A study has found that people who sleep less than 6 hours a day are more likely to get infectious diseases.
Researchers from the University of Bergen, Norway conducted a survey of 1,848 adult patients with an average age of 52 years at hospitals across the country, and asked about the average sleep time per day and whether they had suffered from a cold, gastrointestinal disease, urinary tract infection, skin or eye disease, or other infectious disease in the past 3 months. I found out, etc.
As a result, those who answered that they slept less than 6 hours a day were 27% more likely to get infectious diseases than those who said they kept the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep a day. In detail, the risk of gastrointestinal diseases such as vomiting and diarrhea was 92% higher, and urinary tract infections were 41% higher.
Even those who reported having insomnia were 57% more likely to have been prescribed antibiotics to treat an infectious disease.
Interestingly, people who sleep too long are also more susceptible to infectious diseases.
Those who reported sleeping more than nine hours a night were 44% more likely to have had an infectious disease than those who kept the recommended amount of sleep.
The researchers pointed out that the symptoms of sleeping too long may be a health warning sign that the physical condition is fundamentally poor.
However, this study suggests the need for additional research in that the number of subjects surveyed is rather small to show a link between sleep deprivation and specific infectious diseases.
Some studies have previously suggested that sleep deprivation makes people vulnerable to infectious diseases. At the time, the research team found that people suffering from sleep deprivation are more likely to catch a cold if they are exposed to a cold virus because their immune system to fight off the virus is weak.
Regarding this, Dr. Ingeborg Fortun, corresponding author of this study, said, “Sleep not only gives people a sense of well-being, but it is also important for health, such as increasing the body’s ability to fight infections. It is necessary to raise awareness of the importance of sleep.” He added, “If you follow the usual recommended sleep time, you will be able to reduce the risk of contracting an infectious disease.”
The detailed study results were published on March 2nd in the international journal Frontiers in Psychiatry.
Reporter Yoon Tae-hee th20022@seoul.co.kr
