Table of contents:
- Why is it that a person who is sick is easily sleepy?
- Another reason you are easily sleepy when you are sick
- The benefits of sleeping when you are sick
When you are sick, you usually find it easier to get sleepy. Many think this condition is caused by the influence of drugs that make you get more rest so that you recover quickly. While there is some truth in it, there are other explanations for why it is easy to fall asleep when you are sick, such as during the flu. Check out the reviews below.
Why is it that a person who is sick is easily sleepy?
When someone is sick, it is not uncommon for them to spend more time sleeping because of the unbearable drowsiness. This is caused by the presence of chemical compounds that a person releases when he is sick.
These compounds will reject the activity of the nervous system cells which function to increase awareness. Researchers from eLife found that the compound is a protein called DMSR-1 (activated by FLP-13) which functions to put you to sleep.
FLP-13 is a chemical compound that is released when someone is sick. In studies conducted on animals, it is shown that sick animals also do not carry out their normal activities, so they get more rest and sleep.
That is why, when you are sick you tend to sleep easily because the chemical compound FLP-13 will activate the DMSR-1 protein which makes you sleepy.
Even so, further research is still needed on DMSR-1 and its interaction with FLP-13.
Another reason you are easily sleepy when you are sick
Apart from the release of chemical compounds, there are other reasons that make it easy for you to become drowsy when you are sick.
One possible answer is that the body forces it to rest and recover. Not only that, when you sleep sick, the body will carry out several roles, such as:
- Code: recognizes foreign microbes in the body and tries to fight them.
- Consolidation: collecting and combining information about these foreign microbes.
- Reminder: save the experience as data if the same microbes return to the body.
The third process makes you more resistant to certain microbes, such as chicken pox which usually only happens once. The three of them can still occur when you are awake, but when you sleep the three processes can run more optimally.
The benefits of sleeping when you are sick
There is no doubt that getting enough and good quality sleep can have a positive impact on your body. What's more, getting sleepy easily when you are sick means that your body needs rest to recover.
Here are some of the benefits of sleep which are very useful to help your recovery process when you are sick.
- Save energy, so that the energy you have can be diverted to fight foreign microbes that cause you sick.
- Helps maintain the balance of the body's immune system when dealing with microbes.
- Increase levels of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA), which is an antioxidant that speeds recovery.
Getting sleepy easily when you are sick is actually a signal sent by your body that you need rest. Try to listen to your body so that the recovery process can go well.
If the pain you are suffering from does not go away, immediately see a doctor to get more appropriate treatment.
