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Cited by 67Probiotics and Fermented FoodsGut microbiota and healthGastrointestinal motility and disorders

Improvements in sleep indices during exam stress due to consumption of a Bifidobacterium longum

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Moloney, Gerard M., Long-Smith, Caitriona M., Murphy, Amy, Dorland, Danielle, Hojabri, Sara Firuzeh, Ramirez, Loreto Olavarría, Marin, David Campos, Bastiaanssen, Thomaz F.S. +8 more·2021·Brain, Behavior, & Immunity - Health
DOI 10.1016/j.bbih.2020.100174PMC PMC8474585
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Abstract

Targeting the gut microbiome as an effective therapeutic strategy for psychological disorders has shown promise in recent years. Variation in the composition of the microbiota and restoration of a stable microbiome using targeted interventions (psychobiotics) including Bifidobacteria have shown promise in pre-clinical studies, but more human data is required on the potential health benefits of these live microorganisms. Bifidobacterium including Bif. longum 1714 has been shown to dampen the effects of acute stress in humans. However, its effects over a period of prolonged stress have not been examined. A randomised, placebo-controlled, repeated measures, cross-over intervention study was conducted to examine the effects of a probiotic intervention on measures of stress, cognitive performance, and mood in healthy human volunteers. Twenty male students participated in this crossover study. Post-intervention assessments took place during the university exam period, which was used as a naturalistic chronic stressor. Self-reported measures of stress, depression, sleep quality, physical activity, gastrointestinal symptoms, cognition, and mood were assessed by questionnaire. In addition, tests from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) were administered to all participants. Stress and depression scores increased in both placebo and probiotic treated groups during the exam period. While overall sleep quality and duration of sleep improved significantly in the probiotic treated group during exam stress compared with the placebo treated group, B. longum 1714, similar to placebo treatment, showed no efficacy in improving measures of working memory, visual memory, sustained attention or perception. Overall, while B. longum 1714 shows promise in improving sleep quality and duration, it did not alleviate symptoms of chronic stress, depression, or any measure of cognitive assessment. Thus, further mechanistic studies into the ability of B. longum 1714 to modulate sleep during prolonged periods of stress are now warranted.

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  • Several studies in healthy or low-symptom populations reported limited effects on primary stress or anxiety outcomes, although selective benefits were observed in alertness.

    “several studies in healthy or low-symptom populations (Moloney et al., 2021; Mäkelä et al., 2023) reported limited effects on primary stress or anxiety outcomes, although selective benefits were observed in alertness”

    From Psychobiotics in mental health: insights from human clinical trials via the gut-brain axis (2026) · cites this paper as Moloney et al., 2021

    The Discussion describes participants as healthy with low baseline anxiety and depression, and the Results state that B. longum did not reduce the primary outcome of chronic exam stress. The paper reports benefits for sleep parameters, not alertness; the Discussion also says it did not improve cognitive performance. Thus the alertness benefit is not supported by this source. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Authors
Moloney, G. M., Long-Smith, C. M., Murphy, A., Dorland, D., Hojabri, S. F., Ramirez, L. O., Marin, D. C., Bastiaanssen, T. F. S., Cusack, A.-M., Berding, K., Fouhy, F., Allen, A. P., Stanton, C., Clarke, G., Dinan, T. G., & Cryan, J. F.
Affiliations
  • University College Cork (IE)
  • Teagasc - The Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority (IE)
Corresponding author
Cryan, John F.
ORCID
Venue
Brain, Behavior, & Immunity - Health
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2021-01
Volume
10
Pages
100174
ISSN
2666-3546 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.bbih.2020.100174
PMC
PMC8474585
OpenAlex
W3105686112
Cited by
67
References
49
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 2 · 2017: 1
FWCI
4.22
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Brain Behavior & Immunity - Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • T-Stór (Teagasc) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
Funders
  • Science Foundation Ireland
  • Seventh Framework Programme
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Probiotics and Fermented Foods
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Gastroenterology › Gastrointestinal motility and disorders
Keywords
probiotics, psychobiotics, exam stress, chronic stress, sleep quality, sleep duration, depression, cognitive performance, working memory, sustained attention, mood, gut microbiota, university students

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