Habitual tea drinking may reduce the effects of chronic insomnia, study finds

Long-term consumption could improve gut health and lower the risk of developing diseases caused by the sleep disorder, researchers say

They tracked the sleeping patterns of over 1,800 people in the Chinese city of Guangzhou for six years, along with diet and other factors

Reading Time:2 minutes

The study found that habitual tea drinking may potentially balance the gut flora and bile acids from the liver. Photo: Shutterstock Images

Published: 12:00pm, 4 Jun 2022

You may have heard that drinking too much tea too close to bedtime can disrupt your sleep, but according to a new study, long-term tea consumption may also reduce the health impact of chronic insomnia.

In the study published in peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications on Monday, researchers from Westlake University in China found that habitual tea drinking was linked to a lower risk of disorders related to the gut flora – the tiny organisms that live in our digestive tracts – and bile acids from the liver.

Imbalances in gut microbes and bile acids are closely related to cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs), a group of illnesses that includes type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Studies have found chronic insomnia affects about 10 to 20 per cent of adults worldwide. Photo: Shutterstock Images

“Chronic insomnia could potentially cause metabolic disorders of gut microbes and bile acids,” said Zheng Ju-Sheng, who led the study.

“Drinking tea might be one of the ways to regulate [these metabolic disorders].”

Chronic insomnia, a long-term pattern of difficulty sleeping, is a common disorder affecting around 10 to 20 per cent of adults worldwide, according to studies. Symptoms include difficulty falling asleep, waking up frequently, tiredness and mood swings.

Over six years, the research team tracked the sleeping patterns of 1,809 participants living in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, as well as their dietary intake and other factors.

They found both that chronic insomnia had a strong relationship with specific gut microbes and bile acids, and that these gut microbes and bile acids were associated with CMDs.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x