Why Good Sleep is Essential for your Immune system

Sleep and the immune system are indistinguishably linked. Renowned dermatologist Dr Rashmi Shetty helps us explore the ties between sleep and immunity.

Do you know why you might have experienced your eyelids getting heavy with sleep and you feel like curling up on the bed when you are sick?

Your body needs sleep to help your immune system function immaculately. But sleep is also essential for ensuring your defences are strong when you are not sick too.

Nevertheless, according to a recent report, more than 50% of adults sleep less than seven hours a night. Apart from helping your immune system stay strong, good sleep benefits your general health in the following ways.

• Recharges your body and mind
• Maintain energy and metabolic equilibrium
• Helps in stress management

How Does Good Sleep Help Strengthen Your Immune System?

Reduces the impact of stress

“When your sleep routine is deranged, there will be raised levels of cortisol and other stress hormones,” Dr Shetty says. “Over some time, this can have damaging effects on our body’s ability to build a strong immune system.”

Low-quality sleep leads to elevated levels of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal activity, which then leads to higher stress hormones.

Sleep supports T Cell production

A recent study shows that your immune system is dependent on circadian rhythms. A consistent, good quality sleep is needed to enhance the body’s response against invading pathogens.

Sleep Enhances T Cell Function

The study also mentions another link between sleep and immunity regarding T cells. According to the study, T cell functionality was better in people who had good sleep as compared to those who did not get good sleep consistently.

Sleep Helps Regulate Inflammation

Do you think that one night of poor sleep does not affect your body? The study reveals that losing just a few hours of sleep on one night triggers inflammation.

We know today that chronic inflammation is associated with a lot of health issues. Nevertheless, good-quality sleep is only one way to reduce inflammation. Other than this, you could cut down inflammation with Ra Defence. RA Defence is fortified with traditional ingredients like ginger, turmeric, piperine, milk Thistle and beta carotene. These ingredients synergistically reduce inflammation and let the body be in the pink of health.

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Sleep Protects Against Viruses

One benefit you may experience with good sleep is fewer colds, as revealed by the study. Participants who slept for less than six hours were at greater risk than those who slept over seven hours. One study shows that sleep deprivation leads to reduced production of specific cytokines that help the immune system. Dr Shetty also recommends Ra Vitamin C+ that is a powerful antioxidant known for its ability to fight free radicals and boost immunity.

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How to Sleep Better?

By now, you have understood how essential good sleep is for our overall health. Let us learn how to improve sleep so you can reap all of these benefits and more.

Here are three simple tips from Dr Rashmi Shetty that you can start doing right now.

• Always set adequate time to sleep. Dr Shetty recommends a minimum of seven hours of rest per night, eight hours is the ideal amount. Go to bed at the same time, every day.
• Dr Shetty says that limiting caffeine and alcohol intake well before bedtime. Instead, have fresh fruit juice.
• Sleep in a comfortable, quiet and dark environment.

Dr Shetty is frequently invited as a faculty at several dermatology and plastic surgery society meetings including the American Association of Dermatology, Australian Association of Dermatology, Thai Derm Society & IADVL among others. Dr Shetty is also an international trainer for facial injectables like Botox and fillers with industry leaders like Allergan, Merz and Galderma. She has trained doctors across the world. She has been an integral part of the advisory board of many skin and hair care MNCs globally namely, Unilever for Pond’s, Vaseline and Lakme, Procter & Gamble for Gillette, Marico for Parachute’s haircare range, & Bio-Oil.

Credit: Audio notes provided by Dr Rashmi Shetty

Dr Rashmi Shetty, a specialist dermatologist, is an international speaker, teacher, and author with over 18 years of aesthetic and clinical dermatology experience.