Psychobiotics are microbes that lift your mood. Psychiatry needs them now. This article will show you how to boost your psychobiotic potential.
Psychobiotic Revolution
Mood, Food, and the New Science of the Gut-Brain Connection
Psychobiotics are microbes that lift your mood. Psychiatry needs them now. This article will show you how to boost your psychobiotic potential.
My significant other suffers from constant worry and anxiety. Played out as “what if” scenarios in her head that keep her up at night even when she’s tired. It can take her several hours to fall asleep. She constantly wakes up tired. I would say she is usually on edge throughout the day. She can also easily take a long “nap” if she layed down at anytime most days of the week. She is not depressed. She does(did) have IBS though. I got her to start eating yogurt and taking a probiotic advertised as a psychobiotic to help mood and anxiety. (It helped me tremendously). It hasn’t helped her mood so much (which may be related to other things, continue reading) but the last 4 weeks her IBS has dissipated with only one day of it returning. She tries to sleep for at least 7-9 hours a night starting about 930-1030pm but that rarely happens because she can’t fall asleep because of her thoughts. Or she may wake up in the middle of night for an extended time not being able to sleep. On nights she does get to sleep for a long time she says she is “completely exhausted.”
Over the last 4 weeks we have changed our diet a lot. Eating practically no processed foods or sugars. Except 1 cheat meal on the weekend. Our meals consist mostly of veggies, fruit, chicken, turkey or fish and a multivitamin. Her eating time window is from 8am-7pm. Her go to craving was pastas and breads before out diet change. But the bread/pasta as far as I see is now a minuscule portion of her diet now (i.e. a few croutons). Only eating in a larger quantity at one cheat meal a week (i.e. sandwich, pasta) or one cheat breakfast (i.e. pancake)
To help her mood/worry and sleep. I tried convincing her to get more daylight during the day and to limit light exposure at night and to have a schedule. (She already does very well) I also asked her to exercise or at the very least take a 30 min walk outside most days of the week. Her job is active as she works with animals in an animal hospital so she does get exercise lifting and walking animals.
I just started looking up articles to help her mind go to ease but I am unsure if she will take them with a smile or be rough about it like when I asked her to get more light and more exercise (in kinder words). Most of her resistance came from “I can’t do it.” or “I’m too tired.” or “it wont work.” or “I tried.” She was upset I offered something she couldn’t do. She never asked for help and I don’t want to push it on her. But she was open about talking about her worry keeping her up at night and her IBS making her feel nasty(so far cured). However I must say she WAS happy about the IBS being gone. So her ears are more open to me now as I try to help her sleep. So I’ll see how and if I can have her receive anymore help with open arms.
What are your thoughts? How can she overcome these worries and what if scenarios that will allow her to sleep at night? Can her diet improve somehow? How can she get to sleep and feel rested? She does take melatonin on occasion.
Thanks for any insight.
(Loved the Psychobiotic Revolution book by the way)
I’m so sorry to hear about your SO’s sleeping troubles. If she has tried to improve her diet by adding fiber and reducing sugar, she’s doing what has helped many others. You might find some help in this article for Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mood-microbe/201906/problems-sleeping-look-your-gut. I can hear the care in your voice, and you are a champ for reaching out. If possible, she seems like a good candidate for a sleep specialist. Keep us posted on her progress, and we can all learn together!
Thank you Mr. Scott Anderson. I will send her your well written article. And I will be sure to keep anyone listening here posted.
Separately, thanks to you and the other contributors, the research, and and thanks to all the wonderful documentation describing gut health, circadian rhythms, sunlight, TRE, and exercise. It has made an extensive impact on my life to help return me to a stable life I use to know. Ridding myself of anxiety I had recently developed from the stresses in life.