If you want to skip the misery that comes with fighting a seasonal cold or flu, new research explains why sleep is some of the best preventive medicine.

We already knew that not getting enough sleep can lead to an increased risk of getting sick , but Nathaniel Watson, a neurologist and sleep specialist at the University of Washington School of Medicine, said this new research helps explain why.

Sleeping poorly can block specific genetic processes in the cells that make up your immune system, which is responsible for fighting off infections and disease, according to the new study.

Your immune system is not functioning the way it was meant to when youre sleep deprived, Watson said.

This study is the first one that Watson and his colleagues are aware of that looks at what happens to the immune systems DNA when youre not getting adequate sleep.

Its further evidence of how important sleep is to human health and physiology, Watson said.