Rest, Digestion, and Healing: The Parasympathetic Focus to Wellness
Sleep, Immune Support, and Gut Health. How are these all related? I think about all of these things together any time someone asks me about one of these topics. It’s kind of like the question of what came first, the chicken or the egg.
All of these things tie together as parts of the parasympathetic nervous system which is responsible for resting, digesting, and healing. If your sleep is disrupted, you feel worn out and tired all day which can lead to a weakened immune state and cause anxiety which will now disrupt your digestion. If your digestion is poor, this will lead to leaky gut and inflammation that will cause poor immune health and lead to sleep disturbances (waking up with heartburn, difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, etc.). If your immune system is depleted (likely because 70-80 percent of your immune cells are in your gut) you likely have poor digestion and poor sleep.
Which happens first? Wherever you first notice the issue of sleep disturbance, poor immune health, or poor digestion, I like to start the return to optimal function in the gut. Cutting out difficult to digest and absorb foods like highly processed packaged foods and adding in foods that are easy to digest like soups and bone broth give the gut a chance to rest and begin the healing process. Drinking herbal teas (peppermint can help to lessen gas, bloating, and indigestion while licorice (glycyrrhiza) can support better digestion while boosting the immune system) and using herbal tinctures can support the healing process. A combination of aloe vera juice and silver with a good probiotic will support the healing of the gut while supporting the biodiversity of the gut microbiome.
When you improve the digestion and health of the gut you will notice an improvement in both sleep quality and your immune health.