Dr.’s Notes Script

“Sleep is an indicator of health, and sufficient sleep quantity and good quality should be considered as an essential component of a healthy lifestyle, as much as exercise and nutrition.” That’s a quote from a journal called the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Researchers found that inadequate sleep significantly altered immune function similar to what is found in certain disease patterns such as rheumatoid arthritis and HIV infections. Lack of sleep tends to increase inflammation. Inflammation plays an important role in causing coronary artery disease, which is now known to be related to sleep disorders. Inflammation is also related to respiratory disorders, diabetes, and arthritis.

Lack of sleep has also demonstrated a decrease in antibody response to the influenza vaccine. The researchers concluded that adequate sleep is essential for good cellular immunity and health.

Another study looked at a group of nearly 1,000 people in rural communities to see if lack of adequate sleep was related to weight gain over a 5-year period. They found that a 1-hour decrease in sleep was associated with an increase in body weight of about 3 pounds. This may not seem like much, but consider that the average young adult gains only about 1.1 pound per year. Therefore, as with diet and physical activity, modest sustained changes in sleep duration could have a significant effect on weight.