In part 6, I went through the important aspects and benefits of night sleep and maintaining regular biological clock rhythm in order to keep the body equilibrium, healthy brain responses, good performance, increased productivity, and stable moods. I also explained how the protein Toll-like receptors 9 (TLR9) are stimulated by sufficient quality night sleep in order to make the body fight infections and bacteria. This built-in protective process is usually disrupted when the biological rhythm is disturbed by sleep deprivation or jetlag, leaving the body defenseless and exposed to infections and health complications.

With this finding in mind, researchers believe that drugs should be given to patients at certain hours of the day when the immune system is receptive in order for the system to respond and benefit from their effectiveness fully and with minimum doses. Hence, a stable body clock makes the immune defenses and body systems more responsive to drugs, especially, when the body is in its most active phase. Professor Erol Fikrig, who led the study at Yale University, said that a “direct molecular link between circadian rhythms and the immune system” was found, which can make drugs and probably nutrients and nutritious foods more effective at certain hours of the day or night.

There is more to the correlation between immune disruption and the body clock. Two experiments were done in 2003, studying the “body’s response to immunization.” The scientists did them on a group of college students who were immunized with hepatitis A vaccine of inactivated virus after normal night sleep. The other group also had it, but had no sleep at all on the eve of the vaccination. The two groups had their blood analyzed four weeks later to measure the amount of protective antibodies produced by the body through the vaccine. The group who slept well the eve of the vaccine produced 97 percent higher antibodies than the group who were deprived of sleep the night before, indicating that the first group was better protected against future infection from the hepatitis A virus.

For the last five articles I spoke about how sleep works to keep us physically healthy and mentally stable, alert, and well. Today, I shall discuss basic strategies to enhance your sleep and adjust your circadian rhythm, hence improving your immune responses and health. I shall suggest some dos and don’ts as well; if respected, you will be able to reset your body clock, manage your sleep well, and understand your body needs better.

Bedtime and sleeping hours and environment should be taken seriously. A couple of hours before bedtime, the body should be allowed to unwind and relax with a warm bath, foot massage, or soft music. On the other hand, late and heavy fatty meals; loud noises; blaring music or television; arguments; disturbing news; stressful news or thoughts; violent movies; high-performance physical activities (running, jogging, tennis…) that stimulate the body at night; or mental work (assignment, deadlines, solving problems, working in front of the bright computer screen) could interfere with restful sleep.

Your bedroom should be dedicated to sleep, containing no television, laptop, or anything that reminds you of work. The color scheme of the room should be calming; lights low or dim, and the mattress and pillow comfortable. You should have all your needs for the night within reach (bed lights, water, clock, extra blankets…). The sleeping environment should be sleep friendly, comfortable, quiet, and cool.

When we start to fall asleep, our muscles let go of tension and our bodies relax. At that point, we are half asleep, but our mind is somewhat active. This is phase one of sleep. The slightest noise or disturbance leads to arousal and it becomes hard for us to go back to sleep. In the second phase, when sleep gets deeper, the thalamus, part of the brain, begins to shut out information from entering the brain, but the brain remains sensitive to environmental sounds and noises. After half an hour, we drift into deep sleep, which is the slow wave sleep (phase three), which allows for repair of the cells, tissues, muscles, and body. The fourth phase is the rapid eye movement (REM). This stage of sleep is very deep, where dreams and changes in the brain neurochemistry occur, making it difficult for us to easily wake up (I discussed these stages of sleep in Part 6).

Remember, irregular bedtime hours disturb our innate body clocks and functions. When we miss sleep signals like yawning, heavy eyes, slowed body movements, and mental shutdown, sleep disappears and we become wide awake, especially if the lights are too bright and sounds too loud. Bright light left on during the night sends messages to the brain to decrease the release of melatonin, the sleep hormone, thus keeping us alert and wide awake. When we have less sleeping hours because of late bedtime hours, we miss some of the important sleep cycles, especially REM sleep, which is when we dream and the brain reorganizes itself and consolidates learning and memory.

It is important to have insulated walls and windows to block noise, traffic movements, and streetlights. Absolute darkness and quiet are paramount to induce and achieve deep sleep. The bedroom should not be too warm and stuffy or have a sleep distracting smell and too much clutter. Avoid going to sleep when hungry, thirsty, or in pain. Indigestion and gases interfere with profound sleep. Stress could invite negative thoughts. A warm bath with lavender oil or light body massage can be very relaxing and leading to sweet slumber.

The bed, pillow, and the mattress should be very comfortable. The bed should be wide enough to give you space to toss and turn without disturbing your partner. The mattress should not be too stiff that it hurts your back or makes you uncomfortable. A soft one makes the body sink or your pelvis sag. It should support the body without discomfort. It should not be made of a material that makes you hot or is made with offensive chemicals (flame retardant…) that cause allergies and toxins. I recommend a good mattress for hygiene purposes.

The bed sheets should be big enough to cover the bed and the person sleeping in them. You don’t want to play tug of war with your partner all night, leaving both of you angry and sleep deprived. The sheets should be of soft fine cotton that does not block air circulation, making you frustrated and hot. Leave a blanket at hand’s reach when temperatures get cooler in the early hours to avoid tossing, turning, or waking up. Again, the pillow should be neither too hard that it gives a stiff neck nor too soft that it does not support the neck. Make sure you have more than one pillow for each person. If you sleep on the side, you would need a pillow to put between the legs to keep your hips and knees supported. When sleeping on the back, you would require a pillow under your knees to relieve your back of your body weight. The latter position could lead to snoring. Snoring occurs less when sleeping on the side.

Next week, there will be more suggestions on how to improve sleep conditions and environments in order to enjoy deep quality sleep.

References:

• “Body clock alters immune system” by James Gallagher

• “How Exhaustion Might Change the Way You Think,” by

Amanda Woerner

• “Emotions Run Amok in Sleep-deprived brains, ” by

Charles Q. Choi

• Ben Hirschler on sleep on Reuters

• CBS Lesley Stahl interview with Matthew Walker, director of Sleep and Neuroimaging at the University of California, Berkeley

• “Good Sleep, Sociability may keep Grandma Healthy,” by

Megan Rauscher for Reuters.

• The Science of Good Sleep: There is a reason You’re Always So Tired by James Clear in Wellness

N.B.:

Individuals with medical conditions or on medication should consult their physicians when they decide to introduce anything new in their diet even if it is natural.

The previous Health Solutions articles are located at www. arabnews.com

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