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Good /Restful Sleep helps immunity system to work in our body (Dr.A.Sreekumar Menon)

Published on 26 May, 2020
Good /Restful Sleep helps immunity system to work in our body (Dr.A.Sreekumar Menon)
In the last Article the role of nutrients for boosting immune function of the body was discussed. In this one how sleep helps immune function will be discussed.

Sleep is a wonderful phenomenon gifted to all animals including man. All living beings go to sleep. sleep deprivation for a few days can kill any organism. What is sleep? . Our ordinary understanding is that sleep is a state that we go into when we would not know anything that happens around us and none of our sense and motor organs work or the whole body stops working. But this is not true. what happens is, all voluntary functions of our body come to a stop during the period of sleep and start functioning once we wake with much vigor. This is the difference between sleep and other forms of losing consciousness like coma, seizures etc.  Though voluntary functions are kept in abeyance, the involuntary function of our body such as working of our brain, beating of the heart, breathing, digestion, assimilation of nutrients from the food, excretory function, immune function s like removing toxic substances and waste products etc. go on working abated. Those functions are essential to sustain life. The cleaning up of the internal organs such as cleaning up of dead cells, toxic chemicals, microorganisms and cancerous cells killed by our immune system which together and repair of ware and take in muscles take place immaculately during sleeping hours. The following specific physiological activities are going on during sleep:

1.Brain activity during sleep

For centuries physicians believed that during sleep brain stops working or it is at rest. Later research showed that brain is very active during sleep. It performs activities which are vital for the body other than voluntary activities. The brain withdraws from powering outward activities we engage in transacting with the world outside. Our brain works round the clock from birth to death without taking rest. Its construction is marvelous. There is progressive decrease in the activation or firing of impulses during sleep. High activation of neural impulses are required to respond to external environment. When contact with outside environment is cut, activation need not be high. Low activation saves energy expenditure, which is used judiciously for maintaining survival and growth of the body and even to increase longevity, including boosting immune functions. In other words, brain works rather silently. Pattern of firing of neural impulses change from random and varied to coordinated and synchronous during sleep.

2 Body temperature.

Body temperature is maintained at slightly reduced level during period of sleep., again to conserve energy spent on body maintenance , as reserve to be used for other internal biochemical functions ,one of the most important one n being activation of immune system .

3.Breathing

Breathing during day is irregular, as it is affected by stress, fast life, upsurge of negative emotions such as fear, anger and so on, affected by speech, engagement in activities that characterize our life during day. As these are absent, while in sleep breathing is regular, steady and deep which helps more intake of oxygen via inhalation to power internal physiological functions, such functioning of major organs like heart, lungs etc. and those of immune and functions offlaying up of debris /waste from body. andosol contributing to general health and wellbeing.  Lack enough oxygen to lungs in sleep, condition called ‘Apnea’ can cause heart failure. Those having this condition should have help of Respirators, outside gadget which detects lack of oxygen supply and supply of oxygen., lifelong.

3. Cardiovascular Action

One of the most important functions of sleep is to give heart a chance to heart to be restful from constant demands upon it during waking hours. Particularly during certain phase of sleep, there is reduction in heart rate and lowering of B.P. When a person ‘s sensory organs get stimulated and when he uses his motor organs during day the heart has to beat much faster for pumping in and out enough blood. When the body is at rest, heart need not put to that much work. This happens while asleep. The heart need to work just to that level that would keep a person alive and to carry out the bare minimum and at the same time most important biochemical activities going on inside the body. The heart muscles are such that it can work without rest, unless some abnormalities develop mostly by our unhealthy habits, throughout life, which is incredulous.

4.Digestion

Digestion slows down during night. The reasons are that blood circulation takes place more in other parts of the body to carry out repair and maintenance functions including killing of pathogens and cells which grow evading the laws of cell Davion, which are called Cancerous cells which destroy normal cells. New cells are grown and old cells are removed from the body. This is highly controlled and orderly function. It is called ‘Apoptosis’. But this law of cell division is violated   and cells proliferate causing cancer. Those Killer cells, a part of immune system attacks those cells and destroy them. So when immunity is high, the chances of getting cancer disease are less, so also infections from pathogens. and damage of normal cells from oxidative stress or due to action of Free Radicals by releasing Anti-oxidants.

