It seems that your circadian rhythm the bodys internal clock affects the health of your immune system, according to new research.
Findings presented at the American Society for Cell Biology annual meeting in San Francisco reveal that the body fights back extra hard against invading bacteria while a person is asleep.
In comparison, the immune system may not be as strong during the day, when people are absorbed in other activities.
“Immunity is stronger at night, consistent with the hypothesis that circadian proteins upregulate restorative functions such as specific immune responses during sleep,” commented Stanford researcher Mimi Shirasu-Hiza.
As part of the study, the scientists infected fruit flies with a bacterial infection at different points in the day and night and compared their survival rate.
They also looked at how flies with a mutated circadian clock handled such infections, finding that they were less able to fight off illness.
A large body of research has already connected disrupted sleep patterns to short-term memory and cognition problems.