zg7666 Posted November 12, 2013 Posted November 12, 2013 ...The finding adds to a growing body of research showing that a healthy pattern of light and dark, sleeping and waking, is essential to keep the immune system in balance, Hooper says. She notes that inflammation is the basis of many chronic disorders, such as heart disease, asthma, chronic pain, and many things ending in "-itis," like bursitis and dermatitis. Inflammatory conditions are more prevalent in developed countries, where people's circadian rhythms are chronically disrupted. Even people who don't work shifts or cross time zones still wake and sleep out of sync with light and darkness, Hooper says. "We all have screwed up light cycles. We stay up late, keep the lights on, look at our lit-up iPhones at 2 a.m." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/08/sleep-immune-system-body-clock_n_4235943.html
ThomasDoubts Posted November 13, 2013 Posted November 13, 2013 Just as a disclaimer, I don't have any evidence, but I do have theories. I'm a big proponent of volitility, or variation. I prefer to sleep 6 hours one night, 10 the next, 8 the next, etc. I like to keep my body guessing, the theory being, like your muscles, the body becomes stronger by adapting to it's environment. I do the same with my diet. I might really pig out one day, have 3 squared the next, fast for 2 days, etc. I like to mix it up, and confuse my body. Anecdotally, I find it much easier to cope with less sleep than others. I find it much easier to cope with hunger than others. I don't know precisely how this effects my body, but I don't like routines. Most of the time, I think optimization comes at a price. I try to encourage flexibility, and adaptability in my body, rather than optimizing for one environment. It kinda goes along the lines of the notion that it's healthier to smoke one cigarette a year, than to not smoke at all. I think stress does more to strengthen your immune system than living in a plastic sterile bubble, up to a point. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, sometimes. I will say though, studies like this are generally fraught with correlation/causation fallacies/issues.
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