New research reveals insight into the impact sleep quality has on a person’s immune system, and how it could be linked to the development of diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.
The study, published in The Journal of Immunology, found that even a single night of 24-hour sleep deprivation in young, lean, and healthy individuals altered the profile of immune cells that help regulate the immune system to resemble that of individuals with obesity – a condition known to drive chronic inflammation. This suggests that the immune system is highly sensitive to sleep and may adapt rapidly to changes in sleep pattern. According to the researchers, if these shifts persist, they could contribute to long-term inflammatory states and increase the risk of disease.
Substantial evidence exists linking sleep disorders and disturbances to an array of chronic conditions and morbidity, such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. It’s also known that poor health outcomes can be driven by chronic inflammation but the direct influence of sleep on circulating immune cells, such as monocytes, is not as well understood.
Monocytes are a vital component of the innate immune system – the body’s first line of defense that rapidly detects pathogens and kickstarts the immune response. There are three subsets of monocytes – classical, intermediate and non-classical monocytes. Non-classical monocytes patrol the body, sense and respond to inflammatory cues, and help to maintain and regulate the immune response.
In this study, the researchers from the Dasman Diabetes Institute, Kuwait