The Relationship Between Sleeping Patterns and the Immune System

A healthy sleep pattern ensures the healthy functioning of the immune system. Getting enough and quality sleep is of great importance in creating a faster and more effective response to disease agents and reducing the severity of unwanted immune responses such as allergic reactions. At the same time, adequate sleep is necessary to continue the production of immune proteins that are involved in the defense system.

Our immune system is weakened in the presence of problems such as insomnia, irregular sleep, sleep apnea, and circadian rhythm disorder. This makes the body much more susceptible to many diseases, including the Corona virus. At the same time, diseases are much more severe and difficult.

The most important reason why sleep is so effective on the immune system is that it provides physical rest. Physical rest is important for both the healthy maintenance of innate immunity and the maintenance of acquired immunity as it should be. When we look at some scientific studies, it has been seen that the production of cytokines due to inflammation increases during night sleep, thus strengthening the acquired immune system. It is also thought that sleep strengthens the memory of the adaptive immune system, just as it strengthens learning speed and memory in the brain.

It is emphasized that as a result of developments such as the increase in cytokines in the immune system during sleep, functions such as recognizing antigens in the defense system and developing the correct defense response to the correct antigen are strengthened. Among the reasons why such immune-boosting activities are performed during sleep are:

Muscle activity and breathing slow down while sleeping,
Increased energy that can be devoted to fighting infection,
Many situations can be mentioned, such as the fact that the melatonin hormone helps reduce stress caused by inflammation.
At the same time, there are studies showing that regular sleep is necessary to preserve the effects of previously administered vaccines. Therefore, developing and strengthening the immune system is directly related to adequate and regular sleep.

The use of Viscotex® Orthopedic pillows is also very important in terms of supporting us to sleep regularly and adequately.