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Depriving your body of sleep could take the same kind of toll on your immune system as being stressed, a new study suggests.
Researchers from the Netherlands and the United Kingdom found that white blood cell counts (also known as granulocytes) jumped at night when the men in the study were severely sleep-deprived, and they also had a decrease in rhythmicity between the daytime and the nighttime.
The SLEEP study was conducted in 15 young and healthy men who were first put through a week-long period of extremely stabilized sleep -- meaning, they got eight hours of sleep a night, were exposed to 15 minutes or more of daylight within the first hour-and-a-half of waking up, and were not allowed to use any medications, caffeine or alcohol for the last three days of the study.
Then, these same men were kept awake for 29 hours continually so the researchers could evaluate sleep deprivation's effects on their immune systems.
"If confirmed with more data, this will have implications for clinical practice and for professions associated with long-term sleep loss, such as rotating shift work," Ackermann said in the statement.
This study adds to the growing body of evidence showing that getting enough sleep is vital to a healthy body and immune system.
Harvard Medical School's Division of Sleep Medicine reports that feelings of fatigue are actually promoted when people are sick and their immune systems are mobilizing to conquer the infection.
Slate reported that after just 24 hours of no sleep, detrimental changes in the body are already starting to occur -- like rising levels of stress hormone, which bumps up blood pressure levels.
And after one to two days of no sleep, the body decreases its ability to properly metabolize glucose, the immune system stops working as well and the body's internal temperature begins to sink, Slate reported.
Public release date: 30-Jun-2012 Contact: Doug Dusik ddusik@aasmnet.org 630-737-9700
DARIEN, IL
American Academy of Sleep Medicine Sleep deprivation effect on the immune system mirrors physical stress Study looks at white blood cell counts following 29 hours of continual wakefulness
– Severe sleep loss jolts the immune system into action, reflecting the same type of immediate response shown during exposure to stress, a new study reports.
Researchers in the Netherlands and United Kingdom compared the white blood cell counts of 15 healthy young men under normal and severely sleep-deprived conditions.
The greatest changes were seen in the white blood cells known as granulocytes, which showed a loss of day-night rhythmicity, along with increased numbers, particularly at night.
"Future research will reveal the molecular mechanisms behind this immediate stress response and elucidate its role in the development of diseases associated with chronic sleep loss," said Katrin Ackermann, PhD, the study's lead author.
"If confirmed with more data, this will have implications for clinical practice and for professions associated with long-term sleep loss, such as rotating shift work."
Previous studies have associated sleep restriction and sleep deprivation with the development of diseases like obesity, diabetes and hypertension.
Others have shown that sleep helps sustain the functioning of the immune system, and that chronic sleep loss is a risk factor for immune system impairment.
For this study, white blood cells were categorized and measured from 15 young men following a strict schedule of eight hours of sleep every day for a week.
The participants were exposed to at least 15 minutes of outdoor light within the first 90 minutes of waking and prohibited from using caffeine, alcohol or medication during the final three days. All of this was designed to stabilize their circadian clocks and minimize sleep deprivation before the intensive laboratory study.
White blood cell counts in a normal sleep/wake cycle were compared to the numbers produced during the second part of the experiment, in which blood samples were collected during 29 hours of continual wakefulness.
"The granulocytes reacted immediately to the physical stress of sleep loss and directly mirrored the body's stress response," said Ackermann, a postdoctoral researcher at the Eramus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
The study, "Diurnal Rhythms in Blood Cell Populations and the Effect of Acute Sleep Deprivation in Healthy Young Men," was a collaborative effort between the Department of Forensic Molecular Biology at Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam and Chronobiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Surrey, United Kingdom.
The laboratory study was conducted at the University of Surrey Clinical Research Centre. For a copy of the study or to arrange an interview with an AASM spokesperson, please contact PR Coordinator Doug Dusik at 630-737-9700, ext. 9364, or ddusik@aasmnet.org.
The monthly, peer-reviewed, scientific journal SLEEP is published online by the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC, a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society.
The AASM is a professional membership society that is the leader in setting standards and promoting excellence in sleep medicine health care, education and research (www.aasmnet.org). Read more about sleep disorders from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine on the Your Sleep website, http://www.sleepcentral.org.
Help for people who have a sleep problem is available at more than 2,400 AASM-accredited sleep disorders centers around the United States.
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Sleep deprivation effect on the immune system mirrors physical stress
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