Children who go to bed early have a richer gut microbiome and better sleep efficiency, paving the way for potential interventions that leverage the gut-brain connection to improve sleep quality and overall health. Study: Characteristics of gut flora in children who go to bed early versus late . Image Credit: Africa Studio / Shutterstock In a recent study published in the journal Scientific Reports , researchers investigated the gut microbial composition and metabolite expression of 88 healthy children to evaluate the role of sleep timings and routines on gut health and associated outcomes.
Multi-omics sequencing of participants’ fecal samples revealed that the gut microbial composition (beta diversity; P = 0.045) varied significantly between early (before 9:30 pm) and late sleepers. Specific species such as Akkermansia muciniphila (P = 0.
00024), Alistipes finegoldii (P = 0.028), and Holdemania filiformis (P = 0.0077) were notably more abundant in early sleepers.
Alpha diversity indices (Simpson’s index, P = 0.0011; Shannon’s index, P = 0.0013) validated these findings and demonstrated a significantly higher diversity and abundance of beneficial gut microbiota in early sleepers compared to their late-sleeping counterparts.
Together, these findings support and highlight the importance of the ‘early to bed...
’ refrain in children (and potentially adolescents), emphasizing the beneficial impacts of good and regular sleep habits. It may further form the basis for future .