Prebiotics: a tool to fight stress-induced sleep and diurnal rhythm disruptions?

Life is filled with challenges, some of which we would choose to avoid if possible. Challenges that lack solutions or are unavoidable are stressors that harm the mind and body. Sleep is a behavior vulnerable to stress-induced disruption, and it is well established that disturbed sleep contributes to the negative effects of stress on mental health. Therefore, there is a need to develop interventions that bolster our capacity to endure the challenges of stressor exposure. The gut microbiota and gut-to-brain microbial signaling are emerging players in stress biology research, contributing to both stress resistance and vulnerability. Evidence from preclinical work by Thompson and Fleshner [1-4] indicates that the gut microbial composition can be optimized by providing dietary nutrients that support microbial genera associated with a stress-robust phenotype. Furthermore, protecting sleep and diurnal rhythms may be key to these beneficial effects. Using animal models to disturb sleep and diurnal rhythms, this presentation will show that diets enriched with galactooligosaccharide (GOS) and polydextrose (PDX) reliably increase beneficial bacterial genera and species, reduce sleep disruptions, and facilitate sleep recovery.

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Thompson, R. S., . . . Fleshner, M. (2021). Ruminiclostridium 5, P. distasonis, bile acid profile are modulated by prebiotic diet and associate with facilitated sleep/clock realignment … Brain Behav Immun.

Thompson, R. S. . . Fleshner, M. (2024). Prebiotic Diet .. Produces dynamic and reproducible changes in the gut microbial ecosystem.. Nutrients.

Thompson, R. S. . . Fleshner, M. (2025). Nutrients.