Children who go to bed earlier have richer gut microbiota and sleep more efficiently, paving the way for interventions that may tap into the gut-brain connection to improve sleep quality and overall health. .
Research: Characteristics of the intestinal microbiota of children who go to bed early and children who go to bed late. Image credit: Africa Studio / Shutterstock
In a recent study published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers investigated gut bacterial composition and metabolite expression in 88 healthy children and determined the effects of sleep timing and habits on gut health and related outcomes. evaluated the role of
Multi-omics sequencing of participants’ fecal samples revealed that gut microbial composition (beta diversity; P = 0.045) differed significantly between early sleepers (before 9:30 p.m.) and late sleepers . Certain species, such as Akkermansia muciniphila (P = 0.00024), Alistipes Finegoldii (P = 0.028), and Holdemania filiformis (P = 0.0077), were significantly more abundant in early sleepers. Alpha diversity indices (Simpson index, P = 0.0011; Shannon index, P = 0.0013) validated these findings, indicating that early sleepers had greater diversity and abundance of beneficial gut microbiota compared to late sleepers. was demonstrated to be significantly higher.
Taken together, these findings support and highlight the importance of inhibiting “early bedtime…” in children (and potentially adolescents) and highlight the beneficial impact of good, regular sleep habits. . Additionally, tapping into the previously untapped gut-brain axis may form the basis for future pharmacological interventions for sleep disorders.
background
Sleep, altered states of consciousness, and decreased activity (physical and mental) are essential for both recovery and normal growth and development. Recent research suggests that sleep plays an important role in housekeeping, allowing for the removal of toxic metabolites from the brain, muscle anabolism, and promoting systemic recovery.
In today’s world, where the incidence of chronic diseases is rapidly rising, more and more research is being conducted on the links between sleep (along with other health behaviors such as diet and physical activity) and human health and well-being. I am. Growing evidence suggests that adequate sleep duration and regular sleep habits can significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, neurological distress, obesity, and diabetes. These findings are particularly relevant for children and adolescents, where sleep has been shown to significantly regulate average growth and development.
Despite numerous studies on the effects of sleep (particularly “sleep duration”) on children’s health, the potential effects of sleep on the gut microbiota remain unclear. While most school-age children are known to maintain regular routines during the school day, some children drastically change these routines (particularly the timing of their sleep) on weekends and holidays. This is expected to increase the risk of adverse health effects.
“Studies have demonstrated that having earlier bedtimes and mornings has many benefits for children. These benefits include getting enough sleep and establishing regular routines. These are critical to children’s well-being and educational outcomes. Previous research has focused primarily on observing children’s sleep patterns and implementing interventions to enhance them. However, there is a significant research gap in investigating children’s sleep from a physiological and metabolic perspective.
About research
This study addresses existing knowledge gaps by using next-generation multi-omics sequencing to elucidate the metabolic mechanisms (gut microbial composition and metabolic pathways) associated with different sleep durations and bedtime timing. The purpose is Study data were obtained from 88 healthy children (2–14 years) from Lanzhou City, Gansu Province, northwest China (female n = 44). Children were excluded from the study if: 1. Parents have not successfully completed the author’s course on sleep and dairy maintenance, 2. Have taken antibiotics in the 30 days prior to the start of the study, 3. Are currently suffering from an antibiotic infection. I’m here.
Data collection included child assessment of participants’ birth weight, birth length, daily physical activity time, defecation frequency, food intake frequency, and current height and weight. In addition, psychological evaluations of participants and their guardians were conducted. Biological sample collection included blood and fecal samples for multi-omics procedures.
“Sleep diary monitoring and recording includes: sleep time, how many times you woke up during your sleep, how long did you sleep at night?, sleep efficiency (total sleep time/total time lying in bed) number of dreams), sleep quality score (1 = poor, 5 = fair, 10 = excellent), nap time during the day (minutes), how long did you sleep at night? Total time spent in bed during the night Time and daytime nap time. As a result of the analysis, the early bedtime group had significantly shorter “time to fall asleep” (P = 1e-06), fewer “nighttime awakening events” (P = 0.015), and higher “sleep efficiency”. (P = 9.9e-06). 06) Compared to people who sleep late. ”
Metagenomics sequencing was performed using the DNBSEQ platform, followed by Metaphlan 3.0 software for taxonomic profiling of participant-specific gut microbiota. Functional metabolic pathway profiling was performed using the HUMAnN 3.0 database. Certain pathways, such as aerobic degradation of toluene I (P = 0.025), the super pathway of threonine metabolism (P = 0.027), and the second pathway of L-lysine biosynthesis (P = 0.028), were significantly more significant in early sleepers. It was found to be upregulated. , suggesting a unique metabolic profile that may be associated with improved gut health. Alpha and beta diversity indices were calculated with R software (v4.0.3; vegan and ape packages). Finally, the effect of sleep on gut microbiota abundance profiles was estimated using permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA).
Research results
The study design divided the 88 participants evenly into early-sleeping (going to bed before 9:30 p.m.) and late-sleeping (going to bed after 9:30 pm) cohorts, with equal male and female representation in each. I made it so that Descriptive analysis of covariates (age, gender, daily activities, geographic distribution, and physical activity) revealed no statistical baseline differences between the early and late-sleeping cohorts.
Of note, early-sleeping participants performed significantly better than late-sleeping participants on nearly every sleep quality indicator measured (P-values ranged from 1e-06 to 0.015) . In contrast, sleep duration, number of dreams, and nap duration were statistically indistinguishable between cohorts.
Substantial differences in microbiome species composition and relative abundance were observed between cohorts, with early sleepers showing significantly higher abundances of Bacteroidetes, Verrucomicrobia, and Firmicutes. (P = 0.045). Genus-level alpha and beta diversity was also significantly higher in early sleepers.
“During the analysis of metabolic pathways, we observed a significant increase in various metabolic pathways. These pathways include o-cresol-mediated aerobic degradation of toluene I (P = 0.025); Aerobic degradation of toluene II via 4-methylcatechol (P = 0.025), super pathway of threonine metabolism (P = 0.027), L-lysine biosynthesis (P = 0.028), TCA cycle with incomplete reduction ( P = 0.039), the second pathway of L-ornithine biosynthesis (P = 0.040), and the first step of formaldehyde oxidation (P = 0.041).
conclusion
This study provides the first evidence of a direct relationship between sleep and the gut microbiome, highlighting the importance of early and regular sleep in young children (2-14 years). . Those who went to bed early showed an abundance of beneficial species such as Akkermansia muciniphila and Aristipes fingoldii, as well as increased activity of multiple metabolic pathways that support gut health. Research reveals that people who go to bed early have a more diverse and abundant supply of beneficial gut bacteria, which directly impacts and improves metabolic pathways and overall health. Ta. The connections drawn between sleep patterns and metabolic pathways may further pave the way for future anti-sleep disorder pharmacological interventions.
