In our 24/7, always-on-the-go modern world, productivity is king, and longer workdays are treated like a badge of honor. But there are only so many hours in a day, and after a certain point, you need to get your rest so you can stay healthy.

Although it’s easy to think of your sleep quality and immune health as two separate factors that influence how well you perform at work, they have a bi-directional relationship – meaning the health of one impacts the other.1

If you want to avoid taking a sick day or feeling lethargic on the job, then learn about the relationship between sleep and the immune system.

Sleep deprivation and immune function

When your computer acts up or runs slow, the first step is to reboot it. The reboot clears your device drivers, shuts down programs, and refreshes the operating system. Sleep is essentially the body’s way of rebooting – and multiple essential processes happen during sleep.

When you sleep, your body repairs damaged muscles and tissues, while also promoting new growth, processing memories and information in your brain, and releasing important hormones that regulate your body’s normal functions – including immune function.

Getting a good night’s sleep helps ensure you don’t get sick. And research backs that up. Studies show that shorter sleep duration, or sleep deprivation, is associated with an increased susceptibility to illnesses such as the common cold.1 A lack of sleep also affects how fast you recover when you do get sick.

So, how many hours of sleep should you get per night? A 2015 study published in Sleep looked at the relationship between sleep duration and the likelihood of getting the common cold. Researchers found that individuals who sleep six hours or less are more likely to get sick than those who slept for more than seven hours.1 Bottom line – make sure you sleep at least seven hours per night!

The science behind sleep and the immune system

During the several stages of sleep we go through each night, our body releases tiny proteins called cytokines. Cytokines are released from many types of cells to initiate or regulate a whole range of functions. Cytokines are essential for regulating the inflammatory response and orchestrating how the body responds to infection.2 Essentially, these tiny proteins call the rest of your body’s immune cells to action.

However, if you are sleep deprived, then your body makes and releases fewer cytokines, making it harder for your body to respond and protect itself.

T-cells, which are specialized immune cells, help recognize and fight harmful substances in the body. T-cells work by utilizing integrins, a protein that allows T-cells to latch onto harmful substances and fight them off. New research shows that better sleep quality directly boosts the effectiveness of T-cells.3 The study, which compared the T-cells of participants who slept through a night to those who stayed awake, found that the T-cells in the individuals who slept had a higher level of integrin activity than those who were sleep deprived.3

The role of hormones

Now that you’ve learned more about sleep and the immune system, you may be questioning whether you’re getting optimal sleep; but how can you tell? Let’s take a look at the sleep cycle and the hormones that control it – melatonin and cortisol.

Think of these hormones like the moon and the sun. Melatonin, the moon, is the signal your body uses when it’s time to start the sleep process. Melatonin regulates your body’s internal biological clock and is typically most active in your body during the evening and at night – “typically,” because certain factors can disrupt the natural release of melatonin. These factors include overexposure to light, working night shifts, or jet lag, all of which disrupt melatonin production in the body and your overall sleep cycle.

Cortisol is like the sun; it helps you wake up and tells your body it’s time to kickstart the day. You might have heard cortisol be referred to as the “stress” hormone, which it is, but at healthy levels and at the right time cortisol signals your body to be awake and responsive. Cortisol is ideally most active in the body first thing in the morning. However, certain factors, such as chronic stress, lifestyle, diet, and adverse health issues can cause unbalanced cortisol levels, which in turn affect your sleep cycle.

So, in a perfect world, these two hormones are in perfect harmony – helping you get the quality sleep your body needs each night. If only that were the case. As we all know, stress, work, and even a schedule change can disrupt your sleep cycle and hormone levels, making you more susceptible to getting sick.

Testing your zzz’s

Irregular levels of either of these two hormones could be the culprit for poor sleep quality. For example, not enough melatonin at night can cause several sleep issues such as difficulty falling asleep, waking up during the night, waking up too early, fatigue, not feeling rested, and daytime tiredness or sleepiness.

On the other hand, if your melatonin level is too high during the day, you can end up feeling excess fatigue, grogginess, or a reduced core body temperature.

If cortisol levels are too high at the wrong times, then you might feel “wired but tired,” or experience disturbed sleep, excessive hunger, weight gain, and anxious moods. If your cortisol levels are too low, however, then you can feel fatigued all the time, have a low mood, get sick more frequently, and have a hard time responding to normal stress.

If you want to measure and optimize your melatonin and cortisol levels, then consider Thorne’s Sleep Test. This simple at-home test kit measures your melatonin and cortisol levels, so you can track their fluctuations as they regulate your sleep-wake cycle. You can order the test kit online, collect your samples in the privacy of your home, and receive your results which include an easy-to-understand analysis and personalized recommendations you can discuss with your health-care practitioner.

How to support quality sleep

Thankfully, there is a lot you can do to support your sleep and immune system! Here are a few actions you can take to build a better sleep routine: 

  • Keeping your bedroom dark, cool, and quiet
  • Going to bed and getting up at the same time each day, including weekends
  • Using sleep masks, earplugs, room-darkening curtains, a fan, or a white-noise machine
  • Adopting a nightly relaxation technique
  • Avoiding alcohol as a sleep aid
  • Limiting screen time before bedtime
  • Exercising regularly to improve sleep quality – but not too close to bedtime
  • Better stress management
  • When you are sick, focusing on recovery by getting extra rest

Do you need additional support? Consider Thorne’s Sleep Stack, a trio of formulas that help you fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up refreshed and recharged for a better morning.*

The Sleep Stack contains the following three sleep solutions:

  1. Magnesium Bisglycinate: When it comes to basic minerals that can help with sleep,* magnesium should be at the top of the list. Despite its key role in sleep and muscle relaxation, many of us don’t get enough magnesium. This product is an ideal magnesium formula for those looking to relax, unwind, and sleep better.*
  2. Melaton-3™: With 3 mg of melatonin per capsule, this formula helps maintain the normal sleep-wake cycle – known as the circadian rhythm.* In individuals who have difficulty sleeping or have an altered circadian rhythm – which often occurs with jet lag and night shift work – melatonin supplementation promotes the resynchronization of this cycle.*
  3. PharmaGABA-250: Contains the natural form of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a brain chemical that supports restful sleep, acts like a "brake" on stress, and provides a calm but focused state of mind.*

References

  1. Prather A, Janicki-Deverts D, Hall M, Cohen S. Behaviorally assessed sleep and susceptibility to the common cold. Sleep 2015;38(9):1353-1359.
  2. Zdravkovic N, Rosic M, Lutovac M, Zdravkovic V. Physiology and pathology of cytokine: commercial production and medical use. Physiol Pathol Immunol December 2017. doi:10.5772/intechopen.72200
  3. Dimitrov S, Lange T, Gouttefangeas C, et al. Gas-coupled receptor signaling and sleep regulate integrin activation of human antigen-specific T cells. J Exp Med 2019;216(3):517-526.