Poor Sleep Increases Risk Of Getting Sick

Study Finds Those Exposed To Cold Viruses Less Likely To Get Sick If They Got 8 Hours Of Sleep

(CBS/AP)  It turns out if you don't snooze you lose, reports CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jonathan LaPook.

A study of 153 healthy people found that those who got less than seven hours of sleep were almost three times more susceptible to getting a cold than those who slept eight hours or more.

"It's been shown if you're sleep-deprived you have a lower level of those natural cells that have the ability to fight off infections," said Dr. Robert Basner, a sleep expert.

And sleep-deprivation can affect more than immunity. It can change hormones, making people eat more and gain weight. Other problems, LaPook reports, include hypertension, diabetes, and just plain grouchiness.

Researchers paid healthy adults $800 to have cold viruses sprayed up their noses, then wait five days in a hotel to see if they got sick. Habitual eight-hour sleepers were much less likely to get sick than those who slept less than seven hours or slept fitfully.

"The longer you sleep, the better off you are, the less susceptible you are to colds," said lead author Sheldon Cohen, who studies the effects of stress on health at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University.

Prior research has suggested that sleep boosts the immune system at the cell level. This is the first study to show small sleep disturbances increasing the risk of getting sick, said Dr. Michael Irwin, who researches immune response at the University of California, Los Angeles, and was not involved in the study.

"The message is to maintain regular sleep habits because those are really critical for health," Irwin said.

During cold season, staying out of range of sneezing relatives and co-workers may be impossible. The study, appearing Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine, mimicked those conditions by exposing participants to a common cold virus - rhinovirus - and most became infected with it.

But not everyone suffered cold symptoms.

The people who slept less than seven hours a night in the weeks before they were exposed to the virus were three times more likely to catch a cold than those who slept eight hours or more.

To find willing cold victims, researchers placed ads and recruited 78 men and 75 women, all healthy and willing to go one-on-one against the virus. They ranged in age from 21 to 55.

First, their sleep habits were recorded for two weeks. Every evening, researchers interviewed them by phone about their sleep the night before. Subjects were asked what time they went to bed, what time they got up, how much time they spent awake during the night and if they felt rested in the morning.

Then they checked into a hotel where the virus was squirted up their noses. After five days, the virus had done its work, infecting 135 of the 153 volunteers. But only 54 people got sick.

Researchers measured their runny noses by weighing their used tissues. They tested for congestion by squirting dye in the subjects' noses to see how long it took to get to the back of their throats.

Sleeping fitfully also was tied to greater risk of catching a cold. Those who tossed and turned more than 8 percent of their time in bed were five times more likely to get sick than those who were sleepless only 2 percent of the time.

Surprisingly, feeling rested was not linked to staying well. Cohen said he's not sure why that is, other than feeling rested is more subjective than recalling bedtime and wake-up time.

The researchers took into account other factors that make people more susceptible such as stress, smoking and drinking, and lack of exercise, and they still saw a connection between sleep and resisting a cold.

Cold symptoms like congestion and sore throat are caused by the body's fight against a virus, rather than the virus itself, Cohen said. People whose bodies make the perfect amount of infection-fighting proteins called cytokines will not even know they are fighting a virus. But if their bodies make too many, they feel sick.

Sleep may fine-tune the body's immune response, Cohen said, helping regulate the perfect response.

Prior research has tied lack of sleep to greater risk of weight gain, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and diabetes.

Dr. Daniel Buysse, a sleep researcher at the University of Pittsburgh, said spending too much time in bed can lead to more interrupted sleep, which in this study "seems to be even worse than short sleep" for increasing the risk of catching a cold.

If it takes a long time to fall asleep or if you are restless during the night, "you would probably benefit from spending a little LESS time in bed," Buysse said in an e-mail. "If you fall asleep instantly, have no wakefulness during the night, and are sleepy during the day, you would probably benefit from spending a little MORE time in bed."

Buysse was not directly involved in the research, although he commented on an early draft of the study. The study was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the MacArthur Foundation.

Harvard sleep researcher Sat Bir Khalsa said people do not need to turn to prescription sleep aids to improve their sleep. Setting a regular bedtime, moving computers and televisions out of the bedroom and, when restless, getting out of bed for a while and doing something soothing can help. His research focuses on treating insomnia with yoga.

As preventive measures, vitamin C and herbal supplements have not lived up to their reputation in rigorous studies. Cohen said research has shown people who get more exercise, drink moderately and have lower stress also get fewer colds.

[puzzler125]

I spent this holiday season working in a mall and can''t believe the number of adults and children who coughed in my face! It''s rude, disgusting, and where in hell are people''s brains and manners? It seems that no one remembers to cover their mouths when they cough and sneeze. Also, the number of people who sounded like they had bronchitis and pneumonia, and even told me they had bronchitis or pneumonia, and where out in public was disgraceful. Why don''t people stay home when they''re sick? A sick day isn''t supposed to be spent shopping, it''s supposed to be spent getting well. That said I got sick THREE times this winter, so far, and have resorted to spraying Lysol and carrying a bottle of germicidal lotion with me-two things I thought I''d never do but I don''t want to get sick again. Btw, when you get sick you should be sure to sleep more too. The article didn''t go into this but should have.

