The world suffered one of the most significant pandemics in human history and made us realize the importance of immunity. Building immunity is not a complex issue. A simple consistency such as sleeping can help. Sleep plays a vital role in building physique, mental health, and immune system too. Boosting immunity can help to fight against diseases and viruses of many different kinds. In short, sleep is an effective natural immunity booster.
We've known how vital sleep is when it comes to the immune system for centuries, but every new generation forgets that. For example, when we have a cold or fever, a hot bowl of soup with crackers and sleep can help quick recovery. Why? Because sleep boosts the immune system and resting helps to get better quickly. Doctors ask to rest when an injury happens because sleeping helps body cells to concentrate on healing.
Sleep Science has been doing a lot of research lately and has continuously found the interconnection between sleep and the immune system. Nobody can argue that sleep is not an integral part of staying healthy. Thus, everyone needs to know why sleep is the best medicine.
How the Immune System Operates
Before getting into a deep discussion about sleep and its connection with immunity, let's know the working of the immune system so you can understand the role of sleep in boosting the immune system better. The immune system is a defense mechanism built in the body against all kinds of health threats that can cause illness. The preparatory works of the immune system are:
Identifying germs, diseases and removing them from the body before they cause any harm. The removal includes viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites too.
Spotting and neutralizing harmful substances trying to enter the body from outside.
Combatting significant changes in the body. For example, cancer cells.
The immune system activates itself when it finds unrecognizable toxins or antigens in the body. When these life-depleting toxins enter the body, a response is triggered where the immune system starts producing antibodies or cells that can fight the invaders. Once these antibodies are developed, the immune system keeps a record and uses it again when the body runs into a similar problem. That's why we only suffer from chickenpox only once in life.
Sleep and Immune System
You only suffer from chickenpox once in life, but you sleep a lot while recovering. Sleep is very crucial to maintain a healthy and robust immune system. Sleeping helps the immune system to run smoothly and keep track of all incoming toxins in the body. Let's just say that the immune system is your body's football coach and sleep is the halftime break for rejuvenating.
Coaches make significant adjustments in the halftime so the team can perform better after understanding the opponent. Similarly, after understanding the antigen and its effects, the immune system activates its full force when we're sleeping as the body is at a halt and not working. The counterattack is also launched, so the threat is stopped before causing more damage to the body.
If you don't sleep enough, the body won't implement the best plan against incoming toxins. When the assessment is not proper, developing antibodies will also become problematic, causing damage to the body. Below are some prime examples of how sleeping boosts the immune system.
- Improves T cell production
Sleep helps the immune system improve T cells' production by making them faster and more stable. T cells are a variety of white blood cells, which play a crucial role in improving the response rate of the immune system against health threats. The activation of T cells guides the body on how to handle invaders. They counterattack, protect the body, and destroy cells carrying threats. T cells work at their best when the body is resting, in short sleeping. A recent Sleep Science study showed that people who slept better at night had high T cells activation percentages. On the other hand, people who didn't sleep well consistently had a lower T cell activation rate. Sleep deprivation halts the production of T cells, making it difficult for the body to fight against harmful outsiders.
- Quality sleep fights cold
If you're suffering from a cold, the first recommendation from your mom or doctor would be to sleep. If you're thinking about the connection, a lot of research backs this concept of sleeping to get rid of cold. Sleeping is considered to be the best prevention and cure for a cold.
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco found that poor sleeping habit is the primary factor causing cold and sickness. There were more than 160 participants in this UCSF study to track their sleep schedule for a week. After a week, they were all shifted to a hotel, given nasal drops, and exposed to cold.
Out of all the participants, who slept well, at least for 7 hours, had low to no chances of getting sleep. However, those who slept for less than 6-7 hours had increased chances of catching a cold and getting sick.
The research professional concluded that sleep is the primary factor in deciding who gets sick, catches a cold, has stress levels, and ages. The results reveal how crucial it is for every individual to sleep better and longer.
How to Use the Healing Power of Sleep?
We already know vitality for the immune system to stay strong. We also know how crucial sleep is to keep the immune system healthy and running smoothly. Thus, it's essential to get enough sleep every night so the body can rejuvenate with all the information.
However, it's hard to get a good night's sleep, and there's no arguing in the matter. There are methods and techniques you can try to sleep well ad nights consistently. Adults need to rest for at least 7.5 hours to keep their body cells healthy and immune systems intact.
One of the most offhand ways to get the required amount of sleep is resting on a mattress that's perfect for your body. There are many mattresses in every mattress store. However, most of them do not fit your sleeping habits. It would help if you had a calculated answer for that. This is where Mancini's Sleepworld can help you. Their new SleepMatch technology takes inputs and pairs them against thousands of parameters to find the perfect mattress for you. Call today to book an appointment at the nearest SleepMatch available Mancini's Sleepworld store.