When the gut disturbs your sleep
Why digestion and sleep quality are connected
Many people struggle with sleep problems, yet one important factor is often overlooked: the gut. Our digestion plays a central role for general well-being – and that applies to the night as well. If you sleep badly, you should therefore pay attention not only to your sleep hygiene, but also to how your own gut is working.
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1. Eating late – a strain on the gut
A common mistake: the evening meal is eaten too late and is too rich. The result? The gut is still busy digesting while the body should actually already be switching into rest mode. Food that is particularly hard to digest or high in fat prolongs this process and can disturb sleep. Anyone who goes to bed with heartburn or bloating often sleeps restlessly or wakes up more frequently during the night.
Tip: Ideally the last large meal should be at least three hours before going to bed. If you still feel hungry in the evening, it is better not to eat anything more and to drink a warm cup of tea instead. This supports digestion, relaxes the body and helps the gut to keep to its night-time rest phase.
2. Histamine – an underestimated sleep thief
For people with a histamine intolerance (histaminosis) food can have a direct influence on sleep. Histamine is one of the body’s own messenger substances and stimulates, among other things, the nervous system – but an excess can cause restlessness, palpitations and indeed sleep problems as well.
Many foods naturally contain histamine or release it in the body, among them:
- Matured cheese, cured meats and fermented foods
- Tomatoes, spinach, aubergines
- Alcohol (in particular red wine)
- Fish products and seafood
People with a histamine intolerance should avoid these foods in the evening in order to make a quiet night possible.
3. Snacking after the evening meal – an unnecessary burden on the gut
Whether a piece of chocolate or a small midnight snack – many people treat themselves to something sweet after the evening meal. But even if the stomach may already be almost empty, every snack means one thing for the gut: work!
After eating, the body starts a cleaning phase in the gut (migrating motor complex, MMC), which lasts several hours and helps the gut to clean itself. Anyone who keeps eating in between interrupts this process. That can not only lead to digestive problems, but also have a negative effect on sleep.
Tip: After the evening meal really do not eat anything more – and allow the gut its well-earned break.
4. Gut bacteria and the production of sleep hormones
A healthy gut also influences the production of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and melatonin – both important substances for restful sleep. An imbalance in the gut flora can mean that too little of these “sleep hormones” is formed.
Factors that have a negative effect on the gut flora:
- A one-sided diet high in sugar
- Frequent use of antibiotics
- Constant stress and poor eating habits
Tip: A gut-friendly diet with plenty of fibre, fermented foods (as far as they are tolerated in terms of histamine) and prebiotics can help to stabilise the gut flora – and in this way improve sleep as well.
Sources: Liangfeng Liu, Guanwen He, Rong Yu, Bingbang Lin, Liangqing Lin, Rifu Wei, Zhongshou Zhu, Yangbin Xu: Causal relationships between gut microbiome and obstructive sleep apnea: A bi-directional Mendelian randomization Provisionally accepted; in: Frontiers in Microbiology (published 25.07.2024), frontiersin.org. Schoch, J.L. Castro-Mejia, L. Krych, B. Leng, W. Kot, M. Kohler, R. Huber, G. Rogler, L. Biedermann, J.C. Walser, D. Nielsen, S. Kurth: From Alpha Diversity to Zzz: Interactions among sleep, the brain, and gut microbiota in the first year of life; in: Progress in Neurobiology, (published: 16.12.2021), sciencedirect.com
5. Stress, gut and sleep – a vicious circle
Gut and brain are in constant exchange through the gut-brain axis. Persistent stress can impair digestion, intensify complaints such as bloating or abdominal pain and in this way disturb the night’s rest. Conversely, a lack of sleep encourages a dysbiosis, that is an imbalance of the gut flora, which in turn causes digestive problems and makes sleep even worse – a cycle that reinforces itself.
Tip: Relaxation techniques such as meditation or breathing exercises can not only lower the stress level, but also help the gut to work better.
Sources: (1) Martin CR, Osadchiy V, Kalani A, Mayer EA (2018). The Brain-Gut-Microbiome Axis. Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology Volume 6, Issue 2, 2018, Pages 133-148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcmgh.2018.04.003 (2) Smith RP, Easson C, Lyle SM, Kapoor R, Donnelly CP, Davidson EJ, Parikh E, Lopez JV, Tartar JL (2019). Gut microbiome diversity is associated with sleep physiology in humans. PLoS ONE 14(10): e0222394. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222394 (3) Takada M, Nishida K, Gondo Y, Kikuchi-Hayakawa H, Ishikawa H, Suda K, Kawai M, Hoshi R, Kuwano Y, Miyazaki K, Rokutan K (2017). Beneficial effects of Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota on academic stress-induced sleep disturbance in healthy adults: a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial. Benef Microbes 8:153-162. https://doi.org/10.3920/BM2016.0150 (4) Matenchuk BA, Mandhane PJ, Kozyrskyj AL (2020). Sleep, circadian rhythm, and gut microbiota. Sleep Medicine Reviews 53 (2020) 101340. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2020.101340 (5) Deaver JA, Eum SY, Toborek M (2018). Circadian Disruption Changes Gut Microbiome Taxa and Functional Gene Composition. Front Microbiol 9, 737 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.00737 (6) Parkar SG, Kalsbeek A, Cheeseman JF (2019). Potential Role for the Gut Microbiota in Modulating Host Circadian Rhythms and Metabolic Health. Microorganisms 7(2):41. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms7020041
Conclusion: a calm gut – a restful night
Anyone who suffers from sleep problems should also take a look at their gut. Late meals, foods rich in histamine, constant snacking and a disturbed gut flora can noticeably affect sleep. With a few simple adjustments to diet and lifestyle a great deal can often be improved already – for a quieter night and more well-being during the day.
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