Caffeine-Induced Sleep Restriction Alters the Gut Microbiome and Fecal Metabolic Profiles in Mice

Abstract

Insufficient sleep is becoming increasingly common and contributes to many health issues. To combat sleepiness, caffeine is consumed daily worldwide. Thus, caffeine consumption and sleep restriction often occur in succession. The gut microbiome can be rapidly affected by either one’s sleep status or caffeine intake, whereas the synergistic effects of a persistent caffeine-induced sleep restriction remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the impact of a chronic caffeine-induced sleep restriction on the gut microbiome and its metabolic profiles in mice. Our results revealed that the proportion of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes was not altered, while the abundance of Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria was significantly decreased. In addition, the content of the lipids was abundant and significantly increased. A pathway analysis of the differential metabolites suggested that numerous metabolic pathways were affected, and the glycerophospholipid metabolism was most significantly altered. Combined analysis revealed that the metabolism was significantly affected by variations in the abundance and function of the intestinal microorganisms and was closely relevant to Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria. In conclusion, a long-term caffeine-induced sleep restriction affected the diversity and composition of the intestinal microbiota in mice, and substantially altered the metabolic profiles of the gut microbiome. This may represent a novel mechanism by which an unhealthy lifestyle such as mistimed coffee breaks lead to or exacerbates disease.

Association between mobile phone addiction, sleep disorder and the gut microbiota: a short-term prospective observational study

“…In support of our findings, Jun Wang et al conducted a study on broiler roosters exposed to different photoperiod regimes and observed higher Actinobacteria abundance in the group with 12.5 h of light exposure compared to the 8-h light group ( Wang et al, 2018 ). Additionally, previous animal studies have reported decreased Actinobacteria abundance in mice subjected to caffeine-induced sleep restriction ( Song et al, 2022 ) or repeated sleep disruption ( Bowers et al, 2020 ). Similar findings have also been reported in small-scale human studies conducted by Bikov et al (2022) and Smith et al (2019) .…”

Coffee and Microbiota: A Narrative Review

“…In several studies, there was a decrease in Proteobacteria [51,52], and an increase in Akkermansia [48].…”

“…Different compounds were administered in the various studies, such as chlorogenic acid [49], caffeic acid supplement [48], coffee bean extract (CBE) [51], and caffeine [40,52], while in other studies, coffee, understood in a generic sense, including decaffeinated [47,50] or coffee and galacto-oligosaccharides [60], was used.…”

“…The murine population involved included both common individuals [48,49,51,60] fed a high-fat diet [47], PSD (paradoxical sleep deprivation) rats [50], and mice with chronic caffeine-induced sleep restriction [52].…”

“…Song et al [52] In mice with chronic caffeine-induced sleep restriction, Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria decreased.…”