A good night’s sleep can fix a variety of issues, but new research
suggests that getting enough shut-eye may also reduce your susceptibility
to infection.Sleep can solve all sorts of problems – but scientists have now discovered
new evidence that sleeping well may make you less vulnerable to infection.
Scientists at the University of Bergen recruited medical students working
in doctors’ surgeries to hand out short questionnaires to patients, asking
about sleep quality and recent infections.
They found that patients who reported sleeping too little or too much
were more likely also to report a recent infection, and patients who
experienced chronic sleep problems were more likely to report needing
antibiotics.”Most previous observational studies have looked at the association between
sleep and infection in a sample of the general population,” said an expert.
suggests that getting enough shut-eye may also reduce your susceptibility
to infection.Sleep can solve all sorts of problems – but scientists have now discovered
new evidence that sleeping well may make you less vulnerable to infection.
Scientists at the University of Bergen recruited medical students working
in doctors’ surgeries to hand out short questionnaires to patients, asking
about sleep quality and recent infections.
They found that patients who reported sleeping too little or too much
were more likely also to report a recent infection, and patients who
experienced chronic sleep problems were more likely to report needing
antibiotics.”Most previous observational studies have looked at the association between
sleep and infection in a sample of the general population,” said an expert.
Sleep disturbances are common and treatable, and if a link to
infection and a mechanism can be confirmed, it might make it possible to
cut down on antibiotic use and protect people against infections before
they happen. But experimental studies can’t reproduce real-life
circumstances.