It is advisable to take light, but nutritious meals at night and that again before 2 hours before going to sleep. It would prevent Acid Reflex, acid content coming up the throat causing irritation and disturbance to sleep. Second, the food we take should get digested much before we go sleep, so that the flow of blood which carries oxygen which would be directed to stomach would be directed to brain and other systems in the body including immune system empowering their functions. This is the secret of advocating light and early dinner. Digestive capacity too as pointed out is low during night, hence food easy to digest that is food without much fat and lest spicy or bland is recommended for dinner. A light exercise like a short walk after dinner will boost digestive capacity. The intake of liquid should be limited at night to avoid frequent urination. Unlike during day, there is no physical exercise, which helps digestion takes place during night, particularly while in sleep. What is stated above show that we should adjust our daily habits like food intake, time, the kind of food  etc. should follow the rhythm of functioning of our body .

5.kidney

. Kidney function slows down, so also production of urine, during night time. if more urine is produced, bladder may not able to retain urine for longer time taken during sleep. Sleep will be disturbed by sensation to empty bladder of urine. This happens in the case of older persons.  They get up two or three times during 7-8 hours of sleep for frequent urination. Bladder in their case becomes weak and it cannot retain urine as in the case of young people. In the case of old people, the splinter muscles may become weak and hence there will uncontrolled passing of urine. They pass urine without their knowledge. This condition is called ‘incontinence’ . This happens both for men and women. This is the sign of growing old.  Hardly, it is amenable to treatment. Some exercises recommended by Physio-therapists may help to strengthen the splinter muscles and regain some control over urination.

6. Immune function

 Lack of sleep causes decline in several facets of immune functions. Good sleep is a stress buster. I Sleep deprivation amplifies destructive effects of stress on the body. In one study it was found that in the case of those singles who braved due to lose of their near and dear ones too long, natural killer cells (N.K Cells) in their immune system, white blood cells that destroy bacteria, viruses, cancer cells etc.  were less number, which shows low immunity. This means Good sleep brings down agitation of mind and thus it strengthens immune cells for their functions. Animal studies have shown that proteins produced by bacteria, harmful organism accumulated in the spinal fluid of animals, who were deprived of sleep.  Immune system produces a hormone called ‘Interleukins’1. It acts in different ways to protect the body. Fever/high body temperature happens when immune calls combat with the pathogens. At that time, it needs all the energy. So it induces sleepiness in the person when less energy is used and the energy available is redirected to immune system for fighting with pathogens. Less energy is required in the state of sleepiness than in the active state. Thus when one falls sick, he feels sleepiness/tiresomeness and have tendency to stay bed rest. Thus it is safety mechanism built in by Nature.  If we understand the safeguard gifted by Nature of creation, we find they are mind boggling. and greatness of Nature.

Good night sleep helps immune cells to work powerfully to destroy Bactria, viruses and malignant tumor cells.  Sleep deprivation weakens immune cells. High immunity also nurtures good sleep. Thus these two act in reciprocal way, one complimenting other. In another study it was discovered that sleep deprivation of persons from 3-4 hrs.   reduced the number of N.K Cells and   T cells were less effective. This is contrast to a person who slept for 9 hours in whose case N.K activity was much higher than normal. In another study far fewer N.K. Cells were found in the blood samples from normal healthy persons who were kept awake from 10 P.M TO 3 a.m.   Lower antibody response to Hepatitis B vaccine was observed with sleep deprivation. In other words, decreased likelihood of being protected by the vaccine when the person to whom it was given, was deprived of sleep. If sleep deprived people are given Rhino virus injection, they are most likely to get infected by the virus. It was found that When a person is given vaccination, while he was in sleep, it was found that the body making more antibodies. In other words, immune system functioned more effectively.  Sleep supports proteins and cells of the immune system to detect and destroy microbes. It also retains in memory the past antigen confronts and able to detect when it appears few years later. These and many other scientific experiments show that good sleep strengthens immune system.

