Newsletter #99: Sleep + Immunity, and the Power of Handwashing 🧼👏
Hello Friends!
Welcome to the latest edition of the humanOS newsletter! Below is our work, and a roundup of the various studies and media that have captured our attention this week.
This Week’s Research Highlights
🛀🏾 Regular bathing in a tub of warm/hot water may reduce cardiovascular risk, possibly by mechanisms similar to sauna.
Researchers analyzed data from a total of 30076 participants in Japan, aged 40–59 years, with no history of cardiovascular disease or cancer. Participants were followed from 1990 to 2009, and classified by bathing frequency: 0-2 times/week, 3-4 times/week, or almost every day. A daily hot bath was found to be associated with a 28% lower overall risk of cardiovascular disease, and a 26% lower overall risk of stroke.
🥕 Carrot intake may reduce risk of colorectal cancer.
Researchers analyzed the relationship between dietary intake of carrots and risk of being diagnosed with colorectal cancer in a Danish population of 57053 individuals who were followed for ~18 years. They found that self-reported intake of 2-4 raw carrots or more each week (>32 g/day) was associated with a 17% decrease in risk of colorectal cancer, compared to individuals who did not eat raw carrots, even after extensive adjustments. Why? Carrots are the main dietary source of falcarinol and falcarindiol. These compounds have shown anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory activity in in vitro studies, and have demonstrated anti-neoplastic effects in animal models. This may partly explain observed benefits.
🤦♀️ You probably touch your face a lot more than you realize.
Researchers observed 26 medical students during a lecture via videotape. Afterward, researchers recorded the face-touching behavior of each participant via a standardized scoring sheet. Over the course of one hour, they found that participants touched their faces on average 23 times (though many did it a lot more - the upper quartile averaged more than 108 times!). Of the face touches, 44% involved contact with mucosal membranes.
🧼👏 Just washing your hands can substantially reduce risk of illness and hospitalization.
A large Navy training center implemented a simple handwashing program in the mid-1990s, in response to growing concerns about respiratory illness and hygiene in military recruits. Clinical records from 1996 through 1998 were reviewed to determine rates of illness before and after program implementation.
Analysis revealed that this handwashing program resulted in a 45% reduction in total outpatient visits for respiratory illness over a two-year period, despite major challenges with compliance. Notably, odds of hospitalization for respiratory illness were ~10.9 times higher among infrequent handwashers (less than 3 times per day) than the frequent washers who adhered to the program (at least five times daily).
Podcasts We Loved This Week
- Paul Grewal: Coronavirus (COVID-19) FAQ. Via The Drive with Peter Attia.
- Peter Hotez: Continuing the conversation on COVID-19. Via The Drive with Peter Attia.
- Benjamin Thompson, Noah Baker, Amy Maxmen: Coronapod - Old treatments and new hopes. Via Nature Podcast.
- Angela Rasmussen: Which COVID-19 Treatments Are Backed By Science? Via Science Friday.
Products We Are Enjoying
Further Food Turmeric Tonic.
If you’re looking for a good way to get substantial amounts of turmeric into your diet without having to take a bunch of pills, this is a solid option. One tiny scoop of this powder blend contains 1.5 grams of turmeric (plus black pepper to boost absorption), and a mix of herbs and adaptogens. I like to add it to carrot and pumpkin smoothies. You could also add it to soups, or just blend it up with some warm cashew milk to make a golden milk latte. Smells really good too.
New humanOS Content
- humanOS Blog: Sleep and Immunity – Things to Know.
🦠 Thousands of years ago, Hippocrates suggested that sleep appeared to improve recovery from illness. Yet despite this ancient observation, it is only quite recently that the link between sleep and our immune system has been elucidated.
😴 Much of our knowledge of the importance of sleep for health emanates from studies examining the effects of sleep loss, and they are compelling. We see that lack of sleep is linked to a whole array of issues: mood disturbances, overeating and weight gain, reduced insulin sensitivity, cardiovascular disease, and many other maladies.
⚕ Interestingly, it is also linked to increased susceptibility to respiratory infection - a health concern that is at the forefront of our minds more now than perhaps ever before. In this article, we discuss how sleep influences risk of developing respiratory illness, the capacity of your immune system to respond to a vaccination, and your ability to recover from infectious disease. To learn more, check out the article!