A sleep specialist from the Cleveland Clinic explains why sleep is important to boosting your immunity while common respiratory illnesses surge in the U.S.
A lot of your family and friends are probably battling the sniffles, a full-fledged cold or the flu right now. One way to protect yourself — climb into bed and get a good night’s sleep.
“Sleep is critically important to maintaining a healthy immune system, and so we need to sleep enough. And we need to have good timing of our sleep – we should have a regular sleep-and-wake cycle to promote an optimal immune system,” says Dr. Nancy Foldvary, a sleep specialist at thhhe Cleveland Clinic.
Foldvary says without some healthy shut-eye your immune system doesn’t have enough time to repair and regenerate.
The CDC currently recommends adults get at least 7 hours of sleep each night.
If you have trouble falling or staying asleep, Dr. Foldvary says putting your phone away before bed may help but if you have ongoing issues like snoring or daytime fatigue, she says it’s time to talk to your doctor.
“So, if we want to be healthy in the long-term, it's really important to pay a little attention to our sleep and make sure we're not setting ourselves up to be sleep deprived.”
Source: The Cleveland Clinic
Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Leave a Reply