A study carried out by medical students at the University of Bergen. in Norway, revealed a link between sleep quality and propensity for infections. The results were recently published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry.
Influence of sleep habits on your health
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During a six-month period in 2020, students administered short questionnaires about the quality of sleepand illnesses in over 1,800 patients in general practitioner waiting rooms. Each student collected data from 20 consecutive patients, regardless of the reason for the appointment.
Analysis of responses revealed that people who sleep too little or too much are more likely to have infections.
The patients who reported to sleepless than six hours a night were 27% more likely to complain of an infection, while those who slept more than nine hours had a 44% increased risk.
According to Ingeborg Forthun, lead author of the study, the fact that people with chronic sleep problems, such as insomnia, or who sleep little are at greater risk of infection is not surprising.
Lack of sleep can lead to a drowsy state and impair the immune system, making people more susceptible to infections.
However, the study also found that people with chronic insomnia disorders are at even greater risk. more likely to be infected, indicating that chronic lack of sleep may exacerbate susceptibility to illnesses.
Balanced sleep is the key
It is important to emphasize that the study has some limitations, such as the fact that the data are self-reported. by patients and the lack of clinical information collected by the physicians who treated them posteriorly.
Despite this, the conclusions provide valuable information obtained from a large group of people and under real-world conditions.
These findings suggest that balanced sleep, lasting between six and nine hours a night, may help lower the risk of infectionsand reduce the need for antibiotics.
If a direct link between illness and good sleep quality is confirmed, this could lead to a reduction in overuse of medications and preventive measures to protect people from infections before they even occur.