FIGHT BACK by Chauncey W. Crandall & Charlotte Libov

Author:Chauncey W. Crandall & Charlotte Libov [Crandall, IV, Chauncey W. & Libov, Charlotte]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: HEA039090 Health & Fitness / Diseases / Immune & Autoimmune
Publisher: Humanix Books

Part Three

Get Healthy to Fight COVID-19

Chapter 16

Sleep Is the Key to Immunity

No matter what your age, you need eight to ten hours of sleep a night.

Ironically, it seems that the more sleep we need, the less we get, but if you don’t get all the sleep you need, both in quantity and in quality, then you are putting your health—and your immunity—at risk.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated fifty to seventy million Americans do not get enough sleep.

Sleep not only plays a key factor in traffic and industrial accidents; it also increases the risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease, which are all risk factors for severe COVID-19 complications as well.

But worst of all, research shows that not getting enough sleep also damages your immune system!

While no studies yet exist on the relationship between sleep and COVID-19, several studies done over the years show that not enough sleep translates to a higher vulnerability to the flu.

For instance, one study, done a few years ago and published in the journal Behavioral Sleep Medicine, found that healthy college students who suffered from various sleep problems, including insomnia, mounted a weaker response to the flu vaccine. This translated into a higher risk of them catching the flu and getting sicker, the researchers said.

And the Mayo Clinic recently reported, “Studies show that people who don’t get quality sleep or enough sleep are more likely to get sick after being exposed to a virus, such as a common cold virus. Lack of sleep can also affect how fast you recover if you do get sick. During sleep, your immune system releases proteins called cytokines, some of which help promote sleep. Certain cytokines need to increase when you have an infection or inflammation, or when you’re under stress. Sleep deprivation may decrease production of these protective cytokines. In addition, infection-fighting antibodies and cells are reduced during periods when you don’t get enough sleep.”

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