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Written by the OrganizedWisdom Team with as the reviewer. All original content is supervised by the The OrganizedWisdom Medical Review Team

« Frequently Asked Questions

Sleep Disorders 101: Sleep and Illness

Can I get physically sick from lack of sleep? If I pull an all-nighter and then catch a cold, can I blame the sleepless night for the cold?

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Answered by:

Michael Breus, Ph.D.

Clinical Psychologist and Author of Beauty Sleep

Immunologists and sleep researchers have tried to put this one to the test. Anecdotal evidence from people's personal experiences suggests a link between sleep and susceptibility to illness. Studies do suggest that the quality of your sleep prior to infection factors into whether you catch a cold and, if so, how severe it is. Some studies even suggest that those who get six hours or less of sleep have 50 percent less immunity protection than those who get eight hours per night. Certain cells that modulate the immune system increase during sleep, so missing out on sleep means your resistance to viral infection drops. And, in fact, researchers have found that when recipients are sleep deprived, the flu shot is less effective. If sleep weren't so key to immune health, then we'd probably not experience that compelling need to sleep when we're coming down with an illness.

Dr. Breus is a practicing Ph.D. in clinical psychology with a specialty in clinical sleep disorders. He has a private practice in Scottsdale, Arizona, and is the author of Beauty Sleep. He is a regular contributor to WebMD and America Online. For more on Dr. Breus, visit his website or follow him on Twitter @thesleepdoctor.

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