Last week I delivered a webinar on chronic low-level inflammation and said that too little sleep and too much could increase this “inflammation gone awry.” Since then, I received a number of related questions and decided to share them here.
Q: Is too much sleep bad for you?
A: Yes. Studies show that “long sleepers” who consistently get more than 9 hours of sleep per night have significantly higher levels of pro-inflammatory biomarkers (1, 2, 3). In addition, people who sleep this long on a regular basis may not be getting the quality of sleep they need, and their bodies compensate by the extra hours in bed.
Q: Why does too little sleep also lead to chronic inflammation?
A: Sleep is the time when our bodies repair the cellular damage from the day and clear out toxins from our brain. All of this repair work requires a very active immune system. By getting 7-9 hours of sleep a night, the body can work through all four phases of inflammation: initiation, promotion, repair and restoration. When sleep is cut short, the body can’t complete the restoration process. This leads to chronic inflammation and accumulated cell damage over time.
Q: Can conditions like sleep apnea contribute to chronic inflammation?
A: Yes. Apnea and insomnia are both linked to higher risk. The same is true of shift work, as well as sleeping too little during the week and trying to make up for it on weekends. All of these disrupt the normal circadian rhythm, which is important in keeping chronic inflammation in check (4).
Q: Don’t some people just need less sleep?
A: Yes, according to Dr. Matthew Walker, Founder and Director of the Center for Human Sleep Science at U.C. Berkeley. In his best-selling book, Why We Sleep (2017), Dr. Walker says that people with the DEC2 gene can function on about six hours of sleep per night. However, he adds that having this gene is extremely rare.
“You are more likely to be struck by lightning than to have the DEC2 gene.”
Emerging research at UCSF indicates that there may be additional genes associated with “short sleepers,” thus increasing the population that requires less sleep. However, this research is preliminary and hasn’t been published in any peer-reviewed journals.
The Top Takeaway
Get 7-9 hours of sleep at approximately the same time every day for optimal health. (The range for adults over 65 is 7-8 hours.)
If you missed the September 9th webinar on chronic inflammation, click here for the recorded session.
