Insomnia may increase risk of colds

[MeSci]

from Physicians' First Watch:

You Really Are More Likely to Get Sick When You Don't Get Enough Sleep, Small Study Suggests
By Kelly Young
Edited by
- Jaye Elizabeth Hefner, MD

Sleeping fewer than 6 hours a night is associated with increased risk for developing a cold following rhinovirus exposure, according to a small, prospective study in Sleep.

Some 160 healthy participants had their sleep measured by wrist actigraphy for 1 week and were subsequently quarantined and given nasal drops containing rhinovirus 39.

Over 5 days, roughly 30% of participants developed a cold, defined as viral infection plus total mucus weight of at least 10 g or a total adjusted nasal clearance time of 35 minutes or more. After adjustment for potential confounders, participants who slept fewer than 6 hours a night were at roughly four times greater risk for developing a cold compared with those who got over 7 hours of sleep.

The authors speculate that their results "may have been due to increased susceptibility to infection and/or increased illness expression among those infected."

Link(s):
Sleep article (Free abstract) http://click.jwatch.org/cts/click?q=227;68211250;YwuORMp6Gk7+vOWVEbV5PaJod9uAd6/OwNovxZv5o2U=
Sleep editorial (Subscription required) http://click.jwatch.org/cts/click?q=227;68211250;YwuORMp6Gk7+vOWVEbV5PeMVAQEPiP6bwNovxZv5o2U=
Background: NEJM Journal Watch Infectious Diseases coverage of sleep and colds (Free) http://click.jwatch.org/cts/click?q=227;68211250;YwuORMp6Gk7+vOWVEbV5PcPjCSNdBF7gwNovxZv5o2U=

 

[Countrygirl]

.............just not when lack of sleep is caused by ME-induced insomnia and the dysfunctional immune system appears to kill anything at 50 paces. I guess the above refers to mere..............'normals'......not the more highly evolved ME patient community.

 

[MeSci]

.............just not when lack of sleep is caused by ME-induced insomnia and the dysfunctional immune system appears to kill anything at 50 paces. I guess the above refers to mere..............'normals'......not the more highly evolved ME patient community.

I was thinking about possible causation/early stages. Perhaps lack of sleep could allow an infection to become more deep-seated and thus lead to ME.

Some pwME do think that they get frequent infections, but I think some of these are mistaking PEM for infection. I did for years.