7. Circadian or Diurnal Rhythm

When we talk about sleep, it is important to know about a biological closely related to it. It is called ‘circadian Rhythm’ It is also known as ‘Biological clock ‘. We see in the nature a perfect order of events sunrise, sunset, cycle of season, day and night and so on. This is called ‘Rithu’ in Sanskrit or cycle of seasons.  It is orderly systematic occurrence of natural events. In other words, nature’s events are timed, they are not erratic, we can predict them. Life both in animals, plants and man also follow a rhythm in their activities, both voluntary and involuntary. We found in the above discussion that day time is set apart for certain activities which require high energy and night time  to other activities for maintenance of life .In other words life is synchronized with the time pattern followed by nature .This happened  probably from the very time life came into existence . This inalienable relationship helps for adaptation of living beings including man to nature. Every creations on earth forms a link in the long chain.EsEach is dependent on other .  We find animals spending their time in their shelters during day time and prowl during night, as they nocturnal. In their habits. Tribal people are active during day and stay quiet during night. Sunrise is the beginning of their day and sun set or beginning of night is the end of their day. In the case of modern man, it is not so.  There is no definite demarcation between day and night.   During pre- Before Thomas Alva Edison invented electric lamp, night started the moment sun set. With the introduction of electric bulb, this is not so. Day is extended and encroaches upon night.  Forest dwellers use to go to sleep just few hours after sunset. But settled man stays awake even after several hours after setting of the sun.  This is because our habits have changed forced by new developments called industrialization. People work   throughout night in factories of continuous operation.  In other words, preindustrial man had adapted with nature, whereas modern man strives to control nature and make it to his convenience. But the tuning of human body to natural time sequence is made long years back, it does not adjust to the change, this conflict brings about many ill effects on man.  There was a regular time for taking food and for other chores. But modern man does not follow this regularity. He eats at irregular times, sits late for work or watching entertainments etc., all with deleterious effects on his physical and mental health. This imbalance or going against nature has resulted in many harmful health effects in man. Man depends upon nature for his survival, prosperity and happiness.

Our body thus follows time sequence stipulated by our body clock. We have tom follow it Moe or less at least that time sequence. For instance, for restful /good sleep we should go to bed not too late at night. Similarly, for our health and immunity to work at its capacity, we should have good sleep. So we have to go back our old and healthy habits rather than get caught in the new habits forced by circumstances. By sitting late at work may turn out more and earn more money, but we may cut short our lives. Industrial life more artificial than natural. It is time that we plan economic activities   without upsetting healthy life practiced during pre-industrial times.

What is good sleep

 One should have preferably 7-8 hours or at least6-7 hours of undisturbed of sleep Elderly people require more sleep   compared to youngsters, the reason being their immune and cleaning up systems are weak They may mostly have light sleep rather than deep sleep They may experience sleep problems such as difficulty in getting into sleep, staying in sleep, waking up now and then and difficulty to return to sleep once wakeup. As their urinary bladder is weak and cannot retain for a long time, they get up two or more times during sleep for urination.  In extreme cases they may have a condition called ‘incontinence ‘, passing urine without being aware off called ‘bed wetting ‘like children. There are certain exercises which Physio-therapists are train in to strengthen the splinter muscles which control opening and closing of urinary tract and to develop control over passing of urine involuntarily. It is not only the hours of sleep that determine whether sleep is good/restful/restorative/healthy, but the quality. Quality means whether sleep is shallow or deep. One wakes up from sleep easily at slight distraction/sound.

. Sleep disorders classified under term Insomnia are of 3 types:

Type 1 requiring more than 30 minutes to fall asleep.

Type 2 waking up periodically while asleep. Usually 1 ½ to 2 hours.

Type 3 inability to get back to sleep after waking up.

The good sleep is deep sleep, continuous sleep without any disturbance such as dreaming or waking up, losing consciousness during the entire period and walking up at ease at the time fixed in the mind with renewed energy, clarity of mind, intellectual resourcefulness/ability to solve problems. and feeling of wellness and sense of hope for whatever is to be done during the day.  There should also be soaring during sleep. If there is, one should consult ENT specialist to find out the reason to know whether it signals any major illness.

Sleep is disturbed by pains felt such as back pain, neck pain, pain in the joints etc. which are orthopedic problems.  Our Pain is a signal that something is wrong with the body. Medical attention is needed for such problems. One should not take pain killers regularly to mask the pain, as it has got many serious side effects like kidney failure. Some herbal preparations having an aesthetic property can be used for local application, as a temporary measure without having much side effects. Pain sensation is not completely objective, in the sense two people do not experience the same extent of pain when they feel pain due to any bodily ailments. In other words, it depends how we react to pain. Some people can endure pain than others. It is a habit we develop. We should develop tolerance to pain by practicing it, so that it will help our life to be more pleasing, when we confront some condition, which signals pain. Rigidity of joints, lack of proper blood circulation etc. can cause nagging pains. Light Exercise such as walking and Stretching etc. can help to alleviate such pains. Habit of washing legs in cold water before sleep boosts blood supply to the upper part of the body reaching brain smoothens mind and may promote good sleep.

