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By Heide Kennedy, Arizona Farm Bureau Communications Intern

We all know what it feels like to have not gotten enough sleep the night prior. Often, we wake up groggy, grumpy, and lacking the energy to get through the day, and in my case, relying on caffeine to make myself somewhat functional. But did you know that not getting enough sleep also has some internal consequences too? A study published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine found that chronic sleep deprivation causes there to be an increase in the number of immune cells in your body.

Researchers studied a group of healthy individuals who were getting the ideal amount of 7-8 hours of sleep every night. They then slowly began reducing the amount of sleep that they got each night and compared blood samples to see the count of inflammatory cells present. They found that as sleep time was reduced, inflammation increased.

This goes to show that there really is a benefit to ensuring that we are getting a full, night’s rest every night. Not only will it help us feel refreshed and energized to tackle the next day, but it also keeps us healthier on the inside!

Fill Your Plate has a lot of other sleep-related articles! Check them out here!