Immune Response

Eleven of the men were vaccinated on the fourth of five days in which their sleep was restricted to four hours, while the others got their usual night's sleep. Ten days later, blood tests showed that those who got the shots while sleep-deprived had less than half the benefits as those who slept normally.


The immune response to the vaccine of sleep-deprived volunteers didn't catch up with that of the well-rested subjects for more than three weeks.

Adequate sleep may be essential for good health but it's every bit as hard to pull off as eating a healthy, well-balanced diet or finding an hour a day to exercise.

"The most common sleep disorder is insufficient sleep," says Dr Dennis Nicholson, director of the Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Centre's Sleep Disorders Centre in Pomona, California.

"People come in and say they're sleepy. It's because they're not getting enough sleep." The connection seems like a no-brainer, but many people don't see it, he says. They want a sleep study and a pill.

Sleeplessness in America is a safety issue and a health problem. "Sleep is as important as breathing, drinking and eating," says Dr Meir Kryger, a sleep scientist at the University of Manitoba, Canada. "It's critical to health, but it takes longer to notice."
So far, Thom Stys hasn't noticed any health consequences. As he wraps up his workday, the European clients he called in the morning are long asleep. He ends his day with a round of phone calls to his Asian clients, who are just getting to their offices. Then he's back on the highway to Chino Hills, to dinner, family and a bit of work before falling instantly asleep around midnight.