Gut Microbiome Regulates Sleep

Researchers from the University of Missouri and MU Health Care have discovered that the gut microbiome plays a crucial role in sleep regulation—specifically in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) related disruptions. The study, published in Experimental Neurology, shows how transplanted bacteria from mice suffering from sleep apnea caused changes in recipient mice. 

"By manipulating the gut microbiome, or the byproducts of the gut microbiota, we would be in a position to prevent or at least palliate some of the consequences of sleep apnea," said lead author David Gozal. 

"For example, if we combine continuous positive airway pressure with customized probiotics that change the patient's gut microbiome, we might be able to eliminate some of the tiredness and fatigue and reduce the likelihood of the comorbidities associated with OSA that affect cognition, memory, cardiovascular disease or metabolic dysfunction. If we can do any one of those things, then this is a major movement forward in the way we treat OSA."

The team exposed mice to either room air or intermittent hypoxia—designed to mimic OSA. After six weeks, the researchers collected fecal material to examine. A third group of mice was divided up and given either a fecal transplant from the mice breathing room air or those exposed to intermittent hypoxia. Then, transplanted mice underwent sleep recordings for three consecutive days. 

They found that mice who received transplants from the intermittent hypoxia group slept longer and slept more often during their normal period of wakefulness, suggesting increased sleepiness. "The fecal microbiome analysis showed profile differences between the mice transplanted from intermittent hypoxia donor mice versus those exposed to room air, indicating that the transplant altered the GM of the recipient mice," Gozal concluded.