A relatively new frontier of medicine is the exploration of the gut microbiome and its relationship to our body's functioning, health, and susceptibility to disease. The gut-brain axis represents a relatively strong relationship between the gut microbiome and our body's ability to function properly, and it has been proposed that this relationship influences sleep and risk for insomnia. In this episode we will:Define the gut microbiomeExplore the beginnings of its suspected role in neurological functioning and sleepList the three proposed pathways by which the gut microbiome interacts with the nervous systemEvaluate the role that the gut microbiome plays in terms of regulating our circadian rhythm via gene expression of the gut biome's own circadian patternsDiscuss metabolic linkages between the gut microbiome and why disruption can increase the chances of metabolic syndromeLook ahead toward gut biome-based therapies for insomniaProduced by: Maeve WinterMore Twitter: @drchriswinter IG: @drchriwinter Threads: @drchriswinter Bluesky: @drchriswinter The Sleep Solution and The Rested Child Thanks for listening and sleep well!