Recent research shows that Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis could relapse due to sleep disturbances, as reported by Bel Marra Health.

The study looked at the impact of sleep disturbance in both Crohn’s disease patients and ulcerative colitis patients. At the beginning of the study over one thousand participants had inactive Crohn’s disease. The participants who reported sleep disruptions ended up with double the rate of disease relapse six months later, compared with people who reported having normal sleep.

The sleep cycle is called the “circadian clock” or “internal clock”. It is located inside the brain. The brain secretes a hormone called melatonin at nighttime, which helps regulate that clock. Bodily functions, such as digestion help influence it. During the sleep cycle, digestion slows and although researchers are still investigating details about digestion, they do know that digestive problems like Crohn’s disease have some link to sleep disturbance, likely due to digestive changes.

View the full story at www.belmarrahealth.com