Can Sourdough Bread Help You Sleep Better?

Sleeping is a fundamental human need, but still, a huge portion of the population struggles to get sufficient restful sleep. There are many reasons as to why that is the case, some people knowingly push their bodies to stay awake, while others may suffer with some illness making it difficult for them to sleep. According to the American Psychiatric Association, sleep disorders affect more than 50 million individuals in the United States alone. Those who routinely experience restless nights understand the frustration and impact of it on daily life. As such, the search for natural sleep remedies is a common pursuit. Surprisingly, a simple staple like sourdough bread may offer unexpected benefits for promoting better sleep quality.

The connection between your gut health and sleep quality has been recognized more and more by researchers. According to them, a healthy gut microbiome is a place where the complex community of microorganisms live inside the digestive tract and that plays a crucial role in overall well-being. While it does play a huge role here, you will see how it also plays important roles in other bodily functions such as sleep. This connection has also been called the gut-brain axis, which is the bidirectional communication or in simple language a 2-way communication between your gut and the central nervous system. A 2022 review published in Sleep Medicine Reviews helped us understand this relationship better and showed how disruptions in sleep patterns can negatively impact the gut microbiome, and conversely, imbalances in gut health can contribute to sleep disturbances. Basically, if your gut isn’t happy with your nutritional choices, your sleep is also not going to be restful or good. This research underscores the importance of maintaining a healthy gut for optimal sleep.

Several studies have researched the impact of gut health on sleep quality. A 2019 study published in PLoS One looked into whether diverse gut microbiomes could improve sleep quality for people. The researchers discovered that providing the gut with supportive nutrients had a good influence on sleep health. Sourdough bread stands out from other breads because of its nutrient profile and how it is made. While other breads need commercial yeast, sourdough is made with wild yeast starter, which has to undergo a fermentation process, social media has made this process well recognized as many people make sourdough starters and show the process of fermentation. This fermentation is key to sourdough's gut-friendly properties, as explained by WebMD. Healthcare professionals emphasized the importance of fermentation, explaining that it creates prebiotics, which serve as food for the beneficial bacteria in the gut. These prebiotics found in sourdough can support a healthy gut microbiome, which, as previously discussed, can positively impact sleep. Sourdough bread is also a low-glycemic-index food, as confirmed by a 2021 study in Foods. Low-glycemic foods are digested more slowly, minimizing the burden on the body's sugar processing and potentially improving sleep.

A 2019 study in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine found that college students, who on top of their already time and energy-consuming courses, consumed high amounts of added sugars often had poorer sleep quality. Similarly, a 2019 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that postmenopausal women with high-glycemic index diets had a higher risk of insomnia. While a single slice of sourdough bread won't magically fix sleep problems, it can be a very important addition to a balanced diet. Combined this with other sleep-promoting foods and lifestyle habits and you will see how sourdough bread's gut-friendly and blood sugar-regulating properties may contribute to better sleep.