Ever wondered why your child never sleeps? Lets look inside...

The Link Between Sleep & Our Microbiome

If your child is struggling with frequent night wakings, difficulty falling asleep, or ongoing night terrors and you feel like you’ve tried everything to help them sleep soundly, you might be missing a key piece of the puzzle; the gut microbiome.
The human gut microbiome is a complex system made up of billions of bacteria. Many of these bacteria produce important chemicals that support quality sleep in children.

The gut and brain are constantly “talking” to each other through what’s called the gut-brain axis. Healthy gut bacteria help make chemicals like serotonin, which is a building block for melatonin, the hormone that helps us fall and stay asleep. If your child’s gut bacteria are out of balance, the body may not produce enough of these sleep-supporting chemicals, making it harder for your child to get the rest they need.

When the gut is imbalanced, it can also lead to inflammation in the body, which may interfere with the brain’s natural sleep-wake cycle. This internal clock needs to stay in sync to help your child feel sleepy at night and alert in the morning. Study.

So, how do we rebalance our child’s gut microbiome for restful nights?
Studies demonstrate that prebiotic fibre supplementation positively regulates the circadian clock through the production of short-chain fatty acids. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11279861/ Short-chain fatty acids have the ability to increase tryptophan production, thereby increasing serotonin synthesis. Serotonin is essential for sleep onset and maintenance in children. BB Kids Repair contains prebiotic fibres such as green banana powder, pectin and slippery elm to help produce short-chain fatty acids within the gut to help optimise sleep.

Studies also show that bacteria within the Lactobacilli and Bifidobacterium species help to secrete GABA, a neurotransmitter known for its role in positively influencing healthy sleep cycles due to its calming effect on the brain. Study. BB Kids Repair contains Bifidobacterium breve, Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus rhamnosus to help produce the neurotransmitter GABA within the brain for optimal sleep.
Further research demonstrates the link between poor sleep quality and changes in the gut microbiome, including increased levels of LPS (lipopolysaccharides) and dysbiosis. The inflammation caused by LPS and the presence of dysbiosis in the gut can lead to inflammation and affect brain function and cognitive processes, resulting in poor sleep quality.

Study.
It is essential to remove bad bacteria causing dysbiosis within the gut to prevent further inflammation from impacting sleep quality. This is where BB Kids Eliminate comes in. With ingredients like echinacea, pomegranate, and turmeric to help remove bad bacteria from the gut, the gut can begin to rebalance, helping to improve sleep quality.

To conclude, our complex gut microbiome is an essential factor to consider when understanding a child’s sleep issues. BB Kids Repair and BB Kids Eliminate are science-based products designed to help your child get the sleep they need by supporting gut health and restoring balance from the inside out.