Visceral: Episode 16
When Sleep and IBD Collide
The GI Research Foundation produced this podcast with a sponsorship from Metro Infusion Center.
In this episode, Dr. Levine, a current fellow with The University of Chicago Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Fellowship training program, shares her 2025 GI Research Foundation Young Investigator Awards study on the reciprocal relationship between sleep and inflammation in IBD. We talk about why poor sleep is so common in people with IBD and how it can worsen disease activity—even when symptoms seem under control. Dr. Levine explains how her team is using metabolomics to uncover biomarkers that link sleep and inflammation, and why mindfulness-based approaches like yoga nidra and gut-directed hypnotherapy could be game-changers. It’s a fascinating look at how improving sleep might become a safe, non-drug strategy to help manage IBD.
Visceral: Listen to Your Gut is a podcast series from the GI Research Foundation: a deep dive into the latest research updates and treatment options for specific digestive diseases. Episodes are presented by physician-scientists and experts at the University of Chicago and feature compelling patient stories.
Stay tuned for more episodes on topics like risk and prevention of GI cancer, hepatology and liver disease, the microbiome and gut health, surgical treatments for ulcerative colitis, and the diet, nutrition, and gut health.
The GI Research Foundation produces this episode with a sponsorship from Metro Infusion Center.
Metro Infusion Centers, with over 220 infusion centers nationwide, providing trusted and lifesaving therapies to patients for over 30 years in a comfortable and cost-effective environment.
