Sleep is far and away the most important factor for boosting your immune system. In all the research sleep is better than any supplement or diet and is often overlooked or ignored by clinicians when trying to help someone manage an Auto-immune condition.

We all intuitively know that lack of sleep or burning the candle at both ends can often cause us to come down with a cold or sore throat, as our immune defenses are weakened.

So what is it about sleep that is so great for our immune system?

Firstly we need to understand a little bit about the circadian rhythm and the hormones involved namely cortisol and melatonin.

As the day begins our cortisol levels are high this is actually the hormone that wakes us in the morning and provides energy for us to get going. As the day progresses Cortisol levels drop and melatonin levels rise. By bed time your melatonin levels are high enough that they make you sleepy and able to go to sleep.

This melatonin release is accompanied by a significant release of growth peptides and growth factor that “prime,” or activate, our immune cells. These cells include natural killer cells and T-cells, which are vital to fighting infections such as viruses. In other words, these vital immune cells need sleep in order to function properly.

So, while many people are taking a large cocktail of various supplements to support their immune system, probably the most fundamental and profound action you can take is to get plenty of proper sleep.

What is proper sleep?

So one of the most simple guides to understand if you are getting enough sleep is if you are able to wake up naturally in the morning without an alarm clock, and the biggest reason why people aren’t able to do this is because they go to bed too late.

With that simple knowledge you can play around with a bedtime that allows you to wake up feeling rested, before the alarm clock goes off in the morning.

What if you can’t stay asleep?

One of the main reasons that people cant stay asleep is low blood sugar also known as hypo-glycemia. If eating something helps you relax and you fall back asleep this is a sign that your blood sugar is low.  The most common causes of this is missing meals, going too long without eating and also eating too many starchy and sugary foods. Additionally not eating enough proteins and fats cause low blood sugar as they sustain internal glycogen (blood sugar) production throughout the night.

Another common reason people can’t stay asleep is because of frequent urination. This could simply be from too much salt in the diet, especially before bed, or drinking too much late in the day.

Prostate issues for men and overactive bladders for women are also factors that wake people. These can be related to declining hormone activity and a gradual weakening of the pelvic floors muscles.

These are issues that can be addressed with help and allow you to have a full night sleep.

If you are unable to get enough sleep in the night then finding the time to take a nap during the day will also help to boost and regulate your immune system, even 20 minutes will be beneficial and is important to do if you are getting less that 6 hours sleep per night.

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