Back in the days when my kids were very young, one of them would occasionally come down with a cold or the flu. With three kids, it seemed like at least one of them would be sick fairly often. And when two or more kids were sick, there wasn’t a lot of sleeping for me.

I personally do not get sick very often—although after a few nights of being up with sick kids and missing out on valuable sleep–BOOM! I’d be sick too.

Now that my kiddos are all grown up, I travel frequently–and traveling to faraway places means a long flight, usually cramped up in a seat, trying to sleep while flying through several time zones. The sleep deprivation that results from a day’s worth (or more) of traveling and time zone changes almost always causes me to end up getting sick.

I’m convinced there has to be a big connection between sleep and immune function.

Turns out there is. People who generally sleep six hours or less have altered immune responses, in several different parts of the immune system. Sleep deprivation especially impacts the body’s white blood cells, which are part of the innate immune system, the body’s first line of defense against invading pathogens.

In one study of identical twins, conducted at University of Washington’s Sleep Center, it was found that the twin who got the least amount of sleep was more likely to get sick. Lead scientist in the study, Dr. Nathaniel Watson said, “What we show is that the immune system functions best when the body gets enough sleep. Seven or more hours of sleep is recommended for optimal health.”

Sleep deprivation can also actually increase inflammatory markers and over-activate immune cells. The study showed for the first time that chronic sleep deprivation (less than six hours a night) shuts down the immune response effectiveness of circulating white blood cells.

Sleep is so essential to immune system function that sleep deprived people don’t even develop a very strong antibody response to a vaccine.

How does sleep affect your immune system?

The Innate Immune System, the Body’s First Line of Defense

Our immune system–while complex--has two basic functions. One is the innate immune system, which is our body’s first line of defense against any invading pathogens. Its purpose is to disable or kill any invader before it has a chance to enter our cells and reproduce.

Research shows that sleep deprivation has a strong negative effect on the innate immune system, which acts immediately to prevent the spread and movement of foreign pathogens.

One study of looked at exposure to the common cold virus among two groups–one that had more than 7 hours of sleep and the other with less than 6 hours of sleep. The group that got less than 6 hours of sleep were four times more likely to be infected than the group that got more than 7 hours of nightly rest.

The white blood cells and immune proteins that work as barriers to kill off infecting pathogens in the innate immune system are weakened by sleep deprivation.

T Cell Function

Numerous studies have looked at the benefits of a good night’s sleep, and researchers from Germany have found that sound sleep improves a vital part of the immune system in cells known as T cells. T cells are an essential part of the body’s immune system, critical to the immune response.

T cells are a type of immune cell that fight against pathogens that make their way into a cell, such as virus-infected cells including Covid19, all types of influenza, HIV, herpes, and cancer cells.

When T cells recognize a pathogen or an infected target cell, such as a cell infected with a virus, they activate proteins that attach to their target and, in the case of a virally infected cell, kill it.

The researchers compared T cells from healthy volunteers who either slept or stayed awake all night. The T cells in the well-rested participants showed higher levels of activation than in the T cells of those who had not slept.

For people who get poor sleep, stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline also tend to rise, and these stress hormones also tend to dampen the ability of T cells to fight off pathogens effectively, as well as raising inflammation levels.

These findings show that sleep has the potential to enhance the efficiency of T cell responses, which is especially important considering that sleep disorders are also tied to mental health conditions such as depression, chronic stress, and aging.

Cytokines and Inflammation

During sleep, your immune system also releases proteins called cytokines, some of which help promote sleep. Certain cytokines also play a role when you have an infection or inflammation, or when you’re under stress.

Cytokines are actually a set of proteins that serve as chemical messengers. These proteins, tell immune cells what to do and also tell the body to produce more of them to help deliver a knockout blow, if necessary, to the infection.

Sleep deprivation has been shown to decrease the production of these protective cytokines. In addition, infection-fighting antibodies and cells are reduced during periods when you don’t get enough sleep.

Sleep also helps reduce stress hormones while raising helpful sleep hormones such as melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone made naturally by your body and produced in the pineal gland in the brain.