[brannigon]

They''re just finding this out??? DUH! People are just getting too smart!!!

[themooniac]

mswolfestock: since I''ve lost me employment I sleep maybe four continuous hours a night, the rest is lost wondering where the money is going to come from, and my unemployment just ran out unless I get the 13 week federal extension. Ahh the Bush economy, the trickle down economics....

[comeon11]

WHO PAYS FOR THESE STUDIES? I hope this is not tax payer dollars. this is ridiculous. Duh........ the doctor has always said 8 hours. goodness.

[schoolmarm22]

Sleep disorders have been a part of my life since I was about 8 years old. I wouldn''t know what 8 hours of uninterupted sleep feels like. Right now, 4 hours is about normal since I am a part-time college student with a full-time job, a part-time job, and a family to care for. Still, I haven''t had a cold for about 8 years. Just lucky I guess.

[credibility2]

Another wasted study. This was always a given since sleep deprivation lowers one''s resistance to infection.

[mswolfestock]

I''m fully aware that sleep deprivation is used as a form of torture . . . . . . . .

But who can sleep with all the problems we have.

If people are terrified about the future, they will not sleep.

And how can you get enough sleep if you are working two, maybe three jobs . . . . . .

Sleep has turned into a luxury - only the well-off can afford it.

[docpeter1953]

From the above article, ''And sleep-deprivation can affect more than immunity. It can change hormones, making people eat more and gain weight. Other problems, LaPook reports, include hypertension, diabetes, and just plain grouchiness.''
____________________-

Personally I tink most of this article is hogwash and B_S. I sleep less than 6 hours a night. I am 5''8'' and weigh 175. Over the last 15+ years I have had less than 5 cold/flu episodes. Other than dental I have spent less than $1,000 for medical bills total over the last 15 years, I don''t have insurance because, frankly, I would be losing all that $$.

Eat your fresh veggies and fruits daily (no canned foods), limit dairy in all forms, no or few pre-packaged foods, no or few quick/junk foods, don''t smoke or consume alcoholic bevs., exercise regularly, go to church or meditate on good health (be spiritual), don''t go to psychiatrists, tese guys are being payed to play with your head, wash your hands (my personal OCD) frequently as well as your veggies.

Tell the fat, lazy, antisocial, arrogant MD to go to he11, lose weight himself and live longer. Oh, and doc go to bed you look like you need the rest.

Or not.

[punkinpie1]

This demonstrates how much this country has a lack of
compassion. I pray that whoever don''t have this
disorder don''t get it. I myself found out in my case
it was a symptom of menopause. Now with the medication
I am getting about 7 hours of sleep. Periodically I
still have probems of this disorder but at least sleep
is slowly making a come back for me. Please don''t be
so judgmental til you walk in these shoes.

[punkinpie1]

I know from experience what it is like to be sleep
deprieved. I went months upon months of having this
disorder. I don''t think anyone here truly understands
what it is like. Each day runs into another til you
lose track of what day it is, then when you do sleep
you find that just how tired you truly are. I used
to fall asleep right after dinner jerk myself awake
then I can''t sleep the rest of the night!

[entropod]

Oh sheesh.

That''s it for me then.
ST

"I do not prefer one form of tyranny over another."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

[blackyowe]

I used to be a very bad sleeper but now sleep better and I not only get far fewer colds I no longer get the head aches that used to be the plague of my life.

[debinok1]

How much money did the government fork over to fund this study?

[incog-nito]

In another study, researchers have found that people with little or no human contact rarely catch a cold right up until their death, which are usually discovered by the police after neighbors complain about a foul smell given off by their decomposed bodies after several weeks.

[barbaram99]

I am aware I have poor sleep habits. Have for years. I stay home and have very little contack with people. still get the cold. Wash with soap and water, It takes one sick person wirg a cold to pass it, and that is it,

[b4ucmyi]

Talk about pork! Good grief!

[incog-nito]

It''s because the more you sleep, the less contact you have with other people who may be sick. Therefore, if you sleep 16 hours or more a day you are even less likely to catch a cold.

[tallyman2008]

Of course, and consider this also ...

Bet more folks on East Coast and West Coast get ''sick'' with colds, etc than folks in Central and Mountain Time Zones.

Why ?

The USA now lives on TV Time, and has for last 50 years or so.

Those on the Coast who stay up (probably a majority?) to watch Late News/Letterman/etc get one hour less sleep than those who get their Late News/etc at 10:00pm

Factor THAT into a study of Sleep Depravation in USA.

[whitewolf60]

Sheesh.... I coulda'' told them THAT 20 years ago! Took ''em THIS long????

[brannigon]

They''re just finding this out? DUH!!! What a joke!