Believe it or not, what’s happening in your belly right now will play a factor in how well you sleep tonight. Why? Because the gut influences our brain, and the brain regulates our sleep.
Previously, it was thought that the gut simply oversaw the digestion of our food. As it turns out, our gut does a whole lot more than digestion. Our gut actually has a profound impact on many neurological functions. In fact, your gut contains so much neural tissue that it has been called ‘the second brain’.
So far, we know that light, food and exercise affect serotonin production in our gut. This reduces our ability to make melatonin, which we all need to catch good-quality zzz’s.
Even stranger, it turns out that the TRILLIONS of bacteria that form your gut microbiome also directly communicate with your nervous system – to the extent that certain microflora can even influence serotonin production.
So your gut bacteria can reduce serotonin levels, which interferes with sleep. The interesting thing is that sleep deprivation also appears to negatively impact your gut bacteria!
Read the whole article here.
Written by Laurentine ten Bosch
