God Bless Micev

Sorry you have to read to the end if you want to find out why….and no skipping the middle bit!

The bidirectional communication between the central nervous system and gut microbiota, referred to as the gut-brain-axis, has been of significant interest in recent years. Our  ‘second brain’, located in our gut, influences our mood and even our well-being. It consists on hundreds of millions of neurons, more than the spinal cord has, and it is embedded in the walls of our gut.

Examples of the bidirectional communication between gut microbiota and the brain are easily understood if you consider that gut bacteria produce 95% of our serotonin levels, the neurochemical which impacts mood, digestion and sleep. An example of your neurotransmitters sending signals to the gut, are the “butterflies” in your stomach when you’re nervous or when you feel nauseous under extreme stress.

It is accepted that Irritable Bowel Syndrome symptoms can be exacerbated by stress and stress impacts on the health of gut microbiota. Research into patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome found higher levels of the “bad” clostridium bacteria were associated with an increased likelihood of sleep problems and fatigue, but this was specific to females only. This suggests that an unbalanced gut may precipitate or perpetuate sleep problems.

Research suggests that the gut microbiota can influence sleep quality and sleep-wake cycles (our circadian rhythm) and circadian rhythms regulate the gut immune response, suggesting an unbalanced gut may precipitate or perpetuate sleep problems. There is growing concern that disruptions to our circadian timing of sleep leads to a range of health issues, such as obesity, metabolic and inflammatory disease, and mood disorders.

You will have seen the word ‘research’ a fair bit in this blog, that is because studying the gut-brain axis interactions has been relatively recent. Since 2013, the US National Institute of Mental Health has funded several studies to better understand how the gut microbiota (made up of bacteria, fungi, viruses) influences your thoughts and feelings. Research is ongoing into the links between microbiota and depression, anxiety, IBS, CFS, sleep disturbance, and stress.

And that is where the mice come into the story.