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DrGreene Content
Evidence continues to mount that your mother was right all along – not enough sleep leads to more colds and flus. Here’s one piece of that puzzle: not having enough sleep measurably blunts how well the body responds to the flu vaccine, according to a fascinating study published in the September 25, 2002 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. This study was done in healthy young adults. Half of them slept only 4 hours a night for 6 nights, while the other half slept normally. Flu vaccines were given on the 5th day. Blood tests ten days later revealed that the sleep-deprived group averaged less than half the antibodies against flu enjoyed by the well-rested group! Nevertheless, catching up on sleep can make a difference. A month later, there was no difference in levels of immunity between the two groups.
Alan Greene MD FAAP
Originally published: October 01, 2002
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