When You’re Ill, Don’t Fight The Need to Sleep. It Helps You To Heal!
Over the years, scientists have solved many mysteries about the human body, and created some wonderful solutions to problems. But one things has always been a puzzle – why do we need to sleep?
Sleep is obviously important.
In our ancestors’ caveman days, sleeping put early humans at great risk of being killed by predators. Sleep was so necessary that it made that risk worthwhile.
And all animals sleep. So why it is so important?
Although we’re still working it out, there’s new evidence to show that we need sleep to help us to recover from illness. And we already know that good sleep is good for our immune system (which helps to protect us from disease).
When you get ill, often you feel like sleeping more. And that’s good, because when you sleep well, you heal more quickly than if you don’t. And if you’re not getting enough sleep, you’re more likely to become ill.
A new study published in MedicalXpress.com shows that a single gene called nemuri tells our bodies to get more sleep when we’re ill, and also helps to fight infection.
Scientists have long thought that sleep and healing are closely related, but this is the first time that there’s some direct evidence for it – even though the tests were performed on fruit flies.
- Flies that didn’t have the nemuri gene didn’t get as much sleep and died more often of infection than flies with the gene.
- Flies which had their nemuri gene over-stimulated had the highest survival rate and also got more sleep while they were ill.
Of course, more tests are needed to see if the same applies to humans.
None of us wants to be ill, and getting enough sleep is a good way to help prevent getting sick. Medication is often not green and eco-friendly, so although it’s sometimes necessary, it’s better to prevent illness from happening in the first place.
In the meantime, be sure to get plenty of sleep when you’re ill. The evidence continues to mount that our immune systems need sleep to function at their best, and now we’re finally beginning to understand why.
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Warm regards,
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