Eating More Fibre Might Help You Sleep Better By Chris Simms

Diet has long been linked to people's sleep quality

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We already know that our diet affects our sleep. Now, it seems that eating dietary fibre, in particular, might help fix sleep problems. In the past, scientists have found connections between sleep issues and the gut microbiome (the community of bacteria living in our digestive system). However, until now, nobody had identified the exact types of bacteria—and the specific foods those bacteria need to grow—that are constantly linked to how well we sleep. A new review of older studies might help solve this mystery. Zhe Wang and his team at Shandong First Medical University in China looked at 53 previous studies. These studies compared the gut bacteria of people who had sleep problems with those who slept well. In total, the researchers looked at data from 7,497 people with sleep conditions and 9,165 people without them. The researchers discovered that people with sleep conditions had fewer types of bacteria in their guts (this variety is known as "alpha diversity"). In people suffering from insomnia, sleep apnea, or a disorder where they physically act out their dreams, there was an increase in bacteria that cause inflammation, such as Collinsella . At the same time, they had lower amounts of helpful bacteria like Faecalibacterium . These helpful bacteria reduce inflammation and produce a substance called butyrate. Butyrate is a healthy fat that gives energy to our gut cells, makes our stomach lining stronger, and reduces swelling. This shows why dietary fibre is so important. When our bodies break down (or ferment) fibre, the Faecalibacterium bacteria use it to create that healthy butyrate. The researchers also mentioned that looking at a person's unique gut bacteria might help doctors identify specific sleep disorders in the future, making medical treatments much more accurate. Katherine Maki, a researcher at the US National Institutes of Health, says this new study matches her own team's recent research. Her team has also found a similar connection between good sleep and the butyrate-producing Faecalibacterium . Maki explains that when we look at all these discoveries together, it strongly suggests a clear link between our gut bacteria, the chemicals they produce, and our physical sleep patterns. She says scientists now need to do direct experiments to prove exactly how this connection works. Elizabeth Holzhausen, an expert at Michigan State University, agrees that the review shows a clear link between insomnia and a lack of Faecalibacterium . However, she warns that because these studies simply observed people, they cannot prove cause and effect (causality). Holzhausen explains two possibilities. First, having insomnia might make people eat less fibre, which then leads to lower levels of helpful bacteria. The second possibility is the reverse: having fewer helpful bacteria means producing less butyrate, and that lack of butyrate is what causes bad sleep. To find out for sure whether one causes the other, Holzhausen says scientists will need to conduct carefully controlled experiments in the future. Finally, Maki concludes that these results strongly support the idea that our gut bacteria are extremely important for healthy sleep. The findings help us better understand how changes in our stomach bacteria can send signals to the body that affect how well we rest.