Gut Health and Sleep: What’s the Connection?

Can’t Sleep? The Real Culprit Might Be Hiding in Your Gut – read on to learn more about gut health and sleep.

Tossing and turning at night? Waking up at 3 a.m. for no good reason? You’re far from alone. But what if I told you the answer to your sleep struggles isn’t just in your head — it’s in your gut?

It might sound surprising, but science is uncovering powerful links between your gut health and the quality of your sleep. In fact, your gut and brain are in constant conversation — and when your gut’s not happy, your sleep suffers.

Let’s explore how your gut microbiome could be sabotaging your rest, who’s most at risk, and what you can do to turn things around.

🧠 How Your Gut Shapes Your Sleep

Your gut microbiome — the trillions of bacteria living in your digestive tract — doesn’t just influence digestion. It also plays a key role in regulating your circadian rhythm, sleep hormones, and your overall ability to fall and stay asleep.

Here’s how:

• Alters your circadian rhythm (your internal body clock)

• Influences melatonin and serotonin, which are crucial for sleep

• Impacts your sleep-wake cycle and how much time you actually spend in restful sleep

In short: a rich and diverse gut microbiome is linked with better, deeper, more restorative sleep.

🌀 Serotonin: The Gut-Sleep Connection

Serotonin is often called the “feel-good hormone,” but did you know it also regulates your sleep cycle? Around 90% of your serotonin is made in the gut, and your gut bacteria directly influence how much of it your body produces.

When gut health is out of balance — for example, after a course of antibiotics — serotonin levels often drop, and sleep quality goes with it. In mouse studies, a disrupted gut microbiome meant lower serotonin and significantly worse sleep.

😴 Poor Sleep? Your Gut Feels It Too

This relationship goes both ways. Just as gut health affects sleep, lack of sleep damages your gut — quickly.

Even a few nights of disrupted sleep can:

• Reduce microbial diversity

• Encourage harmful bacteria to thrive

• Trigger bloating and digestive issues

Your gut bacteria are highly responsive to your sleep patterns. In fact, night waking and sleep deprivation seem to encourage the growth of less desirable bacteria — the kind that cause gas, inflammation, and more.

If you’re worried about your gut health, I’d highly recommend downloading my online course The Ultimate Gut Health Programme to help support your digestive system, whilst avoiding triggering symptoms.

It’d be impossible to include all you need to know in one blog, but the programme will have all you need to know to ensure you’re soothing your digestive system, whilst eating delicious and filling foods.

🥦 What to Eat to Help Sleep and Heal Your Gut

If you’re struggling with sleep and suspect your gut might be playing a role, start by nourishing your microbiome.

Probiotic-rich fermented foods:

• Live, natural yogurt (no sugar, no flavourings)

• Kefir (dairy or non-dairy)

• Sauerkraut

• Miso

• Tempeh

🗣️ Want Personalised Support?

Gut health and sleep are deeply connected — but everyone’s story is unique. If you’d like to explore your symptoms, and how I might be able to help, I offer a FREE 30-minute consultation to chat through your health concerns and next steps.  Link to book below.