Sleep is a vital behavior that significantly impacts physical and mental well-being. Chronic sleep restriction (CRS), defined as inadequate sleep, is linked to an increased risk of chronic diseases and brain deficits, such as impaired attention and learning, neuropsychiatric disorders, cardiovascular diseases, and metabolic alterations. Interestingly, sleep restriction has been found to disrupt the composition of the gut microbiota by breaking down the intestinal epithelial barrier, leading to immune reactions and inflammation. To investigate the potential role of manipulating the gut microbiota to counteract the effects of sleep restriction, Zheng and colleagues studied the impact of probiotic supplementation on reducing oxidative stress and inflammation induced by CRS in mice.

The authors administered the multi-strain probiotic SLAB51 or vehicle to normal sleeping mice and mice exposed to CRS. Oxidative stress results from an imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) or reactive nitrogen species (RNS) and the antioxidant capacity of the cells. The authors found that seven days of CRS increased the brain levels of well-established DNA, protein, and lipid oxidation markers. In addition, CRS mice had high plasma levels of the gut hormone ghrelin, which has recently been proposed as a systemic oxidative stress sensor. These data suggest that chronic sleep loss can cause oxidative damage to proteins, lipids, and DNA. Sleep loss has also been associated with increased inflammation. The study showed an increase in some pro-inflammatory cytokines in the brain tissues and peripheral blood of CRS mice, significantly reduced in the group supplemented with SLAB51.

Previous studies have shown that the SLAB51 formulation positively affects oxidative stress biomarkers, decreases the concentrations of gut pro-inflammatory bacteria, and promotes the relative abundance of those with anti-inflammatory properties, thus regulating inflammatory pathways. In the present study, SLAB51 increased cellular antioxidant capacity and contrasted the rise of central and peripheral inflammation and oxidative stress levels associated with sleep loss.