Greetings, friends. As a medical expert, I want to stress the importance of sleep when it comes to vaccination. Whether you're getting vaccinated for COVID-19, the flu, or for travel, it's crucial that you get a good night's sleep beforehand.
A recent study has shown that sleeping less than six hours the night before a vaccination can limit your body's response to the vaccine, reducing protection against the virus or bacteria. On the other hand, good sleep can actually amplify and extend the duration of vaccine protection.
Interestingly, the impact of poor sleep on immune response was found to be statistically significant in men but not in women. This could be due to known sex differences in immune response to foreign and self-antigens.
Regardless of gender, if you're sleep-deprived or have an irregular sleep-wake cycle, it may be best to delay the vaccination until you're fully rested. Most adults need seven to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep for restorative sleep, which boosts immune response.
It's important to note that people often overestimate the amount of sleep they get each night. Objective measures of sleep deprivation, such as those used in sleep labs, showed a robust association between lack of sleep and reduced immune response, especially in men.
While this study focused on vaccinations for influenza and hepatitis, it's likely that the findings apply to COVID-19 vaccines as well. In fact, arriving for a COVID-19 vaccination without adequate sleep may weaken the antibody response to the vaccine by the equivalent of two months.
In conclusion, to maximize vaccine effectiveness, be sure to get a full night of solid sleep before and a few days after a vaccination. This advice is supported by strong evidence and is already recommended in many sleep clinics.
