Nov. 24, 2022 (Source: Dr. Yuhong Dong- Epoch Times):- The natural healing force within each of us is the greatest in getting well –
More than 2,000 years ago, Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, said, “The natural healing force within each of us is the greatest force in getting well.”
Many American physicians emphasize the importance of self-healing and immunity. Renowned doctor Andrew Weil wrote in his book “Spontaneous Healing” that the human body’s self-healing power is like a highly skilled physician inside our body.
One of the simplest yet often neglected ways to improve self-healing is by getting enough high-quality sleep. The benefits of sleep to the human body are not limited to restoring physical and mental strength; good sleep strengthens immunity and performs many other beneficial functions. Further, everyone doesn’t know why a person should sleep at the right hours at night but not during the day.
The top reason one should sleep during the night is that we receive four self-healing hormones from nights when we sleep at the right time. Melatonin, growth hormone, prolactin, and endorphins are hormones important to our health. They are secreted and reach their peak during sleep.
Melatonin helps sleep promotion, day/night rhythm control, mood regulation, immunomodulation, neuroprotection, bone growth, tumor suppression, antioxidant defence, inflammation reduction, and bacterial, viral, and parasitic infection prevention. Melatonin exists in many edible plants (coffee bean, black pepper, barley, bean, cucumber, potato, rice, tomato, corn, almond), fruits (berry, grapes, apple, bitter melon), and herbs (wolfberry, fennel, fenugreek, agati, alfalfa, green cardamom).
Growth hormone promotes the development of the body’s organs, bones, and muscles. It also promotes lipolysis, supplies energy to cells, and promotes protein synthesis. This process is especially crucial for the repair of immunity lost during the daytime. The immune cells lost during the day are replenished at night through the function of growth hormone; this occurs more quickly during sleep than during waking hours.
When a person sleeps, the number and function of lymphocytes, white blood cells, red blood cells, and phagocytes are increased, enhancing the body’s ability to eliminate viruses.
Prolactin helps breastfeeding and boosting immunity, prolactin is a hormone that is not only responsible for lactation but also beneficial to the immune system.
Endorphins can bind to opioid receptors to relieve pain, are natural painkillers and create a sense of well-being.
So-called good hormones are secreted when you sleep, boosting self-healing processes while cleaning up harmful substances.
Furthermore, human cells have a self-repairing ability called cell autophagy. Fasting initiates cell autophagy, which removes the waste produced by cellular activities during the day. When we sleep, we are fasting, and autophagy is triggered automatically. Therefore, cells self-cleanse when we sleep.
Eating a large meal right before going to sleep reduces the effectiveness of autophagy. When we go to sleep during the night, increased secretion of melatonin can promote autophagy.
The brain’s autophagy occurs when we are asleep. As most of our neurons are not renewed during our lives, autophagy during the night is essential for the brain to maintain its efficiency during the day.
In addition, the blood flow to the liver increases when we lie down and sleep. The liver is a metabolic factory and is closely related to immune function. When liver function is enhanced, it helps eliminate invading bacteria and viruses. The liver’s detoxification function improves during sleep.
Sleep can also clean up one’s “emotional garbage.” People are generally more stressed during the day. Unless self-restrained, most people accumulate negative emotions during the day. Emotions are a type of material substance. If not cleared in time, emotions can pile up. Sleep can calm us down, and stop our worries at least for a few hours, and then those negative emotions will not harm us.
In summary, there is no one size fits all solution for everyone when it comes to when to sleep and how long. However, following our internal clock, it is best to sleep at the golden time (11 pm to 6 am) during the evening when our internal clock tells us to go to bed.
