Eight hours of sleep a night improves the “learning” of immune cells in humans. This has been shown by a study published in the journal. Brain, Behavior and Immunity.
Previous studies have shown that the immune response of people who slept the night after vaccination doubled. However, its biological mechanisms have been little investigated.
In a new study, scientists found that sleep promotes the migration of T lymphocyte immune cells to the lymph nodes. “Training” of T cells occurs in them, including after vaccination. This explains why sleep improved the immune response of vaccinated people in previous studies.
To find out, biologists evaluated the concentrations of different T cell subtypes in the blood of healthy men and women who slept eight hours a night or simply lay in bed. Participants were fitted with special catheters to collect blood while they slept.
Patients who were allowed to sleep had higher levels of the hormone growth hormone and prolactin, as well as better contact between T cells and the CCL19 protein, which plays an important role in their migration to the lymph nodes.
Scientists believe that growth hormone and prolactin could be considered as new adjuvants to stimulate immune responses after vaccination, especially in older people with low levels of these hormones.
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