Better Sleep, Fewer Infections: Study Links Healthy Sleep Habits to Lower Hospitalization Risk
Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2025 2:25 pm
Sleep plays a critical role in maintaining both physical and mental health. It supports memory and learning, improves concentration, promotes cardiovascular function, aids physical recovery, and bolsters the immune system. Consistently getting 7 to 8 hours of high-quality sleep each night has been shown to strengthen the body’s defenses against illness.
Some research has suggested that inadequate sleep may increase vulnerability to infectious diseases—a major global health concern, as infections are responsible for approximately 18.4% of all deaths worldwide. Identifying modifiable risk factors like sleep could be key to reducing this burden.
In a recent study published in Translational Psychiatry, researchers from Southern Medical University in China examined the relationship between sleep habits and infection-related hospitalizations by analyzing data from the UK Biobank, a large-scale health database. Their results suggest that adopting healthy sleep behaviors may significantly lower the risk of being hospitalized for infections.
“Sleep behaviors are potentially modifiable risk factors for infectious disease,” wrote study authors Hong-Min Li, Xi-Ru Zhang, and colleagues. “However, the combined effects of multiple sleep factors on infection risk are not well understood.”
The team reviewed data from 397,523 individuals, assessing their sleep patterns and tracking infection-related hospitalizations over a median follow-up of 13.5 years. They defined healthy sleep using a composite score based on four factors: sleeping 7–8 hours per night, having an early chronotype (natural preference for waking early), no insomnia, and no excessive daytime sleepiness.
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During the study period, there were 60,377 hospitalizations for various infections. Analysis revealed a strong inverse relationship between healthy sleep scores and the risk of infection-related hospitalization. In other words, the more healthy sleep behaviors a person followed, the less likely they were to be hospitalized due to an infection.
The researchers reported that for each one-point increase in the healthy sleep score, the risk of infection-related hospitalization dropped. Reductions ranged from a 9% lower risk for sepsis to a 20% lower risk for liver infections. They also estimated that over 10% of these hospitalizations could have been prevented if all participants had followed the four key sleep habits.
The benefits of good sleep were most pronounced in individuals under 65 and in women, the study found.
These findings underscore the potential public health benefits of promoting healthy sleep behaviors—not just for general well-being, but as a preventative measure against serious infections. Encouraging better sleep patterns could be a simple, cost-effective strategy to reduce hospitalizations and improve long-term health outcomes.
Some research has suggested that inadequate sleep may increase vulnerability to infectious diseases—a major global health concern, as infections are responsible for approximately 18.4% of all deaths worldwide. Identifying modifiable risk factors like sleep could be key to reducing this burden.
In a recent study published in Translational Psychiatry, researchers from Southern Medical University in China examined the relationship between sleep habits and infection-related hospitalizations by analyzing data from the UK Biobank, a large-scale health database. Their results suggest that adopting healthy sleep behaviors may significantly lower the risk of being hospitalized for infections.
“Sleep behaviors are potentially modifiable risk factors for infectious disease,” wrote study authors Hong-Min Li, Xi-Ru Zhang, and colleagues. “However, the combined effects of multiple sleep factors on infection risk are not well understood.”
The team reviewed data from 397,523 individuals, assessing their sleep patterns and tracking infection-related hospitalizations over a median follow-up of 13.5 years. They defined healthy sleep using a composite score based on four factors: sleeping 7–8 hours per night, having an early chronotype (natural preference for waking early), no insomnia, and no excessive daytime sleepiness.
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During the study period, there were 60,377 hospitalizations for various infections. Analysis revealed a strong inverse relationship between healthy sleep scores and the risk of infection-related hospitalization. In other words, the more healthy sleep behaviors a person followed, the less likely they were to be hospitalized due to an infection.
The researchers reported that for each one-point increase in the healthy sleep score, the risk of infection-related hospitalization dropped. Reductions ranged from a 9% lower risk for sepsis to a 20% lower risk for liver infections. They also estimated that over 10% of these hospitalizations could have been prevented if all participants had followed the four key sleep habits.
The benefits of good sleep were most pronounced in individuals under 65 and in women, the study found.
These findings underscore the potential public health benefits of promoting healthy sleep behaviors—not just for general well-being, but as a preventative measure against serious infections. Encouraging better sleep patterns could be a simple, cost-effective strategy to reduce hospitalizations and improve long-term health outcomes.