Stress Closely Related to Sleep

A recent study shows that stress and sleep deprivation trigger the same responses in your body. This study reveals that lack of sleep can spur your immune system into action the same way that stress does. This study, based out of the United Kingdom, gathered its findings by comparing the number of white blood cells of 15 young men under normal sleep conditions and after being deprived of quality sleep. The white blood cells called granulocytes were the type of cells that were most affected by the change in sleep and wake patterns. These are the same cells that respond when a person experiences some type of extreme stress.

This study is another great link to how sleep affects overall health. Other recent studies in this area have linked sleep deprivation to obesity, hypertension, and heart disease, but this is the first study of its kind to find a correlation between sleep and stress.