Sleep Deprivation Alters Gut Microbiome Diversity and Taxonomy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Human and Rodent Studies.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Systematic review and meta-analysis of human and rodent experimental studies
PubMed 40562421 · doi:10.1111/jsr.70125
What was done
Authors conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of literature published before February 28, 2024, assessing the effects of sleep deprivation on the gut microbiome. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) were calculated overall and within rodent and human subgroups across 20 included studies (4 human, 5 rat, 8 mouse, and 3 combined human and rodent).
What was found
Sleep deprivation significantly reduced alpha diversity (Shannon and Simpson indices) and increased the Firmicutes-to-Bacteroidetes ratio. In rodents, the Shannon index was significantly lower (SMD = -1.27, 95% CI: -2.20 to -0.34) and the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio was significantly higher (SMD = 2.60, 95% CI: 1.61 to 3.59). Human findings showed non-significant trends. Across taxonomic levels, reductions occurred in Actinobacteria, Tenericutes, Lactobacillaceae, Erysipelotrichaceae, A2, Lactobacillus, and Ruminococcus_1, while Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Ruminococcaceae, and Lachnospiraceae increased (no specific numbers reported for individual taxa).
Why it matters
This meta-analysis demonstrates that sleep loss causes quantifiable gut dysbiosis in preclinical models. However, it underscores that evidence in humans remains too weak and variable to confirm translational equivalence.
Limits
Most data come from rodents (16 rodent-focused datasets vs. 7 human datasets), and the human studies were underpowered to detect significant effects. The abstract omits exact effect estimates for individual bacterial taxa and does not report total individual participant counts.
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