People who lack sleep are four times more likely to catch a cold than those who get a fairly long night’s rest.
The scientists carried out their study on 164 volunteers. They agreed to be exposed to cold viruses and recorded their sleep patterns. The subjects underwent a preliminary medical examination and answered questionnaires so that the researchers could better take into account certain factors such as their stress, their character or the consumption of alcohol and cigarettes.
Their sleep habits were measured during the week before the start of the study, for which they had to stay cloistered in a hotel room. There, the scientists gave them the cold virus through nose drops and they took samples daily for a week to see if the virus was growing.
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Less than 6 hours of sleep per night multiplies the risk
The results showed that those who slept less than six hours a night during the previous week were 4.2 times more likely to catch a cold than those who got more than seven hours’ sleep. Volunteers who slept less than five hours a night were even 4.5 times more likely to fall ill.
Lack of sleep is a negative health factor
Less than 6 hours of sleep per night multiplies the risk
It didn’t matter how old people were, their stress levels, their race, their education, or their income. It doesn’t matter if they were smokers or not. With all of these parameters, the amount of sleep was the most important factor.
Previous studies had already highlighted links between lack of sleep and chronic diseases, premature death, increased risk of disease or road accidents.
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