Scientists reveal the shocking impact one night without sleep has on your immune system

Just one night of poor sleep could be enough to wreak havoc with your immune system, scientists have revealed. 

Consistently failing to get enough shut eye has long been shown to raise the risk of obesity, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. 

Now researchers in Kuwait have found that just one night of restless sleep increased inflammation in the body, lowering the body’s natural defence to injury and infection. 

During normal sleep, people typically experience a decrease in blood pressure and relaxation of blood vessels. 

But, by analysing monocytes — a type of immune cell vital for defending the body from germs and viruses — they found this ‘physiological process was compromised’, impacting how the immune system worked. 

Experts, who labelled the study’s findings ‘important’, said it showed that repeated poor sleep was a ‘growing public health challenge’. 

Dr Fatema Al-Rashed, an expert in immunology and microbiology at the Dasman Diabetes Institute, who led the study, said: ‘Our findings underscore a growing public health challenge. 

‘Advancements in technology, prolonged screen time, and shifting societal norms are increasingly disruptive to regular sleeping hours. 

‘This disruption in sleep has profound implications for immune health and overall well-being.’ 

In the small study, researchers tracked five participants who had a healthy BMI over the course of 24 hours. 

They went without sleep entirely and had their bloods taken before and after the trial. 

The researchers found that one night of sleep deprivation altered the volunteers monocyte profile. 

It increased the non-classical types of monocytes, which sense and respond to inflammatory cues. 

But if inflammation is chronic and experienced a lot it can damage healthy tissues and impact how well the immune system works. 

Writing in The Journal of Immunology, the researchers said: ‘This study highlights the importance of sleep quality in regulating immune responses and inflammation in obesity, suggesting that improving sleep quality could reduce inflammation and improve health outcomes.’

In a second trial during the study, researchers also recruited 237 healthy adults of varying height and weight and took blood samples from each participant to establish their monocyte levels and inflammatory markers. 

Participants also tracked what they ate, their physical activity and sleep patterns for a week by wearing an accelerometer — a device that tracks movement. 

Results showed those who were obese had lower quality of sleep and higher levels of inflammation. 

Out of the 38-inflammatory biomarkers tested, 13 markers were found to be significantly altered in overweight and obese participants compared to those who were lean.

The researchers said they hoped that future research would investigate why immune changes were linked to sleep deprivation.

‘Ultimately, this could help mitigate the burden of inflammatory diseases like obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases,’ said Dr Al-Rashed.

It comes as one study last year found that around around one in six Brits suffer insomnia, yet 65 per cent never seek help for their sleep problem.

The poll of 2,000 people, by The Sleep Charity, found nine in ten experience some sort of sleep problem, while one in two engage in high-risk or dangerous behaviours when unable to sleep.

Poor sleep has been linked to a number of health problems, including cancer, stroke and infertility. 

But experts have long advised that waking up during the night does not necessarily mean you have insomnia, which figures suggest affects up to 14million Brits. 

Insomnia can be caused by stress, anxiety, alcohol, caffeine or nicotine, noise, shift work and jet lag.

If you regularly have problems sleeping, there are simple ways to improve your sleep hygiene.

This includes keeping regular sleeping hours, staying active in the day and by creating a restful quiet space to sleep.