We all know that sleep is important for our mental and physical health, but did you know that not getting enough shuteye can actually lead to chronic illnesses, disease susceptibility and even premature death?
A new study conducted by a UC San Francisco sleep researcher has found that people who sleep six hours a night or less are four times more likely to catch a cold when exposed to the virus than those who get more than seven hours.
“Short sleep was more important than any other factor in predicting subjects’ likelihood of catching a cold,” says Aric Prather, the study’s lead author. “It didn’t matter how old people were, their stress levels, their race, education or income. It didn’t matter if they were a smoker. With all those things taken into account, statistically sleep still carried the day.”
Prather’s previous studies have shown that people who sleep fewer hours are also less protected against illness after receiving a vaccine. Other studies have confirmed that sleep is among the factors that regulate T-cell levels.
“It goes beyond feeling groggy or irritable,” Prather said. “Not getting sleep fundamentally affects your physical health.”
This new data adds yet another piece of evidence that sleep should be treated as a crucial pillar of public health, along with diet and exercise. But it’s still a challenge to convince people to get more sleep, says Pather.
“In our busy culture, there’s still a fair amount of pride about not having to sleep and getting a lot of work done,” he adds. “We need more studies like this to begin to drive home that sleep is a critical piece to our wellbeing.”
So, don’t sacrifice that extra hour of shuteye; get a good night’s sleep to boost your health.
