Nightmare! Sleeping less than six hours a night could increase the risk of infection by more than a quarter, the study found
- Researchers from the University of Bergen, Norway, recently published the study
- They asked 1,848 people in Norwegian GP surgeries how much sleep they got
Getting less than six hours of sleep a night could increase your risk of infection, a study finds.
Researchers asked 1,848 people in general practitioners in Norway how much sleep they got on average each night.
They then asked if they had had a respiratory infection such as a cold or gastrointestinal infection, a urinary tract infection (UTI), a skin or eye infection, or any other type of infection in the past three months.
Those who reported getting less than six hours of sleep a night were 27 percent more likely to have had an infection in the past three months than those who got enough sleep – the recommended seven to eight hours a night.
The study may have been too small to provide many clear trends between sleep deprivation and specific infections.
Those who reported getting less than six hours of sleep a night were 27 percent more likely to have had an infection in the past three months than those who got enough sleep – the recommended seven to eight hours a night
Researchers from the University of Bergen (pictured) asked 1,848 people in general practitioners in Norway how much sleep they got on average each night
But the results show that people who got less than six hours of sleep were 92 percent more likely to have a stomach condition associated with vomiting or diarrhea.
Meanwhile, people with insomnia were 41 percent more likely to have had a UTI.
There is some evidence that insufficient sleep makes the immune system less able to fight off infection, but more research is needed.
Previous studies have shown that people infected with a cold virus are more likely to actually catch a cold after not fighting the virus if they are sleep deprived.
dr Ingeborg Forthun, who led the study from the University of Bergen in Norway, said: “Sleep is important not only for people’s wellbeing, but also for their health, including their body’s ability to fight infection.
“More awareness of the importance of sleep is needed among the general public and physicians.”
The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry, found that nearly 54 percent of people surveyed in doctor’s offices had experienced an infection in the past three months.
Those who slept less than six hours were 57 percent more likely to have received antibiotics in the past three months.
The researchers say that sleeping the recommended amount could reduce infections.
However, those who reported sleeping more than nine hours were 44 percent more likely to have an infection than people who slept seven to eight hours a night. Oversleeping can be a sign of underlying poor health.