Suffering from an irregular sleeping pattern? Be careful as this can lead to various diseases.
This is according to research from Yale University. They found that our biological clock regulates when we sleep and wake, but also influences our susceptibility to germs.
Disease agents
The researchers discovered that the biological clock influences the protein TLR9 † This protein is part of the immune system and responds to the presence of viruses and bacteria. For the study, the researchers used mice to see exactly what the protein does. What turned out? If a lot of the protein was present in the body, the mouse could infect the infection better resist. And the amount of TLR9 in our body again depends on how much sleep we get.
"It is often said that your resistance is less if you sleep too little. People know that intuitively," says researcher Erol Fikrig † “Long flights, for example, can disrupt the sleep pattern enormously. And that affects our susceptibility to pathogens .'
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The researchers are not yet entirely sure whether the results they observed in the mice also apply to humans. If this is the case, it has major consequences for the prevention and treatment of diseases † Patients often run a higher risk of death at night. In addition, patients in intensive care often have a disturbed sleep pattern due to noise pollution, artificial light and medicines. This should be prevented in the future.
