New research shows that getting enough sleep may be important for a successful vaccination against COVID-19. The study found that how much protection you get from the vaccine could depend on the amount of sleep you’re getting before and after getting vaccinated.
Experts have found that if you don’t get enough sleep, it could affect the effectiveness of your vaccinations. Most adults are supposed to get seven or nine hours of sleep every night, but studies show that if you don’t meet this amount around the time you receive a vaccination, your body likely won’t be getting as strong an immune response.
Scientists studied how much sleep people get and then measured how their bodies reacted to two types of vaccinations. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any data on the COVID-19 vaccine yet but they think that getting enough sleep can help make it work better.
People who do not get enough sleep have decreased antibodies, which is similar to the decrease in COVID-19 antibodies after getting the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
Michael Irwin, the director of the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at UCLA, said that researchers have previously discovered that therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness help people with insomnia get better sleep, and it can also change the way their immune system works. He continued by saying they don’t know yet if those treatments could make vaccination responses stronger.
Researchers studied how sleep duration affects the body’s response to vaccinations in both men and women. They found that sleeping longer had a positive effect on the protection provided by vaccinations for men, but they need more information about women since hormones can also impact their immune system.
Researchers said that more studies need to be done so that we can figure out when would be the best time for people to get enough sleep in order to make sure their vaccine works the best.
Karine Spiegel, Amandine E. Rey, Anne Cheylus, Kirean Ayling, Christian Benedict, Tanja Lange, Aric A. Prather, Daniel J. Taylor and Eve Van Cauter wrote this study. None of the authors had any extra interests in this work.