Deep Sleep: a vital activity for a good immune system
Life is difficult for some of us in this time of Covid-19 and yet for others it is a respite from habitual stress. How is it affecting you?
For us, it’s a mix. My immediate family is well, but beyond that, family members and friends have died, are sick or lonely in care homes. I am lucky to work at home, and my son is here. In my garden the grass seems greener, the air clearer and the birdsong more varied. And we have been able to help in this crisis in a way that has been touching and humbling. More on that below.
How can Zeez help in a time of coronavirus?
By encouraging deep sleep, helping our immune system to deal with the virus, and by supporting us to stay calm, including through infection.
Strengthening our Immune system
The ability of our immune system to overcome a virus is affected by the quality of our sleep. Sleep well and we make four times more natural killer cells than if we sleep poorly. This is how it works:
Our first line of defence is our innate immune system. Our skin and mucosa resist infection. If they aren’t enough and a virus enters the body an army of cells intervenes, gobbling up and poisoning the invading virus and killing infected cells so it can’t replicate. This army of macrophages, neutrophils, phagocytes and natural killer cells is activated automatically against any pathogen, including Covid-19, but the size of the army depends on our sleep: a single night of interrupted sleep and our natural killer cells decrease by up to 75%.
If our innate immune system isn’t enough to overcome a virus, we need our adaptive immune system, our second line of defence, antibodies that target the particular virus.. When a virus infects us for the first time, our body encodes information about it, remembers this info, and within a few days generates antibodies that are specific to that virus and adapted to neutralise it: our adaptive immune system. Part of this process happens during sleep – a lack of deep sleep in the night following infection can cut our antibody production by half, and means that the new virus is likely to do us more damage. Simply put, poor sleepers are likely to generate fewer antibodies to Covid-19. And as we get older, we tend to sleep less well.
Staying calm
This is a stressful time, and stress damages our immune system, reducing the number of white blood cells that are available to fight infection. The alpha and theta signals of the Zeez (the first 20 minutes of its programme) can help us to stay calm, especially if we use them to reinforce meditation or yoga. Our body can recognise these signals when they are close to the body, e.g. in a pocket. If you already have a Zeez, make use of the first few minutes of its cycle during the day when you are relaxing. You may be pleasantly surprised.
In the worst cases, Covid-19 inflames our lungs. That is scary – and we need to keep calm and keep breathing. One of our users, who skilfully manages chronic fatigue syndrome, sent us this message:
“I am in recovery from Covid19. Staying calm has been instrumental in keeping my symptoms under control. Last night, as my anxiety was peaking, I put the Zeez on my labouring chest. Instantly I felt calmer. I kept it there all night. I am thankful for the Zeez today.”
More about sleep and the immune system here https://www.zeez.org.uk/blog/2020/3/20/coronavirus-and-sleep
Stay Well
Anna
Zeez Sleep