Tune your genes with sleep

When you don’t sleep enough, you’re not just tired. At the same time, you are negatively affecting your genes responsible for immunity and protection against cancer.

Too much to do, worries that keep you awake, a party you can’t miss, a computer game you’re sorry to interrupt at the best of times… There are many reasons why people limit their sleep time. However, the consequences of this approach can have serious effects on our bodies.

It has long been known that sleep deprivation is bad for you. Until now, however, scientists have mainly talked about the immediate negative effects. Perhaps everyone has experienced a situation where sleep deprivation makes them tired, unthinking, makes their reaction time worse, and makes them grumpy and irritable.

In recent years, however, research has shown that the consequences of long-term sleep deprivation are much more serious. When we are sleep deprived, a series of so-called epigenetic chemical reactions take place in our bodies (in particular gene methylation and histone acetylation – more here: https://www.epivyziva.cz/co-je-epigenetika/), which can turn off some genes in our DNA, so that the effect is the same as if they were not in our cells at all.

3 reasons not to cheat the night rest

So far, scientific research has demonstrated three epigenetic pathways through which sleep affects our health and mental well-being. But it is likely that this is far from the final number.

1. Improve immunity
According to a study published in 2012 in the American Journal of Respiratory Critical Care Medicine, sleep deprivation increases the body’s level of methylation of the FOXP3 gene, which is involved in T-lymphocyte production, thereby decreasing its activity. Methylation of this gene also negatively affects the inflammatory processes in the body. Sleep, on the other hand, has been shown to increase our chances in the fight against microbes of all kinds.

2. Less stress and better sleep
It may sound like a contradiction in terms – if you’re sleep deprived, you should fall asleep, like being thrown into water. But the opposite is true. Recent research has shown that sleep deprivation causes epigenetic changes in an area of the brain called the hippocampus (specifically, gene methylation and histone acetylation). The consequence is an increase in stress levels and a simultaneous deterioration in the body’s ability to cope with the stress. However, stress is one of the main reasons why we fail to fall asleep, so it is true that long-term sleep restriction can lead to insomnia problems over time.

3. Protection against cancer
It has been known for some time that disrupting sleep rhythms (e.g. during shift work) or exposure to light during sleep, for example, disrupts the production of the hormone melatonin, resulting in an increased risk of cancer. In 2014, however, it was shown that these processes are epigenetic in nature – reduced melatonin production causes changes in the DNA methylation of genes that are responsible for protecting our bodies from cancer. Other research suggests that sleep deprivation in general has a similar effect. Adequate night’s rest is thus one of the most important components of cancer prevention.

When sleep fails

Valerian, lemon balm, hops… Everyone who is at least a little interested in natural healing has heard of these herbs. For insomnia they are of course a good choice, but we, already knowing the role epigenetics plays in this problem, will look at help from the field of epigenetic herbs and nutrients.

Baikal coneflower – this is a very effective choice for anxiety and depression, which can cause sleep problems. However, it works for insomnia in general.
Read more about coneflower here: https://www.epivyziva.cz/sisak-bajkalsky/

Curcumin – positively affects the level of the stress hormone cortisol and thus reduces the overall level of stress load on the body. However, its use is generally advisable when you are sleep deprived for any reason – it helps to reverse the negative epigenetic changes resulting from chronic sleep deprivation. Read more about curcumin here: https://www.epivyziva.cz/kurkumin/

Omega-3 – this nutrient has an overall beneficial effect on the psyche and can effectively help with insomnia. It has even been proven to treat insomnia in children. Read more about omega-3 here: https://www.epivyziva.cz/omega-3-nenasycene-mastne-kyseliny/