Should we Rename Sick Days to "I Need to Sleep" Days?

It is a commonly known phrase that "sleep is the best medicine."  How true is this statement?  Very true it seems.  How about instead we allow ourselves enough sleep to avoid becoming sick in the first place?  Just a thought...

The article "Common Cold," by Martica H. Hall, reports that negative sleep-related immune system modification is observed when total or even partial sleep deprivation manifests in humans.  Our immune response is just not at its best when we are sleep deprived, as evidenced by diminished T cell proliferation, changes in T helper cell cytokine responses, and decreased natural killer cell toxicity (Hall 1353).  The factors just mentioned are all integral parts of the body's immune response, increasingly diminished over time with accumulated slept debt.

For this study, sleep data over 4 years was collected on almost 100 healthy men and women with an average age of about 30 years old.  They wore actigraphy devices that measured total sleep time as well as sleep fragmentation (restlessness during periods of sleep).  Self-reported sleep diaries were also employed as a measure of sleep duration and quality.  Essentially, the study aimed to, dare I say, make people sick.  At least they were paid well?  Each person was paid $1000!  Im not sure I would subject myself to this experimental design, but for $1000 maybe I could deal with being sick for a few days.  After all, I have been sick for the last couple weeks anyway -- although, I am finally almost done with my cough!

The results of the study showed, not surprisingly, that shorter sleep duration led to increased risk for developing sickness, including but not limited to a "run-of-the-mill" cold.  Sleep fragmentation however, and self-report measures, did not show a significant correlation to increased susceptibility.  Still, following a 7-day period, increased incidence of common cold was noted with shorter sleep duration and sleep deprivation.  The relationship between susceptibility to cold and sleep duration was found to be linear.

Again, I got sick a couple of weeks ago following a period of sleep deprivation combined with a busy schedule, so the linear relationship found between slept duration and susceptibility to sickness does not at all surprise me.  However, I am not entirely convinced that increased fragmented sleep leads to the same susceptibility (as the study aimed to find, but resulted without statistical significance).  I would like to see more research done into the area of fragmented sleep and incidence of illness, as I think the public would benefit from as well.

Don't disappoint Forrest, Forrest Gump, ladies and gentlemen.  Get enough sleep so that you don't contract a "cough due to cold" (or any other ailment for that matter; I'm looking at you Jenny).

This week I commented on Ashley Zapata's and Rachel Moore's blogs.