Does Lack of Sleep Directly Increase My Chances of Getting Sick?

Since I am currently recooperating from the flu, I wanted to touch on sleep deprivation and sicksness in this edition of our blog.  

Does lack of sleep directly increase my chances of getting sick? Yes, research shows that lack of sleep can directly affect your immune system. Studies show that people who don't get quality sleep OR enough sleep are MORE likely to get sick after being exposed to a virus, such as the common cold. Lack of sleep can also affect how fast you recover if you do get sick. 

During sleep, your immune system releases proteins called cytokines, some of which help to promote sleep. Certain cytokines need to increase when you have an infection or inflammation, or when you're under stress. Sleep deprivation may decrease the production of these protective cytokines. In addition, infection-fighting antibodies and cells are reduced during periods when you don't get enough sleep.

So, basically, your body needs sleep to fight infectious diseases. Long-term lack of sleep also can increase your risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart and blood vessel (cardiovascular) disease.

Another question you may ask yourself is “how much sleep do I need to bolster my immune system?” In response to that, the optimal amount of sleep for most adults is seven to eight hours of good sleep each night. Surprisingly, research suggests that teenagers need nine to 10 hours of sleep.  So, when your teenager sleeps until 12:00 in the afternoon on Saturday you may have to think twice before chastising them. School-aged children may need 10 or more hours of sleep.

However, more sleep isn't always better. For adults, sleeping more than nine to 10 hours a night may result in poor quality of sleep, such as difficulty falling or staying asleep. This can be almost as bad as not sleeping enough.