- The Sound Sleeper
What does sleep have to do with immunity?
Sleep deprivation has an adverse effect on immune function, and chronic sleep loss can increase your vulnerability to infectious diseases.
What does poor sleep do to my immune system?
Reduces infection-fighting proteins and hormones, hindering immune response
During sleep, your body produces and releases infection-fighting hormones and proteins, which help create an immune response to target infection. Without sleep, you produce fewer of these proteins and you don’t give your body enough time to properly respond to an infection once present, essentially hindering your own body’s ability to fight infection.
Increases stress hormones levels, which can suppress your immune response
A high influx of stress hormones decreases your body’s white blood cell count, which is crucial for fighting off infection, and long-term sleep loss increases inflammation, putting more stress on your immune system.
Sick people that are sleep deprived feel worse
While sleep alone cannot prevent you from getting sick, a sleep deprived person is more likely to struggle with illness and experience harsher symptoms and a longer recovery time. Getting high quality sleep each night will help ensure you are better prepared to fight off infection and bounce back quicker from any illness that does arise.
How can I help my immune system right now?
First and foremost: ALWAYS practice smart hygiene
Wash your hands regularly, avoid close contact with sick people, stay home if you’re feeling unwell, and see a doctor for proper medical attention.
Practice mindfulness to reduce stress, and aim for 7-9 hours of sleep each night
When sickness is going around it’s hard to stay calm, but it’s even more important now than ever. Take 5-10 minutes each day to stop and practice deep breathing prior to climbing into bed 7-9 hours before you need to wake up the next day.
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