Improving sleep habits could strengthen immunity against COVID and chronic health conditions

June 24, 2020

Jeff Rivenbark,

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — If you’re struggling getting adequate sleep or not feeling restful when you awake, there could be a number of things contributing to the problem.

A lack of sleep could weaken your body’s defense against COVID or lead to chronic diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, obesity and depression.

Dr. Oluwole Odunusi, a sleep specialist with New Hanover Regional Medical Center Physician Group – Coastal Pulmonary Medicine, treats a number of patients affected by a range of sleep disorders.

“Often times they’re associated with other illnesses, insomnia or sleep apnea, but there has been an uptick and I think it does coincide with some of the national surveys which have come out recently which show patients have been having problems with their sleep,” Odunusi said.

While we may tend to think of children or teens staying up beyond their bedtime, adults can develop poor sleep habits too.

“Often times its been attributed to the younger population who may be staying up later or having more screen time,” Odunusi said. “Older Americans, specifically older women, in the perimenopausal or post-menopausal times in their life have been the biggest demographic associated with having issues with insomnia or poor sleep hygiene.”

That can cause a number of illnesses associated with poor sleep.

“When you change your sleep cycle over the weekend or weekday, there’s a type of neurohormonal response your body has called circadian rhythm cycle and that could fluctuate where it could make it really hard for someone to be able to sleep at certain given times,” Odunusi said.

NHRMC recommends the following tips for improving one’s sleep: