Lifestyle

Sleeping Too Much or Too Little? Scientists Discovers Increased Risk Of Illness

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Sleeping good in night can help with a lot of problems, but new research shows that getting enough sleep may also make you less likely to get sick.

For the purpose of handing out brief questionnaires to patients, scientists at the University of Bergen recruited medical students who worked in doctors’ offices to inquire about recent infections and the quality of their sleep.

Patients with chronic sleep issues were more likely to require antibiotics, and those who reported sleeping insufficiently or too much were also more likely to report a recent infection, according to their findings.

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What the researchers found

The research team wanted to investigate the connection between sleep and infections in “real life” situations because previous studies typically focused on them in a controlled setting.

To get bits of knowledge, they passed out studies to patients in the lounge areas of general experts in Norway, gathering 1,848 reactions by and large.

In the survey, they were asked things like how long they usually slept for, when they slept, and whether they thought their sleep was good.

In addition, respondents were asked if they had taken any antibiotics or had an infection in the previous three months.

Participants who got either too little sleeping (less than six hours) or too much sleeping (more than nine hours) were more likely to get an infection, according to the study.

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How Sleep Impacts Immunity

Scientists have long known that our immune system and night sleeping are inseparable.

According to Dr. Randall Wright, a neurologist at Houston Methodist and medical director for Brain Wellness at Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital, “sleep is a time to save and reset the body.”

He stated to Healthline, “We get to replenish many of the chemicals that our body needs.” It’s a good time to strengthen our immune system.

So, how exactly can an individual’s immunity be affected by getting too little or too much sleep? There are a number of factors at play.

According to Singh, insufficient sleep can also cause the body to release more of the stress hormones prostaglandin and adrenaline. He stated that they “lower levels of integrin, a molecule that helps T-cells (part of white blood cells) stick to virus-infected cells and kill them.” This is crucial because they “lower levels of integrin.”

According to Brittany Morey, Ph.D., an assistant professor of public health at the University of California, Irvine – Program in Public Health, inadequate sleep quality and quantity can also influence body inflammation levels.

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Immediate vs. long-term impacts of poor sleep

Our immunity levels can suffer immediately and for a long time if we don’t get enough sleep.

Morey elaborated, “Over time, night sleeping problems can have a negative impact on one’s immune system and even raise risk for cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases.”

However, studies have shown that immunity can also be affected by short-term sleep deprivation.

For instance, the levels of “natural killer cells” significantly decreased in one study trusted Source in which participants got only four hours of sleep. In another study, participants’ levels of inflammatory cytokines significantly increased after just one night of poor sleep, according to Trusted Source.

Morey made the observation that because of this, “it’s common for someone to be more prone to getting sick even after one night of bad sleep.”

A Life Consumed By Sleep

Tips for better sleep:

  • Make sleep a priority.
  • Be consistent
  • Create a pre-bedtime routine
  • Exercise regularly

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