Sleep shortage increases susceptibility to catching a cold, study finds

According to a US study, people who get too little sleep are more likely to catch a cold; those who slept six hours a night or less were four times more likely to catch a cold when they were exposed to the virus than people who spent more than seven hours a night asleep. The findings, reported in the journal “Sleep”, build on previous studies that suggest that the sleep-deprived are more susceptible to infectious diseases and recover more slowly when they do fall ill.“It goes beyond feeling groggy or irritable,” said Aric Prather, a health psychologist at the University of California in San Francisco. “Not getting enough sleep affects your physical health.”

The scientists recruited 94 men and 70 women, with an average age of 30, for the study and subjected them to two months of health screening, interviews and questionnaires to establish their baseline stress levels, temperament and usage of alcohol and tobacco. The volunteers then spent a week wearing a wrist-mounted sleep sensor that tracked the duration and quality of their sleep each night.

To see how well they fought off infections, the participants were taken to a hotel and given nasal drops containing the cold virus. Doctors monitored them closely for a week after, collecting mucus samples to work out if and when the virus took hold.The researchers found that the less sleep people got, the more likely they were to develop a cold. Those who got less than six hours of sleep a night were 4.2 times more likely to fall victim to the bug than those who slept more than seven hours. Those who slept less than five hours had a 4.5 times greater risk.

Prather said that when it came to defending against the cold virus, sleep was more important than any other factor they looked at, such as people’s stress levels, age, education, income, or whether they smoked. “With all those things taken into account, statistically sleep still carried the day and was an overwhelmingly strong predictor for susceptibility to the cold virus.”

He added that more studies into sleep and health were needed to drive home the message that sleep is critical for wellbeing, especially in a culture where some people pride themselves in not having to sleep and working late into the night.

The latest study could not say categorically that a lack of sleep made people more susceptible to viruses. It could be that another condition that makes people more likely to catch colds also disrupts their sleep.

Question 1 (2 points) Indicate whether the following statements are true or false and write down which part of the text justifies your answer.

a. Those people who slept more than seven hours were four times more likely to catch a cold.

b. This is not the first time that scientists have seen that lack of sleep makes you more prone to infectious diseases.

c. The less you sleep the more unlikely for you to get the virus.

d. The most important factor for not getting the virus was not smoking.

Question 2 (2 points) Answer the following questions in your own words.

a. How did the scientists get information about the volunteers? What information did they get?

b. How did the scientists study the volunteers’ reaction to the virus?

Question 3 (1.5 points) Find words or phrases in the text that correspond in meaning to the words and definitions given.

a. sleepy (par.1)                                 b. wages (par. 4)                      c. tremendously (par. 4)

d. particularly (par. 5)                         e. prone (par. 6)

Question 4 (1.5 points) Complete the following sentences without changing the meaning.

     a.     Doctors monitored them closely for a week after.

They ............................................

b.  Not getting enough sleep affects your physical health.

          If ........................................., your physical health …….............

    c. He added that more studies into sleep and health were needed to drive home the           message that sleep is critical for wellbeing.

He said “ ..............”

Question 5 (3 points) Write a short essay (120-150 words) on the following topic:

What are the key factors for wellbeing?