Sleep May Strengthen Long-term Immune System Memories

Over a century ago, scientists demonstrated that sleep supports the retention of memories of facts and events. Later studies have shown that slow-wave sleep, often referred to as deep sleep, is important for transforming fragile, recently formed memories into stable, long-term memories.

Now researchers propose that deep sleep may also strengthen immunological memories of previously encountered pathogens.

“While it has been known for a long time that sleep supports long-term memory formation in the psychological domain, the idea that long-term memory formation is a function of sleep effective in all organismic systems is in our view entirely new,” says senior author Jan Born of the University of Tuebingen. “We consider our approach toward a unifying concept of biological long-term memory formation, in which sleep plays a critical role, a new development in sleep research and memory research.”

The immune system “remembers” an encounter with a bacteria or virus by collecting fragments from the bug to create memory T cells, which last for months or years and help the body recognize a previous infection and quickly respond.

Gist Information

These memory T cells appear to abstract “gist information” about the pathogens, as only T cells that store information about the tiniest fragments ever elicit a response. The selection of gist information allows memory T cells to detect new pathogens that are similar, but not identical, to previously encountered bacteria or viruses.

Studies in humans have shown that long-term increases in memory T cells are associated with deep slow-wave sleep on the nights after vaccination.

Taken together, the findings support the view that slow-wave sleep contributes to the formation of long-term memories of abstract, generalized information, which leads to adaptive behavioral and immunological responses.

The obvious implication is that sleep deprivation could put your body at risk.

“If we didn’t sleep, then the immune system might focus on the wrong parts of the pathogen,” Born says. “For example, many viruses can easily mutate some parts of their proteins to escape from immune responses. If too few antigen-recognizing cells [the cells that present the fragments to T cells] are available, then they might all be needed to fight off the pathogen.

In addition to this, there is evidence that the hormones released during sleep benefit the crosstalk between antigen-presenting and antigen-recognizing cells, and some of these important hormones could be lacking without sleep.”

Born says that future research should examine what information is selected during sleep for storage in long-term memory, and how this selection is achieved.

In the end, this research could have important clinical implications.

“In order to design effective vaccines against HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis, which are based on immunological memory, the correct memory model must be available,” Born says. “It is our hope that by comparing the concepts of neuronal and immunological memory, a model of immunological memory can be developed which integrates the available experimental data and serves as a helpful basis for vaccine development.”

Article originally appeared on sciencebeta.com

Anxiety Helped with Kinesiology

10 year old’s anxiety about going to the Toilet at School

This anxious young man attended me for Systematic Kinesiology with a view to finding out why he feared going to the toilet at school. The background to this case was that there was building work going on at the School and the children were not allowed to use the toilets during school hours for health and safety reasons. This situation manifested greatly in this young man’s mind and he developed a fear that he would have “an accident” at school and would go to the toilet 3 or 4 times before leaving home every school morning. As a result, his bowel movements became irregular – one day constipated the next diarrhea, all of which was accompanied with severe cramping, he also suffered joint pain and headaches. He had become a very restless sleeper.

In recent weeks he had braces applied to his teeth and this was causing a swallowing problem. I carried out a Systematic Kinesiology Balance treatment to determine where the problem was originating. We have 15 systems in our bodies and in order to find out where and why a health problem is existing, a muscle test to each system is carried by using the muscles of the arms and legs. The limbs are put in various positions and a gentle pressure is exerted on the limb. When a “weakened” muscle is found – it does not mean that there is a serious problem. However, in Systematic Kinesiology, we have lots of options to help find the answer – Nutrition: is there a food causing the problem? Is the weakened area working properly – for example – is the digestive system producing enough enzymes to break down the food. Is there an injury to the area that would be causing the problem or is the problem stress related?

In this particular case, the area supporting the Large Intestine showed to be the main problem and nutrition was the reason for the weakness. As well as this, his Temporal Mandibular Joint (Jaw joint) needed to be balanced. I carried out the full food sensitivity test, – a number of foods showed him sensitive to – the main ones being wheat, yeast, and sugar, chocolate. I also checked to see if a nutritional supplement would also support him. To help this young man to feel more grounded and secure in himself, I showed him how to do an exercise called – Cross Crawl. This was to help his concentration, his general energy, and his confidence. I suggested that he do this three times daily. To complete the session, I checked his Energy Centres or Chakras all of which needed to be balanced.

A few days later, his mother rang me to say how pleased she was with the Systematic Kinesiology session, that she now had a “different child”- one who was much happier in himself and had little or no anxiety now about toilet visits. He told his Mum that he felt “lighter” as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. There will be follow up visits necessary to ensure that this young man’s digestive system is working properly, and that he is able to absorb and digest his foods correctly.

If you have a child who’s worrying about issues at school, the Systematic Kinesiology approach looks for solutions in a holistic way, not only focussing on the worry itself, but supporting the child energetically, nutritionally, simple movement exercises and physically working with the body’s balancing reflexes.

