Lack of sleep increases risk of exacerbation of influenza and COVID-19 | health
3 min read
We’ve talked here in our column several times about how sleep, or lack thereof, interferes with physical and mental functioning. At this point, we think everyone would agree that a good night’s sleep is critical to health. To further reinforce this importance, we will highlight here two studies – one older from 2009, one more recent from 2021 – showing that individuals who don’t sleep enough hours each night are more likely to get sick. .
Sleep deprivation damages the functioning of the immune system and favors the exacerbation of viruses – Image: Istock Getty Images
2009 مسح survey 153 individuals were evaluated among men and women. For 14 days, sleep duration and efficiency (how much of the time they actually slept in bed) and whether they felt rested after each night’s sleep were analyzed each day. After this period, the volunteers were vaccinated with the common influenza virus (rhinovirus) and were monitored to see if they would catch the flu.
The researchers observed an association between sleep duration and flu development, with volunteers who slept less than 7 hours a night nearly three times (2.94) more likely to get sick than those who slept more than 8 hours.
In terms of sleep efficiency, people with less than 92% of what the authors called sleep efficiency (that is, if we take into account 8 hours of sleep, this value would equate to a loss of 38 minutes or more of sleep per night) were 5.5 times more likely. to contract influenza.
Interestingly, feeling well was not associated with a reduced tendency to get the flu. This leads us to understand that even if we feel good by sleeping a few hours each night, that doesn’t mean we’re less likely to get sick.
Strengthen the association between time, sleep quality and propensity to illness, Study 2021conducted with 2,884 health professionals from six countries (Spain, France, Italy, Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom), assessing hours of nighttime sleep, hours of daytime sleep (siesta), the presence of issues impairing sleep quality, fatigue and susceptibility to disease from COVID -19.
The study concluded that An extra hour of sleep each night was associated with a 12% lower chance of getting sick. Regarding trying to replace lost sleep time with daytime naps, the study did not show conclusive results.
on the other side, Fatigue and the presence of problems with sleep quality and time were closely associated with a greater tendency to contract covid-19 and an increased severity of the disease..
This greater susceptibility to disease occurs because sleep deprivation impairs the functioning of the immune system and favors systemic inflammation..
So, if you want to enjoy better health during this winter and protect yourself from flu and corona virus, enjoy the inviting coolness and try to improve your sleep habits.
* The information and opinions expressed in this text are the sole responsibility of the author, and do not necessarily align with ge/Eu Atleta’s view.
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