Sleep as the Silent Inflammation Switch

“Sleep isn’t a luxury; it’s your nightly anti-inflammatory treatment—especially when you set light, temperature, and timing on your side.” -Kylie Buckner, RN

Show Summary:

Sleep isn’t just “nice to have”—it’s your silent inflammation switch. In this bite-sized solo episode, nurse-coach Kylie Buckner, RN, MSN, explains why so many of us wake between 1–3 a.m., how even one choppy night can crank up inflammatory signals (IL‑6, TNF‑α, CRP), and the simple, science-backed levers that help you sleep deeper without overhauling your life. You’ll learn how to set your body clock with light, cool your nights with a smart “heat-drop” ritual, land your glucose smoothly before bed, and track real progress with any wearable. Kylie also shares a quick client vignette showing how tiny shifts led to an extra sleep cycle, lower resting heart rate, and calmer cravings in just 10 days. If hot flashes or night sweats are part of your story, she invites you to her Forks Over Knives webinar: Inflammation & Menopause—Turning Down the Heat.

Webinar Registration: 

Clic HERE to Watch the replay: Inflammation & Menopause—Turning Down the Heat (Forks Over Knives webinar)

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Resources, Citations, and Further Reading

Sleep, immunity, and inflammation

• Irwin MR. Why Sleep Is Important for Health: A Psychoneuroimmunology Perspective. Annual Review of Psychology (2015).
• Besedovsky L, Lange T, Born J. Sleep and immune function. Pflügers Archiv (2012).
• Meier‑Ewert HK et al. Effect of sleep loss on C‑reactive protein. Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2004).
• Vgontzas AN et al. Sleep deprivation elevates interleukin‑6 and TNF‑α. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (2004).
• Spiegel K, Leproult R, Van Cauter E. Impact of sleep debt on metabolic and endocrine function. The Lancet (1999).

Insulin resistance and systemic inflammation

• Donath MY, Shoelson SE. Type 2 diabetes as an inflammatory disease. Nature Reviews Immunology (2011).
• Hotamisligil GS. Inflammation and metabolic disorders. Nature (2006).
• Petersen MC, Shulman GI. Mechanisms of insulin action and resistance. Physiological Reviews (2018).
• Khambatta, C., & Barbaro, R. (2020). Mastering diabetes: The revolutionary method to reverse insulin resistance permanently in type 1, type 1.5, type 2, prediabetes, and gestational diabetes. Avery. 

Nutrition and cardiovascular levers

• Ashor AW et al. Inorganic nitrate and blood pressure: systematic review and meta‑analysis. Journal of Nutrition (2013).
• Sacks FM et al. Dietary fats and cardiovascular disease: Presidential Advisory. Circulation (2017).

Wearables and practical interpretation

• Walker M. Why We Sleep (overview for stages/architecture).
• Device blogs/guides (Oura, Fitbit, Apple Watch, WHOOP, Garmin) for understanding HRV, resting HR curves, sleep efficiency, and staging trends.