Melatonin is considered the sleep hormone as its rising levels at night help you fall asleep and sleep more soundly. Melatonin is also a powerful antioxidant, which may provide a variety of other health benefits, including strengthening the immune system.

Cytokines can be pro-inflammatory, increasing an inflammatory response from the immune system. Other inflammatory cytokines also increase with shorter sleep periods, and one in particular, IL-17 can remain elevated up to two days after recovery sleep.

In severe cases of the flu or Covid19, cytokine production can grow out of control. Immune cells release cytokines that tell the body to produce more immune cells, and in turn these new cells release even more pro-inflammatory cytokines.

These excessive amounts of cytokines can lead to something called a cytokine storm, which creates an overwhelming inflammatory immune response that can damage lungs and kidneys and bring about death. Cytokine storms are one of the reason that many people die from Covid19.

Sleep can help to modulate–or slow down–the effects of an over-reaction of cytokines while protecting and balancing the immune system. Sleep also helps to lower inflammation, including CRP levels (an inflammatory marker), while strengthening the overall immune response.

Adults should have a minimum of seven hours of sleep on a regular basis for improved health, lower stress levels and lower inflammation. A good night’s sleep also goes a long ways towards protecting your health and effectively fighting off dangerous pathogens such as Covid19, flu and even colds.

Unfortunately, more one third of American adults are getting less than seven hours of sleep, according to a study in 2016 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Less than five hours of sleep a night on a regular basis is actually associated with higher ‘all-cause’ mortality, increased risk of depression, stress, infections, weight gain, and blood sugar issues.

Key to remember:

• Try to go to sleep at around the same time every night and get up at the same time.
• Avoid too much alcohol or heavy meals right before bed.
• Avoid hard workouts right before bedtime.
• Get plenty of exercise during the day.
• Get out in the sunshine daily.
• Avoid stimulants such as caffeine, within 6 hours of bedtime.
• Try to ease stress and if necessary, try a pre-bedtime meditation.
• Avoid looking at your phone or computer right before bedtime.

If necessary, take a healthy natural supplement containing natural melatonin to help you get sleepy and sleep more soundly, as well as giving a try to this delicious HOT golden latte. Drink right before bed, if you struggle with “winding down” and relaxing at the end of the day, or falling asleep at night.

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References
https://todayspractitioner.com/sleep/sleep-cytokines-and-inflammation/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7102583/
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/how-sleep-bolsters-your-immune-system#The-importance-of-T-cells
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324432#Sleep-could-enhance-T-cell-responses
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190212094839.htm
https://rupress.org/jem/article/216/3/517/120367/G-s-coupled-receptor-signaling-and-sleep-regulate
https://www.ucihealth.org/blog/2020/04/sleep-immunity-covid

The post Sleep Deprivation: How it Affects Your Immune System to Fight Off Viruses appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

By: Cat Ebeling, RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

Ten Deadly Things That Can Happen When You Don’t Get Enough Sleep

Sleep is one of the most important things you can do to take care of your health. I actually rank sleep up there with eating organic healthy food and getting regular exercise. It is my top three priorities and I am a shameless guardian of my sleep. It is just THAT important.

But—hormone changes, stress, lack of exercise and other lifestyle factors can totally interfere with sleep. Most of the industrialized world is sleep deprived to some extent.

1. Disasters

Sleep is so important though, that the lack of it can have devastating and dire consequences. In fact, sleep deprivation has been a factor in some of the biggest disasters in recent history: the 1979 nuclear accident at Three Mile Island, the massive Exxon Valdez oil spill, the 1986 nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl, the space shuttle Challenger explosion, Air France flight 447 (killing all aboard), the Great Heck rail crash in UK, and many, many more.

2. Automobile accidents

Lack of sleep is also a huge public safety hazard every day on the road. Drowsiness can slow reaction time as much as driving drunk. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that sleepiness is related to over 100,000 auto crashes and 1,550 sleep-related deaths a year in the United States alone.

3. Work Accidents

Studies show that sleep loss and poor-quality sleep also lead to accidents and injuries on the job. In one study, workers who complained about excessive daytime sleepiness had significantly more work accidents, particularly repeated work accidents. Sleepy workers are 70 percent more likely to be involved in accidents and workers with chronic insomnia are far more likely to report industrial accidents or injuries.

