If you’re losing sleep over the coronavirus, you’re not alone. By now, most people know the basics of “social distancing” in lessening infection rates throughout the country. Perhaps less well known are the benefits of good sleep in boosting the immune system.
The news comes courtesy of scholarly journals and consumer publications alike that extoll the merits of proper slumber. A recent issue of SELF magazine brought up the immunity-boosting angle, particularly salient in today’s world. The article (This Is What Actually Happens To Your Body When You Don’t Get Enough Sleep) by writer Rachel Jacoby Zoldan, lists a whopping eight negative effects of poor sleep.
Jacoby Zoldan quotes Dianne Augelli, M.D., a sleep expert at New York Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, who makes the link between sleep and fighting viruses.
“Your immune system is compromised when you don’t get enough sleep,” said Augelli in the article. “You may not have some of the same blood cells and other factors that would attack bacteria and viruses to keep those types of infections away. Your body just can’t mount as good of a response to an invader.”
Responding to “invaders” may be an apt analogy in the world of COVID-19, but Jacoby Zoldan’s article also makes a strong case for sleep’s role in helping virtually every facet of human health. Fortunately, there are high tech solutions (CPAP and oral appliances) in addition to simpler remedies (for snoring and/or better breathing) such as positional therapy with innovative products such as the slumberBUMP.
“With so many people suffering from poor sleep, and long-suffering bed partners dealing with loud snoring, all remedies should be explored,” said Shad Morris, DMD, president and CEO, slumberBUMP, St. George, Utah. “Ultimately it all depends on what’s best for patients. Sometimes that means positional therapy to lessen snoring, and sometimes it means addressing sleep apnea—or both.”
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