How sleep can improve your immunity

One of the best things that you can do to boost your immune system is head to bed, says sleep scientist Matt Walker. It can even make your flu shot more effective!

Often when we're sick

typically what we want to do
is just curl up in bed

and go to sleep.

And in part what we're trying to do

is sleep ourselves well,

because there's a very
intimate association

between our sleep health
and our immune health.

[Sleeping with Science]

We know that individuals reporting
less than seven hours of sleep a night

are almost three times more likely
to become infected by the rhinovirus,

otherwise known as the common cold.

We also know that women
sleeping five hours or less a night

are almost 70 percent more likely
to develop pneumonia.

Well we've also discovered
that sleep can play a role

in your successful immunization.

So in one study,
they took a group of individuals

and they limited them
to four hours of sleep a night

for six nights.

And in the other group,

they gave them a full night of sleep

each and every one of those nights.

And then during that time period,
they gave them a flu shot

and they measured
the response to that flu shot.

What they discovered
is that in those individuals

who were sleeping just four hours a night,

they went on to produce
less than 50 percent

of the normal antibody response.

So in other words,
if you're not getting sufficient sleep

in the week or the days
before you get your flu shot,

it may render that vaccination
far less effective as a consequence.

What this tells us,

and now what we're starting to learn,

is that it's during sleep at night,

including deep non-REM sleep,

when we actually restock the weaponry

within our immune arsenal.

We actually stimulate the production

of numerous different immune factors.

And furthermore,

the body actually increases
its sensitivity to those immune factors.

So you wake up the next day

as a more robust immune individual.

So when it comes to your immune system,

you should perhaps think of sleep

as one of the best
health insurance policies

that you could ever wish for.