 . A good sleep is a period of rest when touch with outside world is cut off temporally. In other words, the working of conscious part of our mind comes to a halt and sub-conscious mind stays active. A person having good sleep will fall into sleep quickly and will not wake up in between. We see how children sleep. Sleep for them is spontaneous. Though dreams are called as guardian of sleep, in the sense, dreams of pleasant nature will wake up the person from sleep, it obstructs good sleep. Still good sleep should be free from dreams. Good sleep is restorative sleep meaning, we feel refreshed and feel as charged with energy and experience pleasant mood when we wake up. One stays drowsy if the sleep is not normal. His orientation with the outside world suffers, his memory suffers, he loses steadiness of muscles, he is easily provoked/short tempered, if he suffers from lack of good sleep. During good sleep brain releases electrical waves called Alfa, Beta, Gama and Theta, which can be found out by instrument called Electroencephalogram (E.E.G).  As age advances, it affects sleep both hours sleeping and quality of sleep, that is undisturbed., deleteriously. Sleep suffers in the case of those having diseases like Epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, high B. P etc. Sleep difficulties are called’ Insomnia’. Sleep difficulty can be the signal of onset of some serious disease. So inability to get normal sleep should not be taken lightly. Doctor’s consultation should be sought. A chemical called ‘Melatonin’ is produced in the brain. This gives us the feelings of wellness. This chemical helps getting into and coming out of sleep at ease. This chemical is available in the form of supplements. It is always better to facilitate sleep in a natural way than depending upon supplements, the reason is that body’s capacity to produce it decreases when it is given orally. Another example is Diabetes taking insulin injection prematurely. This restricts capacity of the body to produce insulin. So Doctor will prescribe insulin injection only to those patients in whose case there is no capacity for the’ beta cells.’  in the Pancreas to produce insulin. With early Diabetes, they will first try to medicine to stimulate insulin production before advising insulin injection. There are several Pain killers available as medicines in the market. Those should be taken only with Doctor’s advice to meet energy situations.  as those medicines affect different parts of the body, for instance their prolonged use affects function of kidneys. Self-medication or medication for any disease without Doctor’s advice should be avoided at all costs.  People who fall ill may take medicines without consulting Doctor, those prescribed    for diseases, which they think are as same.  It poses danger to life. During sleep brain produces a hormone called ‘Melatonin’ which has cooling and calming effect on the mind.

Sleep induced by Tranquilizers/Sleeping Pills

Sleep is a natural phenomenon. The process of how it happens is very complex. Many factors discussed in the paper jointly bring about sleep. Promotion of natural sleep is more effective than induced by sleeping pills. Sleeping pills do not help to bring about normal sleep which is ‘elixir/life giving ‘ . what sleeping pills do is to switch off the top Cortex, the top of the brain and put in a state of sedation or unconsciousness.  They might calm down the body and mind, but the mental state that they create is nowhere near natural sleep in items of the benefits of natural sleep discussed in this article. They can be used for emergency and for momentary effects, when a physician may have to prescribe carefully in slow dose. use of tranquilizer have the following side effects:

1. Dizziness or light- headedness and the chance of fall.

2. Headache

3. Gastrointestinal problems like Nausea or vomiting sensation and Diarrhea

3. memory lapse

4 allergic reactions –This can be serious some times.

5 Parasomnia –undesirable behavior during sleep.

A person who takes Tranquilizers get addicted to it means he cannot sleep without taking tranquilizers.

One should take sleeping pills only if the Doctor prescribes it.He should not buy across the counter and take them, as it poses danger to life .

 What to do to get good sleep.

We can follow a number of ways to good sleep.

The following changes in the life style/habits might help:

·    Dinner

Night food should be taken say at 7 pm, two or three hours before going to sleep. The reason is that the food should have digested before we go to sleep. For digestion energy is required.so also there should be much blood circulation to the stomach.  When digestion takes place early in the night, energy is reserved for brain and other organs like immune system to work effectively during sleeping period. There will be more blood circulation to the brain at that time. The food should also be light that is without much fat. The reason is that at night digestion is slow and that there is need for reserving energy for other biological purposes like growth and repair of cells and combating pathogens. During night stimulants like Tea, Coffee, cocoa, soft drinks, alcohol etc. should be avoided. Drinking A warm cup of milk not rich in fat say cow’s milk without sugar prior going to sleep is good.

