For the past couple of weeks, “flu and colds” have been a major part of the nightly news with all kinds of questions raised about how best to prepare.  Would a vaccine be developed in time?  Would there be enough vaccine to go around?  How many shots would you need?  When and where do I get them?

I’m sure you’re already on top of the latest developments so I’m not going to repeat what you’ve likely already heard several times.  However, I did recently came across some research and was surprised to find out something new that I didn’t already know.

I think you’ll be surprised as well.

First of all, the research I’m referring to specifically dealt with the common cold, not “the flu,” although in my book, sick is sick.  True, the flu makes you wish you were dead but a cold is no slouch either.  Both will “take you out of the game” and keep you home feeling miserable.

Although the research was performed using a cold virus (a common form of rhinovirus), the results have implications for other types of viral illnesses, including the flu.

Writing in the January 2009 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, the authors of the study (Doctors Cohen, Doyle, Alper, Janicki-Deverts, and Turner) took 153 healthy men and women aged 21 to 55 and had them log the amount of sleep they were getting over a 14 day period.  The group also reported their sleep “efficiency,” defined as the percentage of time they spent in bed actually asleep.

After this 14-day “baseline” period, each person was quarantined to prevent any cross-contamination and then exposed to a rhinovirus, the virus that creates the common cold.  The individuals were then observed to see which ones would develop a cold.

The results were pretty surprising.  When the people that developed colds were matched to their sleep records, there was a direct correlation between the amount of sleep, as well as the quality of sleep, and the chances of getting a cold.  Those individuals that got less than 7 hours of sleep on average were 3 times more likely to develop a cold after being exposed to the virus (actual results were 2.94 times more likely with a 95% confidence interval).

The researchers also found that the quality of sleep was just as important, if not more so, than the total amount of sleep you got.  Individuals with less than 92% sleep efficiency – in other words, people who spent 8% or more of the night tossing and turning or not being able to sleep because of snoring or other issues – were 5.5 times more likely to develop a cold after exposure compared to an individual that got 98% or more efficiency (95% confidence interval).

Although a 95% confidence level is pretty wide and a lot of the study relied on subjective and self-reported measurements, the conclusions are still pretty clear:  not getting enough sleep or not sleeping restfully lowers your resistance to illness. During sleep is when your immune system goes to work building and repairing your body’s defenses.  Not getting enough restful sleep cuts that work short.

So as we all prepare for the upcoming cold and flu “season” by getting shots and picking up all kinds of pain medications, cough drops, soups, teas, vitamins, and herbal supplements, make sure you don’t neglect doing the one thing your body needs the most – getting a good nights sleep.

Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach andPersonal Fitness Trainer (NESTA)

P.S.  Be sure to get my latest Fitness Blueprint called “Little Things That Improve Your Health.”  This ebook is packed with loads of helpful information on how to build a better body and you can get it FREE – no email, no cookies, no catch.  Download and enjoy!

Technorati Tags: sleep, sleeping, snoring, rest, cold, virus, flu, research, restful, immune system, h1n1

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