- Agency Report
A Consultant Family and Lifestyle Medicine Physician, Dr Moyosore Makinde, on Tuesday said that sleep deprivation increases the risk of contracting some Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs).
Makinde, also the President, Society of Lifestyle Medicine of Nigeria (SOLONg), made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
According to her, studies show that people who don’t get quality sleep or enough sleep are more likely to get sick after being exposed to a virus, such as a common cold virus.
According to her, lack of sleep can affect the immune system, adding that sleep plays a major role in determining how fast an individual recovered from sickness.
She said that during sleep, the body immune system makes proteins called cytokines, some of which help an individual go to sleep.
The physician explained that the human body needed more of some types of cytokines particularly when a person had an infection or inflammation, or when under stress.
According to her, not getting enough sleep may lower how much of these protective cytokines are made, adding that the levels of antibodies and cells that fight infections are also lowered during times when an individual don’t get enough sleep.
Makinde said that in spite of the fact that sleep deprivation was the cause of a great number of accidents on Nigeria roads, over 700 genes in the human body could be affected when an individual fails to sleep as at when due.
“Aside from causing fatal vehicular accidents and judgmental errors at work, sleep insufficiency or deprivation can increase the risk of obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers especially breast and prostate cancers.
“So, the body needs sleep to fight diseases and infections,” Makinde told NAN.
Contributing, the General Secretary of SOLONg, Dr Chika Anozie, explained that the normal duration expected of an individual to sleep varied based on the age of the individual.
Anozie, also a Family Physician, said that the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended at least seven to eight hours of restorative sleep for adults above 18 years, saying that infants and children required more hours of sleep compared to adults.
The physician advised that people should make out time for sleep, rest and relaxation.
“Infants require up to 16 hours of sleep, while pre-school and school age children need up to 13 hours and 12 hours of sleep respectively. This is important for the development of their brains.
“Sleep is as important as the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe.
“It is a natural state of rest as well as a period dedicated to helping the body repair itself physiologically or naturally.
“Amidst the hustle and bustle of work, study, business and pleasure-seeking activities, Nigerians need to prioritise their sleep. In so doing, we will be prioritising our health,” he said. NAN