The latest discovery about the effects of sleep on the effectiveness of vaccines: the better you sleep better vaccines work in our body. The discovery comes from a new study by researchers at the University of California at San Francisco (USA).

This is the first study out of a sleep center to show that sleep duration is associated with the immune response to vaccination.

"With today's lifestyle, the technologies that drive us to be connected to 24H and longer working hours, sleep deprivation has become a way of life for many people," said Prather. "These findings could help increase awareness about the clear connection between sleep and health," added the researcher.

The team investigated the relationship between sleep and immune response to hepatitis B vaccine in a group of healthy adults. The study involved 125 people (including 70 women) between 40 and 60.

All subjects were nonsmokers and in good health and were given the vaccine in three doses. The first and second dose was administered one month apart, followed by a booster at six months. Antibody levels were measured before the second and third doses of vaccine and six months after the last, to determine whether participants had developed an adequate immune response.

All individuals, meanwhile, had provided accurate daily sleep with details about the habits, the duration and quality of your sleep. In addition, 88 people sleep monitors used to measure progress and quality of sleep.
 
Well, those who slept less than six hours per night on average were less likely to develop a good antibody response to the vaccine and, therefore, greater risk of being immunized, compared with those who slept an average of more than 7 hours. The quality of sleep does not, however, the response to vaccination.

In the total group, 18 people did not get adequate protection after vaccination, the researchers said, stressing once again the important role of sleep in regulating the immune system.

Fotografía: A child sleeping. autor Alessandro Zangrilli liberada por el autor al dominio público.