultivating a healthy gut microbiota is a powerful aid to achieving restful sleep.