Sleep loss and subjective health

• Both insufficient sleep and subjective health predict mortality and are related to sickness-like symptoms as well as immune activation. Cross-sectional data show a strong association between sleep and subjective health, but there is a lack of experimental data that may distinguish causation from association. We investigated the effects of restricted sleep on subjective health in two experimental studies. The first study consisted of 23 subjects (11 women) who rated their subjective health twice, once after 31 h of wakefulness and once after normal sleep (8 h sleep/night). The second study had 25 subjects (14 women) who rated their subjective health after two consecutive nights with 4 h sleep/night and after normal sleep (8 h sleep/night). In the group deprived of sleep for 31 h, participants rated themselves as less healthy that day (−1.7 on a 7-point scale, p < 0.01) compared to after normal sleep. In the group with partially restricted sleep, participants also rated their health as worse compared to after normal sleep, both their current health (−0.8 on a 7-point scale, p < 0.05) and general health (−0.6 on a 5-point scale, p < 0.05). This study shows that an experimental reduction of sleep, complete as well as partial, leads to poorer subjective health. Considering the predictive qualities of this measure, future studies should determine the underlying mechanisms of the connection between insufficient sleep and worse subjective health.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Folkhälsovetenskap, global hälsa, socialmedicin och epidemiologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology (hsv//eng)

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