Poor sleep the night before the shot may reduce vaccine effectiveness: study

Getting less than six hours of sleep the night before getting a vaccination shot – whether for COVID-19, flu or traveling to another country – can limit your body’s response to the vaccine, reducing protection against viruses or bacteria. Could be, according to a new study.

“Good sleep not only increases but may also extend the duration of vaccine protection,” senior author Eve van Cotter, professor emeritus in the University of Chicago’s Department of Medicine, said in a statement. CNN,

In the study, the researchers also noticed a strange detail. They found that the effect of poor sleep on the immune response to the vaccine was scientifically relevant only in men.

Study co-author Dr. Michael said, “Research using objective measures of sleep deprivation, such as the sleep laboratory, found a decreased ability to respond to the vaccine, which was both specific and statistically significant.” was significant in men, but not in women. Irwin, Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the UCLA Geffen School of Medicine.

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The researchers explain that there are known sex differences in the immune response to foreign antigens, such as viruses, and autoimmune disorders such as self-antigens. Professor of Neurology and Director of the Center for Circadian and Sleep Medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, Dr. “In general, women have a stronger immune response, including to the flu vaccine,” said Phyllis Zee.

“The evidence is that these differences reflect hormonal, genetic and environmental differences, which may change over the lifespan, so these differences may be less prominent in older adults.”

In the study, the researchers concluded by saying that regardless of gender, if someone is sleep-deprived, jet-lagged, working night shifts or otherwise has an altered sleep-wake cycle, they should Delaying vaccination should be considered. “If I were working with patients to give them vaccinations, I would ask if they were having problems sleeping and whether they were sleep deprived at night. Will ask you to come back when you rest.” Dr. Irwin said.