Gut check, day 2: Go to bed an hour earlier

The bacteria in your gut benefit from a good night's rest as much as you do.

DAY 2 OF 10 Get more sleep Here's yet another reason to hit the pillow early tonight: How long and how well you sleep can affect the balance of microbes in your gut and the performance of your digestive tract. You kindly host more than a trillion microbial cells. Those little guys benefit from a good night's rest, too. While a night or two of insomnia isn't catastrophic for your microbiome, long-term sleep deprivation may have lasting effects, including chronic inflammation and altered composition and abundance of gut flora (2, 3, 4, 5). Getting enough sleep is vital for keeping your gut healthy, and it also helps lower stress (6, 7). Sleeping out of sync with your personal body clock may also affect gut bacteria (8, 9, 10, 11).  How well you sleep matters, too. One study found that better sleep quality was associated with higher proportions of a bacteria strain that may help balance blood sugar levels and support general intestinal health (12, 13, 14). Plus, your bacteria may reward you with better rest. Another study found that microbiota diversity may promote healthy sleep (15).  Many adults need 6 to 9 hours of sleep (16). Tonight, get into bed an hour earlier than you normally do. Your gut will thank you. Sweet dreams, The Healthline Team Further Reading 8 Surprising Things That Harm Your Gut Bacteria READ ON 10 Healthy Sleep Hygiene Habits READ ON Heart Attacks in AM, Fever in PM: How Your Body Clock Works READ ON How to Calculate When You Should Go to Sleep READ ON

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