We all know that sleep is important, but it takes a lot of time. With responsibility and shifting still looming from our awakened lives, the urge to skip sleep can be powerful.
However, as new research suggests, even a sleep-deprived night can cause major changes in the immune system, potentially contributing to the development of conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
The risk of chronic sleep deprivation is widely known, ranging from mood changes and cognitive impairments to health problems such as heart attacks and strokes.
There is abundant evidence linking sleep deficiency with these and other diseases, and there is abundant evidence suggesting that health problems like these are generally promoted by chronic inflammation, the authors of the new study point out.
However, there is less evidence for the specific mechanism involved. How can lack of sleep lead to systemic inflammation that can damage people’s health?
For a new study, researchers at the Dasmann Diabetes Institute in Kuwait have sought to understand the effects of sleep deprivation on circulating immune cells such as monocytes and their association with systemic inflammation.
Monocytes are large leukocytes or leukocytes that play an important role in the innate immune system and provide the body’s first line of defense against intruders. Humans have three subsets: classical, non-classical, and intermediates.
Nonclassical monocyte patrols of pathogens in the vascular system and extravascular tissues described as helping to regulate the body’s immune response using inflammatory cues.
The researchers recruited 276 healthy Kuwaiti adults (BMIs) with varying body weight indexes, of which 237 completed the study. They analyzed subjects’ sleep patterns and monitored blood for different monocyte subset levels and inflammatory markers.
Obese participants had significantly lower sleep quality than slimmer participants, the study found with higher chronic low-grade inflammation. There were also more nonclassical monocytes, correlated with reduced sleep quality and increased proinflammatory markers.
In another part of the study, five healthy, lean adults submitted blood samples through 24 hours of sleep deprivation. These were compared to control blood samples collected after participants had a refreshing sleep for several days.
Even a deprivation of sleep of just 24 hours is similar to that of obese participants by clearly altering the monocyte profile of lean participants. This is a condition that researchers are known to promote chronic inflammation.
The answer may seem obvious – it’s just a sleep, but in real life it’s not that simple. Modern civilization is conspiring to delay us, arguing author Fatema Al Rash, a researcher at the Dasman Institute of Diabetes.
“Our findings highlight the growing public health challenges. Advances in technology, long-term screen time, and changing social norms are increasingly confusing with normal sleep.” say.
“This sleep disruption has a major impact on immune health and overall well-being.”
Future research should continue this investigation of the link between sleep deprivation and changes in immune system. write.
They also hope to learn whether interventions can help reduce this effect, such as structured sleep therapy and guidelines to limit the use of techniques.
“In the long run, this research aims to drive policies and strategies that recognize the important role of sleep in public health.” say.
“We envision workplace reform and education campaigns to promote better sleep practices, especially for groups at risk of sleep disruption due to technical and professional demands.
“Ultimately, this could help reduce the burden of inflammatory diseases such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease,” she said. say.
This study was published in Journal of Immunology.
