Interconnected Developmental Trajectories of the Brain, Gut, and Sleep in Early Life: The First 1000 Days of Nutritional Opportunity

Chaturvedi, Devyani; Snigdha, Shikha; Grandner, Michael A.; Avena, Nicole; Patel, Punam

doi:10.3390/nu18030445

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Interconnected Developmental Trajectories of the Brain, Gut, and Sleep in Early Life: The First 1000 Days of Nutritional Opportunity

by

Devyani Chaturvedi

^1,*

,

Shikha Snigdha

²,

Michael A. Grandner

³

,

Nicole Avena

⁴ and

Punam Patel

²

¹

SmartyPants Vitamins, Unilever Wellbeing Collective, El Segundo, CA 90245, USA

²

Unilever Wellbeing Collective, San Francisco, CA 94102, USA

³

Department of Psychiatry, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85714, USA

⁴

Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Nutrients 2026, 18(3), 445; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18030445

Submission received: 26 November 2025 / Revised: 16 January 2026 / Accepted: 22 January 2026 / Published: 29 January 2026

(This article belongs to the Section Pediatric Nutrition)

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Abstract

The first 1000 days of life, from conception through the second year, represents a uniquely sensitive period for neurodevelopment. During this time, multiple physiological systems undergo rapid and coordinated maturation. Among these, the brain, gut, and sleep system form a tightly interconnected triad, exerting reciprocal influences on each other and playing a pivotal role in shaping lifelong cognitive, emotional, and behavioral trajectories. Disruptions in any one of these domains can reverberate across the others, amplifying developmental vulnerabilities. A key modifiable factor that can modulate this gut–brain–sleep triad is nutrition. In this review, we synthesize current evidence on the interconnected development of the brain, gut, and sleep systems and examine the role of key nutrients in shaping these pathways. We also identify critical gaps in the literature and highlight opportunities for future research to better understand how early-life nutritional interventions can optimize neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Keywords: children; infants; gut; brain; sleep; neurodevelopment; nutrition; HMO; probiotics; DHA

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MDPI and ACS Style

Chaturvedi, D.; Snigdha, S.; Grandner, M.A.; Avena, N.; Patel, P. Interconnected Developmental Trajectories of the Brain, Gut, and Sleep in Early Life: The First 1000 Days of Nutritional Opportunity. Nutrients 2026, 18, 445. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18030445

AMA Style

Chaturvedi D, Snigdha S, Grandner MA, Avena N, Patel P. Interconnected Developmental Trajectories of the Brain, Gut, and Sleep in Early Life: The First 1000 Days of Nutritional Opportunity. Nutrients. 2026; 18(3):445. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18030445

Chicago/Turabian Style

Chaturvedi, Devyani, Shikha Snigdha, Michael A. Grandner, Nicole Avena, and Punam Patel. 2026. "Interconnected Developmental Trajectories of the Brain, Gut, and Sleep in Early Life: The First 1000 Days of Nutritional Opportunity" Nutrients 18, no. 3: 445. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18030445

APA Style

Chaturvedi, D., Snigdha, S., Grandner, M. A., Avena, N., & Patel, P. (2026). Interconnected Developmental Trajectories of the Brain, Gut, and Sleep in Early Life: The First 1000 Days of Nutritional Opportunity. Nutrients, 18(3), 445. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18030445

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Interconnected Developmental Trajectories of the Brain, Gut, and Sleep in Early Life: The First 1000 Days of Nutritional Opportunity

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