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Insufficient Sleep Reduces COVID-19 Vaccine Antibody Response
A recent meta-analysis determined that insufficient sleep reduces the antibody response after the COVID-19 vaccines, with men more likely to see this change.
Insufficient sleep has detrimental effects on vaccine efficacy. A recent meta-analysis published in Current Biology determined that less than six hours of sleep per night resulted in a reduced antibody response following COVID-19 vaccination.
Understanding COVID-19 vaccine efficacy is a critical concern for public health professionals and healthcare providers, as vaccine efficacy can help reduce disease spread and minimize infection outcomes. Researchers and clinicians have worked tirelessly to understand the factors that impact vaccine efficacy, historically citing biological sex, concurrent health conditions, and diet as essential factors.
Most recently, the study published in Current Biology analyzed the effects of sleep on COVID-19 vaccine efficacy. The researchers collected data from studies until July 19, 2022, using PubMed and key terms, including “sleep” and “vaccine.” Defining short sleep as less than six hours, investigators looked at self-reported and objectively assessed short sleep and antibody response.
While self-reported short sleep did not seem to have a definitive impact on immune response, objective assessments determined that sleep patterns did impact immune response. The result was quantified as a pooled effect size (ES) of 0.79.
Although the general population had a high pooled ES when looking at the impact of short sleep, researchers clarified that the effect was more significant in men than women. The pooled ES for men was 0.93, while for women, it was less than half, with a pooled ES of 0.42.
“These results provide evidence that insufficient sleep duration substantially decreases the response to anti-viral vaccination and suggests that achieving adequate sleep during the days surrounding vaccination may enhance and prolong the humoral response,” noted researchers in the publication.
Considering that the Sleep Foundation estimates that nearly half of all people in the United States do not get sufficient sleep, it is critical to understand the longitudinal impacts of sleep. Despite the data presented, the researchers state that additional studies need to be conducted to determine the optimal sleep time, biological sex differences, and how to promote the best antibody response.
