Gut Health and Immunity – Part 5

Have you lost sleep over the past several weeks? A lot of people have – with all the uncertainty in the world with coronavirus concerns and everything related to it, it definitely can take a toll!

Today’s email topic has sleep tips for you – all tied in with something else that plays a big role in your health.

It’s your gut … surprise, surprise, and it has a complicated relationship with the quality of your sleep.

(Quick catch-up: Your gut is home to trillions of bacteria. Keeping the population of your “microbiome” in balance helps support your health & wellness, from your mood and brain to your heart and digestion!)

Sleep is a two-way street when it comes to gut health.

What happens in your microbiome affects your sleep … but also, the quality and quantity of sleep you get affects your gut!

Scientists are learning more about this all the time, but one big reason your gut impacts your sleep quality has to do with your HORMONES.

So many of your hormones are either produced in your gut or the result of other things that happen there …

• and that includes melatonin, a hormone that plays a big role in your sleep-wake cycle!

• Plus, two of your main “feel-good” hormones – serotonin and dopamine – are also involved with your gut!

So … if your microbiome is out of balance because of a poor diet, antibiotics (which can kill good bacteria), or stress, it can affect your sleep.

And likewise, if you’re not sleeping enough or are tossing and turning all night because of stress or a hectic schedule, it can lower the number of your good bacteria.

This is all the more reason to make sure you actually SCHEDULE enough time each night for sleep.

Burning the candle at both ends by cutting back on sleep can mean your gut health takes a hit!

I for one am personally guilty of this!  I am a night howl… and getting this non-negotiable for leading a healthy and happy life is my biggest wellness challenges!

If falling asleep is a struggle for you, it can be helpful to create an evening routine you do every night. This will help you wind down and RELAX before bed – and signal your body it’s time to go to sleep.

I use the sleep APP on my Smart Phone to send me a reminder of when it’s time to start winding down whatever I am doing and start moving towards my bedtime routine.

Do you see how everything we do is all interconnected? Diet, sleep, exercise … it ALL plays a role. It’s pretty amazing if you stop to think about it.

So: definitely make a plan to improve your sleep if that’s a problem for you – exercise, don’t eat too much before bed, create that evening routine, etc.

Sleep tight!