You need lots of rest”
I usually end every sick visit with my patients with the above phrase. You are sick – get some rest. Common sense, right? Well, this sensible phrase is also supported by years of scientific research.
One is a research article from Michael Irwin titled “Sleep and Inflammation: partners in Sickness and in Health” which discusses the relationship between the central nervous system, sleep, and the immune system.
The central nervous system is made up of the brain, cerebellum, and spinal cord. It is the body’s processing center; it controls your awareness, movement, thinking, speech, and lots of other things. It’s your body’s Powerhouse!
The act of sleeping “enhances immune defenses and that afferent signals from immune cells promote sleep”. In layman’s terms, when you have an illness or infection your immune system is enhanced when you have adequate amounts of sleep. Also, your body’s afferent signals (these are pathways that send information from organs to your brain) tell your brain to rest, relax, or go to sleep.
Also, the article talks about the relationship between sleep and inflammation. Inflammation is your body’s response to an Illness, injury, or disease. It is a natural process that involves your immune system releasing inflammatory molecules, white blood cells, etc. Consider these molecules as your Army or Navy during times of illness. This is great, as I said before, a natural process. However, the problem can develop if this process is prolonged in your body. We call this chronic inflammation; chronic inflammation is linked to chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and Alzheimer’s disease.
The article refers to elevated inflammatory markers, such as cytokines, interleukin-6, and C-reactive protein that are seen in sleep-deprived individuals. Interestingly, these same inflammatory markers are also elevated in people with type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
Additionally, when sleep is disputed the immune system is “steered towards a pro-inflammatory profile and away from an antiviral and antimicrobial profile”. In short, long periods of sleep deprivation can lower your immune system’s chance of treating viral and bacterial infections, such as the flu, COVID-19, or pneumonia.
I hope you understand and can visualize the relationship between sleep, inflammation, and chronic disease. And how preventable some diseases can be if you improve your sleep regimen and reduce inflammation by eating anti-inflammatory foods, managing stress, and exercising.
