Mechanisms by which microbial metabolites influence sleep architecture

Determine the mechanisms by which specific metabolites produced by the gut microbiota influence sleep architecture, identifying the pathways and processes through the gut–microbiota–brain axis that link these metabolites to alterations in non-rapid eye movement sleep and rapid eye movement sleep patterns.

Background

This review synthesizes evidence on how the gut microbiota modulates sleep via neural, endocrine, and immune pathways and highlights key microbial metabolites (such as short-chain fatty acids, tryptophan derivatives, and GABA-related compounds) implicated in sleep regulation. While multiple associations are reported between microbial composition/metabolites and sleep outcomes, the causal and mechanistic links remain incompletely characterized.

The authors explicitly note a knowledge gap regarding the mechanisms by which specific microbial metabolites affect sleep architecture. Resolving this would underpin the development of targeted microbiota-based therapies for sleep disorders and provide a mechanistic foundation for interventions such as probiotics, fecal microbiota transplantation, and chrononutrition.