Why poor sleep during pregnancy can disrupt the immune system
Pregnancy alters the immune system throughout different stages to help the mother to become pregnant, maintain pregnancy and to deliver. Inflammation is required within the body in order for an embryo to implant within the womb. This is successful by the immune cells flooding into the lining of the womb and they remain in this heightened stage for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy to allow for the fetus to become fully established. The immune system is then repressed for the following 15 weeks to allow for the fetal cells to grow. This is because some of these fetal cells have antigens from the father that would be at risk of attack as they would be perceived as ‘foreign’. The immune system then changes again as delivery nears as inflammation within the body helps with the labour response.
When we sleep, proteins called cytokines are released by our immunes systems which help to fight inflammation and infection. Cytokines are both produced and released during sleep therefore adequate sleep is imperative to this process. When we experience an infection, inflammation or when under stress, we need certain cytokines need to increase within the body. If we experience sleep deprivation, cytokines are unable to be produced and released and therefore unable give our bodies protection. This makes sleep an important role in helping with immunity for both men and women (pregnant and non-pregnant).
Pregnant women typically experience poor sleep throughout their pregnancy due to different symptoms that occur in each trimester. For example; morning sickness and an increased urgency to urinate during the first trimester, leading to frequent bathroom trips during the night. Experiencing feelings of anxiousness and physical discomfort due to the growing fetus during the second and third trimester. Not to mention the constant hormonal changes, leg cramping, heartburn etc that all play a role in disrupting and disturbing adequate and restorative rest. As sleep is impacted throughout these 9 months, cytokines levels are likely to be lower which can put the body at risk of sickness if inflammation and infection is not being fought.
It is recommended that if we are unable to obtain the 7-9 hours of recommended sleep each night, that we take a nap during the day to try to increase our cytokine levels in order to maintain a healthy immune system.
Interestingly, the pregnant body also needs the immune system to be repressed to a certain extent to maintain healthy growth of the fetus so that it is not under attack from the mother’s body. It also needs inflammation to increase during the beginning and end of pregnancy as it is required for implantation and delivery.
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Gemma Fisk