Summary: A SLEEP 2025 study finds that long sleep duration in teens and young adults is associated with greater oral microbiome diversity.
Key Takeaways:
- Teens and young adults with long sleep duration had significantly higher oral microbiome diversity.
- Only 3% of participants reported long sleep duration, yet this group showed distinct microbiome patterns.
- The research will be presented at SLEEP 2025 and highlights a new avenue for adolescent sleep health studies.
Oral microbiome diversity is positively associated with long sleep duration among teens and young adults, according to a study to be presented at SLEEP 2025.
Compared to those with a healthy sleep duration, teens and young adults with a long sleep duration (3% of participants) had significantly higher oral microbiome diversity. The study is among the first to demonstrate this connection in adolescents, opening a new avenue of research into how the oral microbiome may be related to sleep health during this crucial developmental period.
“For more than two decades, researchers have hypothesized that the microbiome is largely overlooked as a determinant of health and disease, and growing evidence has shown that disturbances in sleep health can alter the microbiome, particularly within the gut,” says lead author Marie-Rachelle Narcisse, PhD, MSc, FABQAURP, CHCQM, an assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and a research scientist at the E.P. Bradley Hospital COBRE Center for Sleep and Circadian Rhythms in Child and Adolescent Mental Health in Providence, RI, in a release.“I’m thrilled that our study highlights the potential relationship between sleep health and the oral microbiome and look forward to further exploring that connection.”
The study examined a representative sample of 1,332 Americans ages 16-26, using cross-sectional data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The mean age was 20.9 years, and 50.4% were female.
The sleep variables were self-reported sleep hours on weekdays or school/work days categorized as very short, short, healthy, and long sleep according to American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommendations. Five in 10 teenagers (50.6%) reported the recommended hours of sleep (8-10 hours), while six in 10 young adults (61.2%) reported a healthy sleep duration (7-9 hours).
Narcisse noted that the human mouth is one of the most densely colonized microbial habitats in the body, and the oral cavity is an entry point for pathogens that can lead to chronic conditions such as gum inflammation and dental caries. Further research is needed to understand the relationship between sleep health and the oral microbiome.
“Adolescence is a pivotal period marked by biological changes in sleep-wake cycles, yet studies exploring the link between sleep health and the oral microbiome during this stage of life are scarce,” Narcisse says. “Our findings suggest that targeting the oral microbiome to improve adolescent sleep health, or conversely, improving sleep to influence the oral microbiome, holds the promise to offer more accessible, cost-effective intervention strategies than approaches focused solely on the gut.”
This study was supported by a grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. The research abstract was published recently in an online supplement of the journal Sleep and will be presented Tuesday, June 10, during SLEEP 2025 in Seattle.
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