One of most underutilized tools to fight infection is sleep. It is generally one of the first things sacrificed when trying to get things done. 40-70 million Americans are sleep deprived, most of them are teens (and I would add moms, based on my observations).
Studies show that lack of sleep increases your risk of getting sick after being exposed to viruses. Lack of sleep also prolongs how long you’re going to be sick.
During sleep, your immune system releases proteins called cytokines. Certain cytokines increase when you have an infection or inflammation, or when you’re under stress.
Sleep deprivation decreases the production of these protective cytokines.
Sleep deprivation reduces infection-fighting antibodies.
Sleep loss not only plays a role in whether we come down with a cold or virus. It also influences how we fight illnesses once we come down with them.
For example, our bodies fight infection with fevers. One of the things that happens when we sleep is that we can get a better fever response. This is why fevers tend to rise at night. But if we are not sleeping, our fever reaction is not primed, so we may not be waging war on infection as best we can.
Summertime is full of fun and activities but your immune system can’t fully work off of sleep from 2am-12pm
Try to keep your kids on a summer sleep schedule as well as yourself to keep the immune system strong and ready to fight off whatever if needs to
This means making sure to get 7-9 hours of sleep each night (adult)
Below is a chart to show exactly how much sleep your child needs by age:
PRO TIP: prevention of colds and viruses with sleep is a much better plan than waiting to be sick and then treating the symptoms
Sleep is FREE
Not getting sick is PRICELESS
Stop treating sleep like an inconvenience
Below are some Healthy Sleep Habits:
In Good Health, Dr. Ana-Maria