People with excessive sleepiness who also snore (a potential sign of sleep apnea) are twice as likely to be involved in workplace accidents. And tragically, a Swedish study of nearly 50,000 people found that those with sleep problems were nearly twice as likely to die in a work-related accident. Sleep deprived people also had more sick days per accident.

4. Deadly Medical Errors

The Institute of Medicine’s report estimates that as many as 98,000 deaths occur per year in the United States’ hospitals–due to medical errors. Long work hours and patient overload among hospital workers contributes to this serious problem.

5. Mental Dysfunction

But that’s not all. Sleep loss actually affects your thought processes, making you more forgetful, clouding your judgement, and making it harder to comprehend information. Sleep deprivation also causes irritability, moodiness, depression and excess anxiety.

Studies show people who are sleep deprived report increases in negative moods (anger, frustration, irritability, sadness) and decreases in positive moods. And if you go long enough without sleep, you will actually start to hallucinate. A lack of sleep can also trigger manic episodes in those with bipolar disorder. Other psychological risks include:

• Increase in impulsive or criminal behavior (lack of judgement)
• Increase in anxiety and depression
• Paranoia
• Suicidal thoughts

Sleep deprived people can also experience something called “micro-sleep” where you fall asleep for a few seconds without realizing it. This can be incredibly dangerous depending on the situation.

6. Chronic Disease

Lack of sleep actually makes you more at risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, kidney disease and obesity. And this recent European Heart Journal study showed that those people getting less than 7-8 hours of sleep a night had a 35 percent higher of cardiovascular disease and strokes.

7. Hormone Production

Hormone production is super dependent on your sleep. Sleep is vital for growth hormone production. Growth hormone is necessary for building muscle, repairing cells and rebuilding tissue and collagen production.

For testosterone production, you need at least three hours of uninterrupted sleep, which is about the time of your first REM episode. Not sleeping enough depletes hormone production.

8. Poor Immune Function

During sleep, the immune system releases a type of protective protein called cytokines–some of these actually help promote sleep. Cytokines are a line of defense that is needed to fight off infection or inflammation, or during times of stress. Sleep deprivation decreases these protective cytokines, along with infection-fighting antibodies and cells, making it difficult for the body to fight off any infectious illnesses.

9. Out of Control Appetite

Hormones that make you feel hungry like ghrelin or full, like leptin get out of control. Leptin goes down while ghrelin goes up, making you crave the munchies. In addition sleep deficiency actually creates a higher than normal blood sugar level, causing more insulin to be released. When insulin is released, appetite goes up. All of this means sleep deprivation will most likely cause hunger and weight gain.

10. Accelerates Aging

Sleep deprivation can cause your skin to age faster, according to a new study. In a clinical trial by skin care specialists, it was found that poor sleepers showed definite signs of aging skin. Sleep deprived women showed signs of premature skin aging, and a decrease in their skin’s ability to recover from sun exposure.

Researchers found that those who didn’t sleep well exhibited more signs of skin aging including fine lines, uneven pigmentation, poor color, and reduced skin elasticity. The researchers also found that those who enjoyed quality sleep were more quick to recover from stressors to the skin such as sun and environmental toxins.

Considering the importance of sleep, how do you safeguard those 7-8 hours every night? Well, of course, try to get to bed at about the same time every night. This gets your body into a habit of sleeping/waking that is vital to good sleep.

Be sure to get some vigorous activity in every day—especially outside during daylight hours if possible. If you can just get outside for a brisk walk at lunchtime, it can help a lot! Lifting weights or any other type of strenuous exercise will help even more—as long as you don’t do it within 2 hours of bedtime.

WATCH the Caffeine in your drinks, food or medications. Caffeine has a half-life of 6 hours. So think of this—ONE cup of coffee contains about 100 mg of caffeine. With a half-life of 6 hours, that means that six hour later, you still have 50 mg in your system and another 6 hours later, you have 25mg in your system. Obviously if you drink coffee at lunch time, you will still have caffeine in your system at bedtime. And some people are genetically inclined to be even slower metabolizers of caffeine.