2.Sticking to the schedule

One should go to sleep at the same time. In other words, a regular sleeping schedule say 10 pm to 6 am should be followed. This timing is noted by the Biological clock with us about which I discussed above. This biological clock will tick at that time.to arouse sleep in its natural way. Not only sleep other important activities that take place inside the body will also be kicked up.  Regular timing for all other life functions like breakfast, lunch and dinner time, drinking water even one is not thirsty and so on is helps biological clock to work better and to ensure that all inner body processes take place as desired for healthy living.

3. Keeping proper ambience with in homes during evening and nights. During nights, both body and mind should stay calm. Not engaging strenuous physical activities and calming down life help good sleep. One should not exercise during late evenings. There is a common belief that if one gets fatigued, he sleeps well, which is not true. Fatigue may induce sleep as rest. but that sleep will not have the benefits of sound sleep, when one is relaxed before slipping into sleep. Exercises should be done in the morning to strengthen muscles, improve vascularity, and release of energy making one ready to do strenuous work during the day. Brain/neural network should be activated much during night. Watching T.V with high brightness both in light andcolour, looking at computer screens and /or smart phones activate neural system (firing more neural impulses-bio-electric signals).  Illumination of homes with bright tube lights which also emit Ultra-violet rays agitate brain and restful sleep eludes, in addition having other health problems such as problems of eyes, ears etc.  The lighting in homes should be dim, especially in the bedroom. Focused bright light may be used for reading or doing any other precision work.

4. Relaxation Exercises

There is a saying ‘we should not take worries/problems to the bed. Some people while in the bed ruminate what they did on that day, judge whether they could solve problems to their satisfaction etc . Some people are so obsessive that they plan busily what they have to do next day and they brood over it while in the bed.  These things should be avoided. While in the blood, one should keep mind empty /calm and composed without rushing thoughts.

Two simple Exercises, given below which can be practiced easily even by aged people should be practiced once getting into the bed., each for a duration of 15 minutes to calm down the mind . Those are 1. Progressive Relaxation Exercise and 2. Internal Focus Exercise.

1.Progressive Relaxation

Just after getting into the bed, lie down facing head upwards, stretching the whole body. Close eyes and focus on each part of the body. start with feet. Tense the muscles in the leg. hold it for a short while and gradually release muscular tension, sense tension release.Repeat this with other parts of the body . The whole Exercise takes 15 minutes.

2.Withdrwaing the mind towards with in

This is withdrawing the mind from exposure to and activation from outside. It is like Tortoise withdrawing its limbs, when it is touched or when it senses any stimulation from outside. It will protrude its limbs only when it has to manipulate outside things, otherwise it’s senses are insulated from outside impacts of stimuli. This is perhaps the reason that of all animals including man, Tortoise lives much longer than all animals.

 Lie-down in the bed comfortably facing upwards or in supine position. Do not tense up muscles. Feel that the body is not that of yours.   Switch off stimulations from outside, by not attending to them. . Take deep breath slowly and steadily and breathe out slowly.  This is also called ‘stomach breathing ‘. while this process of berating or inhalation and breathe out or exhalation, focus your attention to orderly/rhythmic chest /diaphragm movements-chest going up and down-. Chest going up while breathing and going down when breathes out. This is to be done for 15 minutes.  By the time these two exercises are completed, you will slip into sleep-lose your disturbing awareness of outside world.

Once one enjoys required amount of restful sleep, he will get up at ease at a time noted in the mind b without help of Alarm and without need to wake us up. It is controlled by Biological clock with is us discussed above. Thus sleep forms an integral part of our healthy and happy living.

In summary, an attempt is made in this article to discusses the following aspects:

·    What is sleep?

·    Involuntary physiological activities going on with in the body during sleep, including strengthening of immune system.

·    Working of Biological clock: how it determines all the biological activities with in human body.

·     What is good sleep?

·    What are sleep disorders?  How to tackle them?

·    Dangers of using sleeping and pain killing pills

·    How to get natural sleep?

·    The home environment conducive for sleep

·    The role of light exercise and two specific Relaxation Exercises proposed by the’ Author of this paper’ for inducing natural sleep.

Thus, this is a comprehensive write up based on authentic literature search and personal reflection of the Author on how good/natural sleep nurtures immune function, general health and sense of peace, wellbeing and happiness.

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those from the body (scavenging) and repainting and growth of new cells   take place more vigorously during state of deep sleep .


Good /Restful Sleep helps immunity system to work in our body (Dr.A.Sreekumar Menon)
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