Insomnia affects immunity

A recent study suggests that people with chronic sleep deprivation may be more susceptible to illness than those who regularly get a good night's sleep. Those suffering from insomnia have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep throughout the night, or they wake up early in the morning. Some people have a combination of these symptoms.Recent studies have shown that insomniacs rate their lives as more stressful than good sleepers do. It is also commonly believed that not getting enough sleep leads to vulnerability to illness, and an inability to sleep may slow down recovery in those who are already sick. Researchers at the University of Laval, Canada, did a study to investigate if this was true. The goal of the study was to investigate whether clinical insomnia is associated with changes in the immune system by comparing immune functioning of patients with chronic insomnia and good sleepers. They studied the immune responses of 17 people with chronic insomnia and compared them to 19 good sleepers. All were between the ages of 18 and 45. The study did not include pregnant women, anyone with a sleep disorder (such as sleep apnoea), psychiatric disorder and those who had recently taken any medication that might affect their sleep. All 36 participants kept sleep diaries for three weeks. They recorded the times they went to bed and woke up, as well as how long it took them to fall asleep and how many times they woke up in the night and for how long. After two weeks, the participants were interviewed and blood was drawn to measure the number of immune cells in their bloodstream.When the researchers compared the blood tests of both groups, they found that the insomniacs had fewer CD3, CD4, and CD8 cells than the good sleepers. These cells are involved in the body's natural defence against certain infections. Other immune cells did not appear to be affected by insomnia. The researchers reported that chronic insomnia probably increases susceptibility to illnesses like common cold, but there is no evidence to suggest that insomniacs have an increased risk for more serious diseases.

The conclusion from this study is that chronic insomnia seems to be associated with altered immunity. But additional work is needed to determine if there is an optimal quantity of sleep to maintain good immune functioning. Experiencing occasional sleepless nights does not come under the category of insomnia and the immune function probably goes back to normal in these individuals after getting a good night's sleep.

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