Can a lack of sleep affect my immune system?

The immune system function is boosted by sleep, so it’s important—now more than ever—to get enough quality sleep to be able to ward off illness and disease.

During sleep, our immune system is highly active, releasing cytokines—proteins that the body needs to fight infections and inflammation. Being deprived of sleep means that reduced production of cytokines lowers resistance to bacteria and increases the risk of illness.

Poor sleep can also be a problem when it comes to beating viruses. When the immune system identifies a virally infected cell, it activates T-cells to attach to and destroy the cell. When scientists compared T-cells from healthy volunteers who slept all night to those in volunteers who stayed awake, they found that the sleepers’ T-cells showed higher levels of activation than those of the sleep-deprived.

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THE ROLE OF CHRONIC STRESS

When the body is put under stress, it releases cortisol. Although cortisol usually helps fight inflammation, chronic stress means that the body is subjected to consistently high cortisol levels, which dials down the immune system response. This is because, over time, the body becomes resistant to cortisol, and the hormone no longer fights inflammation, but actually triggers it. We know that chronic stress interferes with sleep in other ways, too, so finding effective ways to manage and reduce it is key to the good sleep that leads to a healthy immune system. For effective relaxation techniques, see How do I stop my mind racing so I can sleep?.

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