Article originally appeared Kinesiology.ie and is written by by Mella Britton, DipAK, practitioner in Donegal

Powerful Diet and Lifestyle Tips to Prevent and Manage Depression

As depression affects millions worldwide, countries across the globe now have special days to foster more awareness about mental health issues. While Mental Health Days are a good place to start, is anyone raising awareness of the concrete strategies that anyone can do to prevent, manage and overcome this condition?  While some individuals may require stronger treatment methods (such as medications and psychotherapy) most should begin by addressing the many simple, yet powerful changes they can make in their diets and lifestyle.

Stats Canada and the CDC (Center for Disease Control) report that about 9% of adults 18 and older reported symptoms consistent with at least one of the following disorders: major depressive episode, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and abuse of or dependence on alcohol, cannabis or other drugs.

Depression can be described as a state of being that includes a lack of motivation, a sense of hopelessness and a lack of energy. It can include chronic fatigue, sleep problems, alterations is appetite and loss of interest in life in general.

In mainstream medicine, most doctors only address and treat the symptoms of depression by prescribing antidepressants.  These types of medications all come with varying degrees of side effects which can be even more detrimental to the individual.

An integrated approach looks at all the contributing factors then works to correct and resolve areas that may be creating difficulty.

How You Think and Feel is Directly Affected by What You Eat

There is much evidence that the foods we eat directly influence the brains behavior.  Here’s some Food for Thought: How you think and feel is directly affected by what you eat.  This idea may seem strange but a poor diet, especially one with a lot of junk foods, is a common cause of depression.  That’s because neurotransmitters in our brain, which regulate how we behave, are controlled by what we eat and closely linked to mood.  The fact is that eating the right foods has been proven to boost IQ, improve mood and emotional stability, sharpen memory and keep your mind young.

Two of the most important aspects an individual should address if they’re suffering from depression are their diet and lifestyle.  Everything from blood sugar imbalances to food allergies and deficiencies in much needed vitamins and minerals should be considered and corrected as well as ensuring your diet is rich in fatty and amino acids as these have all been linked to low mood.

What is a Balanced Diet?

A good nutritional program consists of three parts:

1. A good diet, without chemicals, sugars and junk food. Eating a whole food diet ensures you receive all the right nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids and EFA’s. These all support you mental, physical and emotional health.
2.  Micronutrient support, especially the B vitamins niacin, pyridoxine (B6), B12, folic acid, vitamin C, zinc & essential fatty acids.
3.  Other nutrients that support the production of neurotransmitter substances such as choline, and L-tyrosine which improves dopamine synthesis and 5-HTP to stimulate serotonin production.

Getting enough Vitamin D through appropriate sun exposure or in supplement form is also essential in fighting depression.  Vitamin D is actually a neuroregulatory steroidal hormone that has been found to significantly lower the presence of depressive symptoms. There is growing evidence showing that if you’re suffering from depression one of the best choices you can make is to spend as much time outdoors in the sun as possible.

Exercise

Exercise is a great way to prevent and treat depression. Studies show that regular exercise helps you feel better and improves mood and attitude towards life. Exercise can help cleanse toxins out of the body and could moderate depression. Also, exercise helps increase feel good endorphins in your brain.

Exercising 3-5 times a week for at least 45 minutes and including some form of aerobic exercise, weight training to improve strength and tone and stretching to ensure flexibility are all essential components to a balanced program.

Although this may be difficult to even consider when you’re feeling depressed, once you establish a routine it will build and help moderate your symptoms.

Lifestyle

How you live your life, interact with others, the work you do and the stresses in your life all have an impact on you mental health and need to be addressed and modified. Keep a positive attitude towards life. Look at challenges as opportunities to improve your well being. Create a regular exercise program and learn ways to talk about your feelings and frustrations with friends or loved ones.

Other possible causes of Depression

Many drugs can cause mild to moderate levels of depression; these include blood pressure medications, estrogens in birth control pills, steroids and antianxiety drugs. Although alcohol can make you feel good initially it is actually a depressant and if you suffer with depression you should absolutely minimize or avoid consumption.

Hormonal imbalances such as low testosterone or menopausal imbalances are also factors in causing depression.

A hidden problem that many individuals suffer from is unbalanced thyroid, in particular hypothyroidism which, often goes undiagnosed and untreated.  Thyroid problems can have a definite impact on your mood.

As mentioned above food allergies can produce and aggravate depression. For this reason it’s critical to isolate and eliminate food allergies. Avoiding or better yet, eliminating all sugars, refined foods and chemicals found in those foods helps many people with poor moods and depression.

Empower Yourself with an Integrated Approach to Mental Health

If you or someone you know is plagued with depression there are many ways to help prevent and control this condition using natural alternatives or in conjunction with medical therapy.

Keep a positive attitude, exercise, address your diet and nutritional intake, supplement with a good quality multi-vitamin and mineral formula, avoid foods that are toxic to your body and don’t forget to exercise regularly.