As I write this, we in the Seattle area are suddenly the epicenter of the largest coronavirus outbreak in the USA, and apparently it’s been in our community for at least six weeks! My clinic (Swedish Bainbridge Island) has been swamped with calls, so here’s my first in a series of tips on how to avoid coronavirus.

Tip #1: Healthy Sleep (at least 7 hours)

I’ve seen a lot of articles these past few weeks discussing prevention, but none have mentioned a clear winner: healthy sleep helps to fight virus infections. One of my favorite studies, published in JAMA in 2009, took 153 people and literally infected them with rhinovirus, by squirting it up their noses, and then they followed them for five more days and measured sleep length and efficiency. The data was clear: those who got less than 7 hours were three times more likely to develop symptoms than those who slept longer. A stronger study came out in 2015, which showed more impressive results: those who slept under 5-6 hours were over 4 times more likely to develop symptoms than those who slept over 7 hours.

This is crucial to understand during our current severe flu season and coronavirus scare; even if we are exposed to a virus, that doesn’t mean we get symptoms. If we get good sleep, our refreshed immune system can kill off those viruses — and you won’t even know you had it.

So, if you’re scraping by with 5-6 hours every night, fix that! At least do your best, especially over these next few weeks.

Stay safe, everyone.