Sleep and quick recovery from flu and cold

The importance of sleep for good health and good psychological mood is now widely known. So important is good sleep for human health and well-being that many experts treat it like medicine. However, what most people don't suspect is that good sleep is not just a factor that helps our health more broadly and preventively. Several studies have shown that it is also an important factor in rapid recovery from colds, flu, allergies and other seasonal illnesses .

Preparing for flu season

Winter, despite the cold and bad weather, is a favorite season, mainly because it coincides with the Christmas and New Year holidays. At the same time, however, it also marks the beginning of the seasonal flu season (December-February), colds, etc. - situations faced by a percentage of people that can reach or even exceed 20% of the general population.

However, there is also good news. Along with the possibility of prevention offered by the flu vaccine (talk to your doctor or pharmacist to get it in time), one of our most important weapons against these diseases is SLEEP . A "weapon", which is free and available to everyone without exception, and whose preventive and therapeutic properties have been proven by a series of scientific studies.

How sleep strengthens our immunity

Sleep has been shown to play an extremely important role in maintaining our health, both in the short and long term. Accordingly, it is understood that lack of sleep – especially for a prolonged period of time – opens the door to a number of diseases, as it weakens our immune system, both now and in the future.

Specifically, it is the T-cells that strengthen our immune system and give us the ability to deal with the diseases that attack our body. When we cut back on sleep and stay up all night (due to work, entertainment, stress, etc.) it results in our body being weakened and vulnerable to colds and flu. This alone is one more reason why you should make getting a good, restful night's sleep your top priority.

How sleep helps you fight colds and flu

One of the main symptoms when we are sick is that we get a fever. You will of course have noticed that the fever rises at night, during sleep, and decreases in the morning. Having a fever is a sign that our body is trying to fight the disease. Therefore, when we are in a state of rest, fighting disease becomes our body's first priority.

Conversely, when we are awake and working, having fun, watching TV, reading, etc., our energy is dissipated and there is little left to go into dealing with the disease. In fact, it has been found that the flu vaccine is less effective in people who sleep less. This is because the body of those who do not sleep enough and satisfactorily produces fewer antibodies than the body of those who achieve a deep and satisfactory sleep.

Washington State University research also showed that sleep was associated with a brain protein, AcPb, that was shown to speed recovery in mice infected with the H1N1 virus.

The secret to speeding up your recovery is to make sure you get enough and deep sleep, because it is in our deepest sleep that our body does its most important work to fight an illness.

How to deal with seasonal illnesses

Flu and cold symptoms can include fever, cough, muscle aches, headaches, sore throat, stuffy nose, runny nose, fatigue, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, chills, and more. These are unpleasant symptoms, from which it is reasonable to want to get rid of them as soon as possible. In order to achieve this, it is enough to follow some simple and easy instructions:

• We stay at home: as soon as we find that we have any of the above symptoms we decide to stay at home and do not go out until at least 24 hours after the fever has stopped

• We follow basic hygiene rules, such as thorough hand washing

• We contact our doctor: there are several drugs that our doctor can prescribe to help us get back to normal faster, but also painkillers that can help us in the short term

• We make sure to stay hydrated

• Taking a zinc supplement can help us overcome the disease faster (but be careful, we must have spoken to a specialist to determine the dosage)

• We consume teas and other natural products (such as ginseng), which have proven effects that benefit our immune system

• We eat properly, with foods that are easy to digest and rich in nutrients

• The steam helps both to limit the symptoms and to speed up the recovery. Steam inhalations and hot baths are actions that we should include in our daily life

• We rest and sleep as much as possible: we make sure we don't expend any energy on anything other than dealing with the illness and symptoms. Rest and sleep is the best medicine for this condition

Achieving deep and restful sleep

Sleep is what your body craves more than anything else when you're sick. It is your responsibility to give your body what it needs. So make sure you have a good and comfortable mattress , use quality sleep products , stop stressing about trivial things, and eliminate noises and distractions from your space.