3. Sleep
If you have trouble falling asleep, or worse, suffer from insomnia, your solution might be as simple as probiotics. Not only is serotonin prevalent in the gut, melatonin is too. In fact, serotonin is needed to make melatonin—a neurotransmitter, or messenger via the nerve network, that is also known as the sleep regulating hormone. If you add a multi-strain probiotic to your day, you could boost the production of these helpful hormones which could add peaceful sleep to your nights.
4. Stress
Can probiotics even lower your stress levels? It seems so. In a study that followed a group of men who took probiotic capsules each day for one month, researchers noted that the men felt less stress after the 30-day period. This is good news because stress can lead to or worsen headaches, heart disease, depression and even asthma. One possible reason probiotics can help reduce stress is they lower the hormone corticosterone. A decrease in this stress-induced hormone reduces anxiety…as well as depression-related behavior. Another study found that students who ate yogurt, pickles and sauerkraut—foods high in probiotics—reported feeling less social anxiety and neuroticism.