Sleep and the Immune System Work Hand in Hand

IL-1, by the way, is produced at its greatest in the presence of a protein called di-muramyl peptide. This peptide, in turn, is produced by bacteria in the body, especially when you are sleep-deprived. That is, if you do not sleep, you become more susceptible to sickness, which stimulates your immune system, which, thanks to the sedative effects of IL-1, makes you sleepy.

In other words, the immune system works to make you sleep; and sleep allows your immune system to work.

All this, researchers found by studying laboratory animals, as well as people in experiencing Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, loosely defined as “deep sleep.” It is non-REM sleep that stimulates the immune system, but researchers found that to keep at the top of the game, humans must have as much REM sleep as possible.

Now why is this so? Studies have found that REM sleep allows a complete “battery recharge” in the body, allowing memories to become permanent in the brain, and allowing the immune system to repair any damages done to cells and organs.