Tiny Probiotics Produce Big Sleep Benefits
More and more people seem to be having more and more trouble getting a good night’s sleep. There seem to be more insomniacs than people who sleep well. Help may come from an unlikely place.
There are lots of herbs that help you sleep. New research is pointing to something more surprising: probiotics can help you sleep.
That realization is becoming less surprising, though, with the growing research on the microbiota-gut-brain axis: the discovery that the microbiota in your gut are in direct communication with the cognitive and emotional centers of your brain. And that might mean better sleep.
To find out, researchers gave 70 people either a placebo or 4 billion viable cells of probiotics a day for 6 weeks in a double-blind study. They evaluated sleep on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).
Global PSQI score, time to fall asleep and sleep disturbances all improved significantly on the probiotics. There was no significant change in hours asleep or number of times awake.
This new study joins a growing body of research pointing to probiotics for insomnia. A recent meta-analysis of 14 studies found that probiotics significantly improve sleep quality as measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (Eur J Clin Nutr 2020;74:1536-49). An even more recent meta-analysis of 6 studies of a strain of probiotic called Lactobacillus gasseri found that it improved global sleep and sleep quality in people who are stressed (Clin Nutr. 2023 Aug;42(8):1314-1321).
Benef Microbes. 2024 Jan 31:1-16.
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For much more on treating sleep problems naturally, see our book The Family Naturopathic Encyclopedia.
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