Author: Dr. Dacelin St. Martin, MD, FAAP
A restorative night’s sleep is a great way to keep nasty germs at bay. Your immune system relies on you getting around 7 hours’ sleep a night on a consistent basis to operate effectively.
A busy schedule of work, kids, plus more work, with a mix of daily stressors from the media, can sabotage your sleep and your well-being all at the same time. Mom is right – you need your beauty sleep, but your body can benefit from quality sleep in other ways too. That’s because sleep gives your body the time it needs to rest and recover.
Ever wonder why you’re tired when you’re sick? It’s no coincidence – you body craves that rest to heal itself. Now, we’re going to have a short science lesson to explain why sleep is important to maintain immunity from pathogens, like viruses.
Time for Immunology 101
The T cells in your body detect and combat infected cells, destroying them. What’s key is a sticky protein called integrin, which helps the T cell stick to the viral invader, killing it.
Numerous studies indicate that those of us who have a consistent sleep pattern have higher levels of this protein activated within our cells.
If the functioning of your T cells is not up to par, your body will have a harder time warding off disease. Better yet, your body remembers these invading pathogens, fighting them off in the future if you’re exposed to them a second time.
Sleep: The Foundation of Health
If you consistently have less than 5 hours’ sleep each night, you’re setting yourself up for a host of chronic conditions, like diabetes, heart disease and obesity. The good part is that you can make healthy choices to help your body get the restorative rest that it needs.
Try keeping stress in check by limiting time on social media or watching the news. Alternately, make the most of your time by catching up on reading; playing games with your kids; or finally get around to those tasks that are perpetually on your procrastination list, like bathing the dog.
A positive mindset during the day will make it easier for you to sleep at night.
