The Sourdough School

BALM – Proven as one of the healthiest approaches to bread in the world.

Based in the walled gardens of Dr. Vanessa Kimbell's beautiful Victorian home in rural Northamptonshire, UK, we tutor individuals and train bakers and healthcare professionals in Baking as Lifestyle Medicine (BALM). Personalising bread to your lifestyle, gut microbiome, and unique genetics for optimal health—tailoring fermentation, fibre, and diversity so that your daily bread becomes the foundation of your health.

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652 - ‘Gut microbiome diversity is associated with sleep physiology in humans’. PLoS ONE. 14(10): e0222394

Reference Number: 652

Year: 2019

Authors: Robert P. Smith, Cole Easson, Sarah M. Lyle, et. al.

Link: Link to original paper

Health: Lifestyle / Sleep

Summary

Abstract

The human gut microbiome can influence health through the brain-gut-microbiome axis. Growing evidence suggests that the gut microbiome can influence sleep quality. Previous studies that have examined sleep deprivation and the human gut microbiome have yielded conflicting results. A recent study found that sleep deprivation leads to changes in gut microbiome composition while a different study found that sleep deprivation does not lead to changes in gut microbiome. Accordingly, the relationship between sleep physiology and the gut microbiome remains unclear. To address this uncertainty, we used actigraphy to quantify sleep measures coupled with gut microbiome sampling to determine how the gut microbiome correlates with various measures of sleep physiology. We measured immune system biomarkers and carried out a neurobehavioral assessment as these variables might modify the relationship between sleep and gut microbiome composition. We found that total microbiome diversity was positively correlated with increased sleep efficiency and total sleep time, and was negatively correlated with wake after sleep onset. We found positive correlations between total microbiome diversity and interleukin-6, a cytokine previously noted for its effects on sleep. Analysis of microbiome composition revealed that within phyla richness of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes were positively correlated with sleep efficiency, interleukin6 concentrations and abstract thinking. Finally, we found that several taxa (Lachnospiraceae, Corynebacterium, and Blautia) were negatively correlated with sleep measures. Our findings initiate linkages between gut microbiome composition, sleep physiology, the immune system and cognition. They may lead to mechanisms to improve sleep through the manipulation of the gut microbiome.

Summary

In summary, our results show a novel association between sleep health and gut microbiome diversity. Moreover, we found that IL-6 is an important player in the sleep-gut microbiome relationship. Finally, we identified several specific phyla and taxa that are related to sleep health, which holds the promise for improved sleep via manipulation of the gut microbiome.

Significance of this study to the baker

The results of the current study show a positive correlation between gut microbiome diversity and richness and quality of sleep, identifying certain phyla and taxa related to sleep health. In other words, higher gut microbiome diversity resulted in significantly improved sleep quality. Furthermore, the abundance of specific bacterial phyla such as Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria were shown to influence sleep quality by producing g-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a neurotransmitter involved in the synthesis of melatonin.

The Bread that we make at the Sourdough School is called Diversity Bread ™ and all the breads created as Baking As Lifestyle Medicine incorporate the Diversity Score into the bread formulas. 

 

Take a look at our courses at The Sourdough School

All reasonable care is taken when advising about health aspects of bread, but the information that we share is not intended to take the place of treatment by a qualified medical practitioner. You must seek professional advice if you are in any doubt about any medical condition. Any application of the ideas and information contained on this website is at the reader's sole discretion and risk.

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