We may go above and beyond to maintain our health by following strict diets or workout routines; however, a good night’s sleep may solve most of your health troubles. Sleeping for at least seven hours and maintaining consistency in your sleeping routine has been said to keep the immune system on the top form which not only fights off the regular cold and flu viruses, but also Covid-19, according to new studies cited by Sleep Foundation. Speaking to The Telegraph, Dr Rebecca Robbins, a sleep expert for Savoir, the British bed and mattress makers, and co-author of Sleep for Success said that she and her peers found in a study that over the course of the day, the brain produces toxins, the accumulation of which is associated with neurocognitive declines such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Robbins added that when we sleep, not only does the brain stop producing these toxins, but it also produces a cerebral fluid that pressure-washes the brain to remove the toxins that have built up.
Following a consistent sleep routine is essential since even one hour of change can be enough to throw our internal clock out of sync, says Robbins, who is also an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School and an associate scientist at the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She told the British news portal that when a person changes their sleep schedules by an hour or longer from one day to the next, they are sending signals to the brain that they are attempting to transition to a new time zone, making the next night’s sleep more challenging.
Robbins also mentioned a new study that came out in view of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The research showed that our bodies produce and release proteins called cytokines that target infection and inflammation when we sleep. Conditions like Rhinovirus, a sister pathogen of SARS-Cov-2, the researchers found that those who are sleep-deprived are more than two times likelier at a greater risk of developing colds and flu. A good night’s sleep also enhances the effect of the vaccinations against flu and viruses, mentioned Robbins.
