Does sleep affect your immune system?
Strongly. Even one night of short sleep reduces immune cell activity by 30%+. Chronic insufficient sleep increases susceptibility to infections and impairs vaccine response.
The cold-risk study
Prather et al. (2015) infected 164 volunteers with rhinovirus and tracked sleep. Those who slept under 6 hours per night were 4.2× more likely to develop a cold than those sleeping 7+ hours.
Vaccine response
Studies on flu and hepatitis vaccines show 50%+ weaker antibody response in sleep-deprived adults. The vaccine works, but less effectively.
The mechanism
Natural killer cell activity drops sharply after even a single short night. Inflammatory cytokines rise. Both contribute to lower infection resistance.
Sources
- Prather et al., Sleep, 2015. Behaviorally Assessed Sleep and Susceptibility to the Common Cold
Tired of hitting snooze?
ByeBed replaces the snooze button with a mission. Math, push-ups, photo. The alarm only stops when you complete it. Free to try.
Download ByeBed on the App Store