Why is good quality sleep important for your immune system?

Sleep plays a vital role in the physiology of your body. It is absolutely essential for basic functioning and maintenance of your endocrine, neurological, musculoskeletal and digestive systems. During sleep your body heals and repairs tissues and organs and also forms new pathways in your brain to improve memory and cognition. Sleep allows your body to rejuvenate, and to heal. Studies show that new immune cells are being produced and immune function is enhanced when your body is at complete rest.

How much sleep do you really need?

Sleep quality is considered an important predictor of the health of your immune system. Less than 6 hours of sleep a day, or frequently disturbed sleep can significantly weaken your immune system’s response to infections or injury. You may find you are more susceptible to getting colds and upper respiratory infections in response to being sleep deprived.

Are you getting enough good quality sleep?

Insomnia is a very common problem in the developed world. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms:

• difficulty falling asleep
• frequent waking
• restlessness and light sleep
• irritability
• fatigue and
• poor concentration during the day

it suggests that the quality of your sleep is not optimal. Even short periods of insomnia can have a detrimental effect on your overall health. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) sees poor quality sleep and insomnia as a result of disturbance in the flow of Shen, which can be translated as Spirit. Shen lives in the Heart, where it regulates conscious awareness during sleep.

How to enhance your immunity and improve your sleep

Your immune health not only depends on a good night’s sleep but also on a diet that is rich in immune enhancing nutrients such as zinc, iron, vitamins C and D and probiotics. Natural herbal remedies that may improve your resistance to infections include

• Andrographis
• Echinacea Olive leaf and
• the Chinese herb known as Lonicera or Japanese honeysuckle. This herb has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat influenza infections for thousands of years.

Chinese herbs that help to calm the mind and spirit and nourish or tonify the Heart are often used in combination to help improve the quality of sleep. These include:

• Ziziphus
• Passionflower
• Albizia
• Polygala
• Poria
• Biota
• Schisandra

Mr Vitamins recommends

Fusion Health Sleep, which combines well with Fusion Health ActiViral to improve sleep and boost immunity Find out more and shop online for Fusion Health Sleep and Fusion Health ActiViral  As always, whatever questions or concerns you have regarding herbal supplements to help you sleep and improve your immune health all you have to do is drop by Mr Vitamins and ‘Ask a Naturopath’.