According to one study, travelers are up to 100 times more likely to contract cold while flying. But, instead of walking along the downing powdery vitamin concoctions and slathering on a pound of hand sanitiser, it turns out the best medicine to fight airplane cold and germs might just sleep.
This is the way you can protect yourself from airplane germs and stay healthy
Scientists still learning how exactly sleep contribute to stay healthy. A study published in February 2019 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine insisted that T cells, a kind of white blood cells, “is very important for the body’s immune response,” and that they are better prepared to do so in individuals who get enough sleep.
The researchers looked into a group of signaled molecules known as “Gαs-coupled receptor agonists.” These molecules, the team explained, can suppress the immune system. Whether they also inhibit the ability of T cells to fight infections previously unknown for research.
To see how both of them interact, the researchers took samples from a set of volunteers who slept well and from other groups that stayed up all night. Without being too far into biology here, the researchers basically found that T cells taken from sleep volunteers showed the level of “Integrin activation rather than T cells taken from the wakeful subjects.” This means, the cells are better able to do their work when attacking cells infected with the virus to prevent disease.
“Our findings show that sleep has the potential to increase the efficiency of T cell responses, which are very relevant given the high prevalence of sleep disorders and conditions characterized by sleep disorders, such as depression, chronic stress, aging, and work shift,” said author in a statement.
So, what does this mean to you? This means that in your next red eye or international flight, you only have to turn off your television, close your computer, and maybe throw some noise damper headphones to make sure you rest. That way, your own T cells can work to protect you from coughing your friends, sneezing, and grumbling.
Want to sleep well on the plane? Try packing “sleeping kit,” which is equipped with headphones, sleep masks, and blankets to keep you warm and comfortable no matter how far you fly. In this way, you can wake up fresh and healthy at your final destination.
