Sleep deprivation on.. Immunity

 The recent outbreak of coronavirus left us scared, confused and asking: how to boost immunity? Sleep my friend - that’s the answer.
And here are the scientific papers to prove it.

Further research shows individuals are 4 times more likely to contract a virus after 5 or 6 hours sleep rather than 7
- so even just a little bit less sleep than normal wrecks havoc on your body.

This is due to several factors:

Firstly, you have an irregular increase in bodily inflammation (as a result of pro-inflammatory cytokines) after inadequate sleep.
This means you’re more likely to have a fever, aches, pains, be exhausted and unable to recover like normal - as noted in this clinical paper.

Second, a landmark study into sleep and immunity found a 70% reduction in
protective immune cells (natural killer cells) after 5 hours of sleep instead of your regular 8.
These cells usually help you fight off infections and bacteria,
so to have a 70% reduction in their presence leaves you extremely vulnerable - exactly why you become sick.
Fortunately, this impairment is amended as soon as you make up your sleep debt.

Third, under conditions of sleep deprivation, your body is in a state of stress -
your sympathetic nervous system dominates, and you are in ‘fight or flight’.
This impairs immunity, increases inflammation (see above), heightens blood pressure, heart rate,
slows or stops digestion and makes you feel tense, anxious and unable to switch off.

For this reason, research shows ongoing sleep loss is also linked with chronic disease:
- cancer is 40% more likely for those sleeping 5 hours or less - and recovery is less likely
- cardiovascular disease such as heart attacks are 200% more likely for those sleeping 5 hours or less, as noted here.
- risk of dying from a stroke increases by 11% for those sleeping less than 6 hours;
and it increases by 33% for those sleeping more than 9 hours - as specified here.

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