Don’t get dehydrated. Drink plenty of water, because dehydration can actually make heart pound harder as it works to get that slightly thicker blood around the body.

Too much alcohol will definitely mess up your sleep—even more than a couple of drinks will disrupt sleep and REM cycles, often causing you to wake up in the night. Too much alcohol can also cause more night sweats and hot flashes—especially for women.

Stress. We all have it. If you can, try to find relaxing ways to end your day, like meditating, stretching, yoga, or a hot Epsom salts bath. Even a hot shower works well–as your body cools off, it actually helps you feel sleepier.

We know prescription sleeping pills are certainly not the best solution for sleep, but many of us turn to these as a last resort—or our Doctors are pushing them on us, so we take them.

The thing is, sleeping pills can cause a lot of unpleasant side effects from headaches and sleep hangovers to nausea, irritability, and dizziness.

They can also cause you to do crazy things like raid the fridge at night in a sleepy stupor, drive your car in your sleep, sleep walk, grind your teeth, snore, or have sleep apnea, and more.

Here are a few natural ways to promote a sound and restful sleep—with beneficial side effects!

Magnesium

Magnesium helps your muscles relax and it helps you feel more calm. Magnesium also helps with deep sleep phases. And its super important for overall health as well, as it contributes to about 300 other necessary functions in the body, including heart health. Epsom salts contain magnesium so a Epsom salt hot bath is awesome way to relax and get to sleep.

Theanine

L-theanine is a natural chemical that helps calm down the activity in the brain. And it does help with sleep and to help you feel calm and rested. But be aware that theanine or L-theanine can have a bounce back reaction, and it cause anxiety when it wears off.

Melatonin

Melatonin is a natural brain chemical that helps with sleep. The biggest problem with melatonin is that it can cause you to wake up when it wears off in the middle of the night.

To solve this, you can take melatonin in a time release form.

It is better if you only take it once in a while like when you are changing time zones, drink too much or stare at your computer too late at night.

Collagen

You’ve probably never heard of this one, but Collagen is excellent for sleep—and it’s great for your hair, skin and nails as well. Try a nice steaming mug of collagen/bone broth before bed. The primary amino acid in bone broth or collagen is glycine, which is very effective for inducing sleep. Glycine also helps lower your body temperature, which induces sleep, and it restores your natural REM pattern to your sleep as well.

CBD Oil

If you don’t already know, CBD is the non-psychoactive ingredient in hemp or marijuana. In other words, CBD does not get you ‘high’ and is legal. CBD is also an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-nausea, and calming pain killer, that helps stimulate melatonin production as well. If you do decide to try out CBD oil, please check out this link from our friends from Healthy Living Nutritional.

For Women–Progesterone

Progesterone starts do decrease around ten years before menopause ever starts. Progesterone is a relaxing, “feel good” hormone for women. It really helps to promote a sense of calm– getting rid of anxiety and irritability.

So even if you are in your 40s and having trouble sleeping at night, you may need progesterone. Progesterone is relatively safe and easy to use. You can purchase it in an over-the-counter natural cream and apply it right before bed, using as much or as little as you need.

Sex

Sex helps stimulate endorphins, oxytocin and vasopressin—all hormones which help create calming feelings of attachment, security, and relaxation. So perhaps you can nudge your partner to see if they are interested in helping you get a good night’s sleep.

And finally, If none of these things help, it may be worth a visit to the doctor to have blood work done to check hormone, nutrient and thyroid levels, and to rule out other health conditions.

Good night. Sleep well.

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References
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sleep-deprivation-accidents-disasters_n_4380349
https://www.optisom.com/en/learn-about-sleep/sleeps-impact-on-workplace-and-employee-safety
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19958/
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130723155002.htm
https://www.healthline.com/health/sleep-deprivation/effects-on-body#6
https://chriskresser.com/the-diet-heart-myth-how-to-prevent-and-reverse-heart-disease-naturally/

The post Why Not Enough Sleep Can Actually Kill You appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.