The fact is, if you don’t get enough sleep, you're more likely to get sick.
Let’s look at the benefits of sleep and how it affects your immune system.
Less sleep means a longer recovery period from colds and flu and decreased white blood cell levels in your body.
Research shows that if we don't get enough sleep, we're more likely to get sick if we're exposed to a virus, and it also slows the recovery process.
Have you ever noticed that when you're sick, you just crave sleep? That's because while we're sleeping, our immune system releases proteins called cytokines, T-cells and white blood cells, all of which help to fight infection and inflammation — and keep us healthy!
Duration and length of sleep matter when it comes to keeping your immune system strong.
Now, there is a TON of research out there to support this, but I just want to summarize a few studies that I found particularly fascinating so that you can get a really good understanding as to why it is so important to sleep in order to have a functioning and healthy immune system.
What they found was that the twin with a shorter sleep duration had a more depressed immune system compared to the twin who had a healthier sleep pattern.
They found that those who slept less than 7 hours per night were 3 times more likely to develop a cold than those who slept more than 8 hours.
The study took place in Pennsylvania and involved 125 people, both men and women, ages 40-60, all non-smokers and in pretty good health. They found that the people who slept fewer than 6 hours per night were less likely to mount an antibody response after being given the Hepatitis B vaccine. They also found that these individuals were 11 times more likely to be unprotected by the vaccine than those who slept more than 7 hours per night, on average (the sleep duration recommended for adults).
How do you know if you’re getting enough sleep for your health and immune system?
So, you're probably asking yourself, am I getting enough sleep and are my family members getting enough sleep? The National Sleep Foundation is the authority on all things sleep and provides credible sleep duration recommendations per age group. Click here for more information on how much sleep you need based on your age group. →
I want to make sure we're all able to obtain and maintain enough sleep during this coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic so that we can stay healthy. I know that our schedules and routines are off, but the most important thing to do is to maintain consistency when it comes to sleep.
Here are three tips that will work, regardless of age, to help maintain your sleep:
1. Make sure that you're waking up and going to bed within a 30-minute range.
This is really important because there are two main hormones that influence our sleep and circadian rhythm. Those hormones are melatonin (sleepy hormone) and cortisol (alert hormone), and they run on a 24-hour clock. We want to make sure that we're taking advantage of the natural dips and peaks of these hormones in order to get enough sleep. I know that it's tempting to sleep in, and go to bed late, now that school's closed and we're working from home -- but you want to try to avoid that as much as possible so that your body clock remains optimal.
2. Meditate before bedtime.
I think all of us feel a lot of stress, even our kids. Meditation has been proven to reduce stress and improve sleep. When we're stressed, our body’s producing cortisol (the “alert hormone") that can interfere with our sleep cycle. Meditation before bedtime is a useful tool in counteracting the cortisol effect.
It's really easy to do.
You don’t need any fancy tools or equipment and you can do it on your own. All you need to do is go to a quiet room and do some deep breathing for a good five minutes. If you want a little bit more guidance, there are a ton of great apps out there. I personally love the Calm app and Relax Melodies app. They have guided meditations that are designed specifically for sleep, and they also have meditations for kids. My kids meditate every single night and it's something that they definitely look forward to, and I can tell it reduces their anxiety before bedtime.
BTW, you can download the Calm App here (Apple App Store, Google Play) and Relax Melodies here (Apple App Store, Google Play).
3. Avoid screen time 1-2 hours before bedtime.
I know I talk about this a lot, but now with the 24-hour coverage of the COVID-19 epidemic, I think we're all glued to the TV.
Also, with our kids not going to school, it's very tempting to put them in front of the TV more than we typically do. And that's OK! I get it! (I'm probably going to do it myself!) But, we just want to make sure that we're limiting screen time before bed. My recommendation is to avoid screens at least an hour — if not two hours — before bedtime.
The reason why is because the screens produce blue and green light. That is the same light from the sun that sends the signal to our brain to produce cortisol and suppress melatonin — and that's the last thing that we want to do before bedtime! We want to make sure that our melatonin levels are high and our cortisol levels are low so that we can obtain uninterrupted sleep.
We’ve talked a lot about reducing stress and cortisol levels but there’s more! Learn more about how sleep cortisol and how it affects your sleep in my recent article, “5 ways to reduce your cortisol to improve sleep” here→
Sleeping Well Is Empowering
The goal of this blog post is not to spread fear. I just want you to feel more empowered during these uncertain times. Most of us have control over how much sleep we obtain. I hope that these tips are going to help you maintain adequate sleep so that you and your family can stay healthy.
Let’s Get You Sleeping!
If either you or a family member is struggling to get enough sleep I have a ton of different programs to help you improve your sleep and boost your immune system. If you're interested in learning more, you can book a free 30 minute discovery call.
Sweet dreams.
Kelly Murray is a certified sleep coach and an award-winning pediatric sleep consultant based in Chicago offering sleep coaching services nationwide.