Sleep deprivation and physical stresshave similar effects on the immune system of human beings, researchers from the Netherlands and the United Kingdom reported in the journal SLEEP. Both physical stress and severe sleep loss jolt the immune system into action, the authors explained.
The scientists , from Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, and the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Surrey, United Kingdom, compared the number of white blood cells in 15 healthy young adult males who were subjected to normal sleep and severe sleep loss.
The greatest impact was on granulocytes - types of white blood cells – which lost their day-to-night time rhythmicity as numbers shot up, especially during nighttime.
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