How not getting enough sleep could raise your risk of illness in a way that might surprise you

THE SUN

NOT getting enough shut-eye won’t just leave you yawning at work the next day.

We’re all meant to grab seven to nine hours of sleep a night according to the NHS, but it’s not always possible.

Now researchers have discovered that banking fewer than six hours of snooze a night can mean you respond less well to vaccines, alongside feeling shattered.

The team from the University of Chicago and the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research reviewed data from a number of previous studies, publishing their analysis in the journal Current Biology.

They found people who didn’t clock up enough kip in the days surrounding an immunisation – like jabs for flu or hepatitis – had a decreased antibody response to the drugs. 

As a result, they may be more susceptible to illness.

Catching a decent amount of Zzzs the week before and after though, could help boost your body’s response to vaccination, even helping its effects last longer. 

Senior author on the research Eve Van Cauter, Professor Emeritus of Medicine at UChicago, said: “Insufficient sleep is a behavioural factor that can be corrected before vaccination and may not only strengthen, but also extend, the vaccine response.

“We know that people respond differently to vaccination according to their age, sex, existing medical conditions and other factors that cannot be readily changed. 

“Having an easily modifiable behaviour that you can adjust around the time of your appointment gives you something you can control that is likely to improve your body’s response.”