The gut microbiota, which is made up of trillions of microorganisms that live in the gastrointestinal system, is important for digestion, immunological function, and overall health. According to new research, changes in circadian cycles can affect the composition and function of these gut bacteria. According to new research, inconsistent sleep habits are linked to hazardous microorganisms in your gut.
The study, published in The European Journal of Nutrition by researchers from King’s College London and ZOE, the personalised nutrition company, is the first to find multiple associations between social jet lag and diet quality, diet habits, inflammation, and gut microbiome composition in a single cohort.
Working shifts has been found in previous studies to disrupt the biological clock and raise the risk of weight gain, cardiac problems, and diabetes. However, there is less awareness that modest discrepancies in sleeping patterns, such as waking up early with an alarm clock on workdays versus waking up naturally on non-workdays, might impact our biological rhythms.
Sleep is a key pillar of health, and this research is particularly timely given the growing interest in circadian rhythms and the gut microbiome. Even a 90-minute difference in the middle of the night can increase microbiota species that are harmful to your health.
Kate Bermingham
“We know that major disruptions in sleep, such as shift work, can have a profound impact on your health,” said senior author Dr Wendy Hall of King’s College London. This is the first study to indicate that even minor changes in sleep timings over the course of a week appear to be associated to variances in gut bacterial species. Some of these relationships have been connected to dietary changes, but our data also suggests that other, as-yet unknown, factors may be at work. We need intervention trials to see if increasing sleep duration consistency leads to favorable changes in the gut flora and related health consequences.”
The composition of the microbes in your gut (microbiome) may negatively or positively affect your health by producing toxins or beneficial metabolites. Specific species of microbes can correspond to an individual’s risk of long-term health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity. The microbiome is influenced by the food you consume which makes the diversity of your gut adjustable.\
Researchers examined blood, stool, and gut microbiota samples, as well as glucose readings, in those whose sleep was irregular to those who maintained a typical sleep schedule in a cohort of 934 persons from the ZOE PREDICT trial, the biggest continuing nutritional study of its kind. Previous research on the relationship between social jet lag and metabolic risk factors has been done in populations with obesity or diabetes, but this cohort was mostly slim and healthy, with most obtaining more than seven hours of sleep per night during the week.
Researchers found that just a 90-minute difference in the timing of the midpoint of sleep — the halfway point between sleep time and wake-up time — is associated with differences in gut microbiome composition.
Social jet lag was linked to lower overall food quality, higher use of sugar-sweetened beverages, and lower consumption of fruits and nuts, all of which may have an impact on the abundance of certain bacteria in your gut.
Three of the six microbiota species that are more common in the social jet lag group have ‘unfavorable’ health implications. These microorganisms are linked to poor diet quality, obesity and cardiometabolic health indicators, and blood markers linked to increased levels of inflammation and cardiovascular risk.
“Sleep is a key pillar of health, and this research is particularly timely given the growing interest in circadian rhythms and the gut microbiome,” said first author Kate Bermingham, PhD, of King’s College London and senior nutrition scientist at ZOE. Even a 90-minute difference in the middle of the night can increase microbiota species that are harmful to your health.”
Previous study has linked social jetlag to weight gain, chronic illness, and mental tiredness.
