people realise that our immunity
is closely tied to
the day and night!
In other words,
if we do not follow
the law of the Sun and the Moon,
very likely we will have compromised immunity.
Mainly, it's due to
the unTIMEly rest and stress.
(a) Untimely Rest
This refers to
sleeping/resting too much
during the day or
waking up too late
in the morning (1hr after sunrise).
During day time,
our body is designed to operate mainly
in sympathetic nervous mode
when Th2 Immunity (or Extracellular Immunity) predominates.
When we sleep/rest too much during the day,
our body switches to parasympathetic nervous mode too frequently,
rendering the extracellular defence compromised
(due low immuno metabolism).
We will then tend to get immuno-suppressive type of diseases.
(b) Untimely Stress
This refers to
working very hard after sundown,
sleeping late,
stress-induced poor quality sleep/insomnia.
After sundown,
our body goes into parasympathetic nervous mode
to activate Th1 immunity (intracellular immunity).
If we engage with work stress
or physical stress (including rigorous exercise)
during evening time,
our body will switch back
to sympathetic nervous mode,
compromising Th1 immunity
which is important to fight
viral, parasitic infection and cancers.
When Th1 dominates the day time
(while it should have been Th2 by default),
due to resting too much,
one tends to get immune disorders like:
Multiple Sceloris
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Irritable Bowel Disease
When Th2 dominates the night time
(while it should have been Th1 by default),
due stress after sundown/overnight
one tends to get immune disorders like:
Allergies
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
Cancer
Therefore,
in order to have a healthy immune system,
other than diet,
we also ought to watch over our lifestyle.
Work-Life balance
ensuring we don't work after sundown
can help us wade off or recover from viral infection and cancers.
Keeping ourselves aspired and motivated
will reduce the chance of
over-relaxation during the day,
and reduce chance of organ-specific autoimmune disorders.
Yet in another post to come, we will discuss how immunity sometimes can be hijacked leading to life risking tragedy.
Meanwhile,
let's learn to live by the Rhythm of
the Sun and the Moon.
Well wishes,
Kee Yew
#immunology #Th1 #Th2 #cancer #autoimmunity