Consistent good sleep better prepares your body to fight off unexpected illness, and getting enough sleep improves overall health and well-being. Good Sleep can help protect you from disease. Anxiety is the main cause of disruption of good sleep, not getting enough rest may have negative effects on your health.
Sleep plays a powerful role in supporting a healthy immune system function; in fact, these two things are closely connected. In these stressful times, you may find yourself unable to sleep but to stay healthy, good sleep is required. A lack of sleep can increase the likelihood of infection. Illness can disrupt your sleep further, which in turn slows down your recovery time.
Immune Function and Sleep
During sleep, your body produces proteins called cytokines that fight inflammation and infection. When you are exposed to infections, have chronic diseases or are under stress; your body will make more cytokines to fight these off. If you are not able to sleep, then your body will not be able to produce the required cytokines to fight off infections. For example, by not sleeping you are more likely to catch the common flu.
Even worst, once we are sick we are more likely to not have restful sleep which again will interfere with your body’s ability to make cytokines. Lack of sleep could slow down your immune response and allow illness to progress further. If you are already feeling sick, getting lots of rest may be the best approach to boost your immune system response. The benefits of sleep are both preventive and restorative; experts recommend between seven to nine hours of sleep every night for optimal health.
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Create Better Sleep Habits
Creating good sleep habits involves routines and practices that improve the quality nighttime sleep. Sleep is critical to healthy immune system function, yet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that one-third of Americans don’t get enough sleep every night. For many people, creating better sleep habits can be simple and a way to improve the quality of their sleep.
Certain behaviors affect your sleep patterns, adjust your daytime behaviors to improve sleep later. You can support your sleep and your health just by making positive changes in your daily routine:
TIPS FOR IMPROVING YOUR SLEEP HYGIENE
THESE TIPS ARE PROVIDED BY THE INSTITUTE FOR FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE.
- Maintain a consistent sleep schedule. Go to bed and wake up around the same time every day—even on the weekends.
- Take in more daylight and limit exposure to artificial light. Daylight reinforces the ‘awake’ phase of your body’s sleep cycle, so spending more time outside during the day can make it easier for you to fall asleep at night. If you are inside most of the day, try to sit close to a window or take breaks outside when you can. In the evening, spend less time with electronics. Blue light from back-lit devices like cell phones, computer monitors, and tablets mimics daylights and stimulates alertness. Using electronics before bed tricks your body into thinking it’s still daytime and can make it harder for you to fall asleep. Limit your use of electronics at least one hour before bedtime.
- Stay active. Exercising during the day helps you feel alert and promotes better sleep at night. Strenuous activity at night, however, can make it harder to fall asleep. Give yourself plenty of time between finishing your workout and winding down before bed.
- Avoid caffeine, heavy meals, and alcohol before bed. What you eat and when you eat it could be holding you back from a restful night’s sleep. Try to avoid large meals before bed and limit your consumption of alcohol. While it may help you fall asleep, alcohol can cause you to wake up more frequently during the night. Caffeine may impair sleep if consumed six hours prior to bedtime.
- Take naps. Napping can boost your immunity and make you feel more alert, which increases cognitive performance and productivity. Aim for a 20 to 30-minute nap early to mid-afternoon. Napping later in the day could interfere with your ability to fall asleep. While napping can help you catch up on sleep from a restless night, it’s no substitute for inadequate nightly sleep.
- Take time to unwind. Practice mindfulness or engage in light stretching before bed as a way to reduce stress or anxiety.
- Improve your sleep environment. Your bedroom could be preventing you from quality sleep. Check out the tips below for turning your room into a sleep haven.
Minimize Caffeine
Avoid caffeine-containing beverages or foods after 2 pm; if sensitive to caffeine, avoid it after 12 noon. (These items include Pepsi, Coke, Mountain Dew; tea, coffee, lattes, and chocolate; coffee- or espresso-containing ice creams or desserts). Read the labels of everything you eat and drink.
Melatonin
Consider taking supplements to aid your sleep. Melatonin – 1-5 mg to fall asleep. and/or 5-20 mg time-released melatonin to stay asleep. As with anything please consult your primary care Doctor or Pharmacist to make sure there are no interactions with other medications or interfere with your disease state.
Use mindfulness to get a good night’s sleep.
What to Do if Unable to Sleep
If you try the suggestions above but are still not able to sleep, especially if you have chronic disease contact your primary care doctor. If you are unable to sleep because of the current stressful situation, try the above suggestions and practice mindfulness and meditation to decrease anxiety. If after a while you are still not able to sleep, contact your Doctor.