Nearly one-third of the U.S. workforce–41 million workers–get less than the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep. That was reported by the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention this past spring. Recently, emerging research has starting showing the physical toll–centered on a poorly performing immune system–that lack of sleep exacts. This can range from rendering vaccines ineffective to creating an over-stimulated immune response that leads to inflammation and a host of inflammation related conditions. And, as we know, long-term inflammation in the body is a recipe for any number of chronic heath problems.
A story in the San Francisco Chronicle summarizes all this from a conference on sleep that it wrote about this week. In fact, the story highlights some data that show even an interruption of a good 7- to 8-hour sleep can have a detrimental effect.
View more stories about sleep and immune health covered in this blog.
