Written by Laurel Sterling, MA, RD, CDN
Laurel is a registered dietitian-nutritionist and certified nutritionist and has worked in the natural products industry since 2000. She has a passion for empowering others through nutritional education.
Sleep is an important time for our body and mind to rest
and repair from daily tasks. When we sleep well, we wake up feeling refreshed and
alert for our day-to-day activities. How well we sleep has a major influence on
our wellness and overall quality of life.
The NIH (National Institutes of Health) reports that millions
of Americans are affected by sleep disorder. According to the NIH, adults need at least seven to eight hours of sleep each
night to be well rested, but the average adult sleeps for less than seven hours
a night. If an individual does not get enough “quality” sleep, it can
significantly affect their immune system and health in several ways. Sleep
disorders have been linked to many chronic diseases such as: hypertension,
heart disease, stroke, depression, diabetes, and others.
These are unprecedented times for billions of people
of all ages across the globe. Increased anxiety and depression have been noted worldwide
due to loss of jobs, lack of money and food, health concerns, and social isolation.
All these worries can cause us to constantly be in a stressed state, which can create a host of biochemical changes in our body.
An article on Healthline in February of 2019 stated
that researchers from Germany have found that “sleep
has the potential to improve T cell functioning.” Stoyan Dimitrov, PhD, a
researcher at the University of Tübingen and an author of the study stated “T
cells are a type of immune cell that fights against inter-cellular pathogens."
The article went on to say that “when cells in the body recognize a virally infected cell, they activate integrins, a sticky type of protein, which allows them to attach to and kill infected cells. They found that in the study with participants who slept, their T cells showed higher levels of integrin activation than in the T cells of those who were awake.”
We can get better sleep by taking a warm bath, keeping our room as cool and dark as possible, winding down with a book or magazine before bed, turning off the TV or tablet 30 minutes to one hour before bed, going to bed earlier and rising earlier, avoiding caffeine or sugar close to bedtime,
avoiding alcohol within four hours of bedtime, having “white noise” such as a fan to
drown out little sounds, drinking chamomile tea, using lavender essential oil in a
diffuser in the bedroom, and not allowing Fido in bed.
Right now, with many kids and adults out of their daily routines, sleep patterns have most likely been interrupted. Try as best as you can to stick to your normal sleep routine... and try to avoid the news before bed, as it can increase stress and anxiety in some people.