How Healthy Sleep Boosts Immunity

How Healthy Sleep Boosts Immunity

It is a well-known fact that getting enough sleep is absolutely essential when it comes to maintaining an overall state of wellness. It is also a fact that the majority of individuals go through life in a sleep-deprived state almost all of the time.

With our current way of life being busier than ever before, lying down to rest is often regarded as wasted time that could be much better utilized to enhance productivity. Ironically, by sacrificing sleep in order to get more done, we are actually jeopardizing our long-term productivity as a whole.

There are certain things that, without an adequate amount of, the human body will literally cease to function. The obvious factors are food, water and oxygen. However, a lack of sleep over a not so extended period of time is actually fatal. This is a blatant truth that describes just how crucial sleep is for the body.

While sleep is essential for maintaining almost every bodily function, this article will focus specifically on how optimal sleep is a must for keeping the immune system operating the way it should.

Cytokines & Antibodies

During sleep, the body undergoes numerous hormonal processes that are mandatory to maintain a slew of biological mechanisms within specific systems. With regards to the immune system, sleep signals a release of a certain type of protein known as cytokines. These proteins have several responsibilities, among these being the way the body responds to external stress such as pathogens and infections.

In a sleep-deprived state, the body is hindered in its ability to release certain types of cytokines and antibodies that allow the immune system to identify and disable foreign invaders. Simply put, not getting enough sleep causes your body’s natural defense mechanisms to lost their effectiveness.

T-Cell Response

Another important cellular response that is highly dependent on sleep involves a type of immune cell called T-cells and their activation in relation to pathogens. Furthermore, the protein that activates the cells, called integrin, is also reliant on sleep.

Whenever the immune system senses an invasion by a potentially harmful invader, it uses T-cells to find and attack the intruder. In order to accomplish this, the protein integrin must be activated to allow T-cells to do their job.

Research has shown that individuals who have maintained a healthy sleeping routine have a higher amount of activated integrin in their bodies. Likewise, these people have a larger amount of T-cells available to combat infection and illness.

Giving Cells Their Personal Time

Our cells have a similar predicament to our way of life when it comes to time management. Most of us have things that we know we should be doing to better ourselves personally, but never seem to find the time to get these things done because of all the other responsibilities demanding our attention.

The cells within the body feel the same way. At any waking hour, your cells are trying to maintain an incredible amount of reactions and functions just to maintain an overall state of being. Because of this duty, a considerable amount of waste products and damage is accumulated within each cell.

Sleep is one of the few times that cells have to actually perform their own housekeeping duties, cleaning up waste and debris and maintaining a viable working environment. Without enough sleep, this clutter can build up to the point that cells can no longer carry out their primary functions.
Works Cited
Can lack of sleep make you sick? (2018, November 28). Retrieved June 26, 2020, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/insomnia/expert-answers/lack-of-sleep/faq-20057757
How sleep can boost your body’s immune response. (n.d.). Retrieved June 26, 2020, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324432
Penttila, N. (2020, March 26). Want to Boost Your Immune System? Sleep Better. Retrieved June 26, 2020, from https://dana.org/article/want-to-boost-your-immune-system-sleep-better/