The interplay between sleep and gut microbiota

Sleep is a universal physiological need in all species and is essential for the maintenance and recovery of various physiological functions of the body. In late years, the gut microbiota (GM), a vast and extraordinarily complex ecosystem located in human gastrointestinal tract that oversees an array of critical bodily functions, has become a popular focus among researchers. Accumulated evidences in this field have revealed that it exerts important roles in the regulation of some biological characteristics, especially metabolic, immunological and neurobehavioral functions. With the increasing comprehension of brain-gut axis, a bidirectional communication channel linking the brain and gut, the roles of GM in sleep are paid much attention to. Evidences have shown that the GM is essential for the maintenance of normal sleep physiology. In turn, it has also been demonstrated that the abnormal sleep patterns and duration affect the composition, diversity and function of the GM through the brain-gut-microbiota axis (BGMA). Present contributions have described several underlying factors that could be involved in the BGMA in sleep, such as the immune system, the vagus nerve, the neuroendocrine system, and bacterial metabolites. Furthermore, several interventions targeting the GM have been proved to be beneficial for amelioration of sleep problems. On this basis, in this review, we aim to explore the interaction between sleep and GM, and elucidate the therapeutic microbiota manipulations with potential promoting effects on sleep quality.