Insomnia and Poor Gut Health

Insomnia and Poor Gut Health

Are you just fed up with lying awake and feel like you've tried everything and still no luck?

There's nothing like the frustration of lying in bed, not able to fall asleep or stay asleep. It’s bad when it happens once in a while. But when it happens on a regular basis, it’s called insomnia.

There are many reasons why people struggle with sleep. Some of these include:

  • Stress
  • Lifestyle
  • Pain
  • Medical conditions

While these reasons are familiar, there's another cause of insomnia that few people understand.

Besides using good sleep aids to help, you might need to look at your gut health in order to get a good night’s sleep.

What is gut health?

It has to do with the bacteria that live in your gut. Together they're known as your microbiome. They communicate with your brain through a nerve called the 'vagus nerve' that has a lot to do with your ability to fall asleep. Here’s how:

  • Your gut microbes lower cortisol, a stress hormone that can keeps you awake. When your microbiome is healthy it produces Gamma Aminobutyric Acid (GABA), which calms you down and helps you sleep. 
  • A healthy gut produces more serotonin, which is the happy chemical. It regulates your mood and fights depression.
  • When your gut health is good, your body makes more tryptophan. Tryptophan stimulates the production of melatonin, the hormone that makes you feel sleepy. Tryptophan also converts into serotonin. 
  • The bacteria in your gut has its own daily rhythms. When it's healthy, it stays in sync with your body. But when your microbiome is unhealthy or stressed, it can affect many things in your daily schedule, including when you are hungry and whether you can fall asleep.
  • Pain is one of the most common causes of insomnia. When you have an unhealthy gut, it causes pain from your bowels, which can keep you awake. Too much bad bacteria in the gut can also make the pain of fibromyalgia worse.

By improving your guts health, you can boost your chances of going back to getting a good night’s sleep.

4 Steps to Improve Gut Health & Reduce Your Insomnia:

1. Add probiotics to your diet. Probiotics are loaded with good microbes. You can find them in yoghurt, kefir, and fermented foods like kimchee.

2. Feed the healthy bacteria in your gut with prebiotics. Apples, asparagus, berries, flax seed, honey, and avocados are all good sources of prebiotics.

3. Avoid things that will hurt your microbiome and kill good gut bacteria. These include antibiotics (in food and medicine), processed foods, and stress.

4. Exercise has been shown to boost the level of healthy bacteria in people’s gut. It also helps you fall asleep faster and keeps you from waking up in the middle of the night.

Try this easy smoothie recipe to take in more pre and probiotics. It delivers both in a single, delicious drink.

Pre/Pro Smoothie:

1/2 banana
1 cup frozen organic mixed berries
2 tbsp ground flax seed
2 tbsp Greek yoghurt
8 ounces of coconut water or unsweetened almond milk

Simply blend together and enjoy!

RELATED ARTICLES

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published