BBC News - Bad sleep 'dramatically' alters body

A run of poor sleep can have a potentially profound effect on the internal workings of the human body, say UK researchers.<br /><br><br /><br>The activity of hundreds of genes was altered when people's sleep was cut to less than six hours a day for a week.<br /><br><br /><br>Writing in the journal PNAS, the researchers said the results helped explain how poor sleep damaged health.<br /><br><br /><br>Heart disease, diabetes, obesity and poor brain function have all been linked to substandard sleep.<br /><br><br /><br>What missing hours in bed actually does to alter health, however, is unknown.<br /><br><br /><br>So researchers at the University of Surrey analysed the blood of 26 people after they had had plenty of sleep, up to 10 hours each night for a week, and compared the results with samples after a week of fewer than six hours a night.<br /><br><br /><br>More than 700 genes were altered by the shift. Each contains the instructions for building a protein, so those that became more active produced more proteins - changing the chemistry of the body.<br /><br><br /><br>Continue reading the main story<br /><br>Meanwhile the natural body clock was disturbed - some genes naturally wax and wane in activity through the day, but this effect was dulled by sleep deprivation.<br /><br><br /><br>Prof Colin Smith, from the University of Surrey, told the BBC: "There was quite a dramatic change in activity in many different kinds of genes."<br /><br><br /><br>Areas such as the immune system and how the body responds to damage and stress were affected.<br /><br><br /><br>Prof Smith added: "Clearly sleep is critical to rebuilding the body and maintaining a functional state, all kinds of damage appear to occur - hinting at what may lead to ill health.<br /><br><br /><br>"If we can't actually replenish and replace new cells, then that's going to lead to degenerative diseases."<br /><br><br /><br>He said many people may be even more sleep deprived in their daily lives than those in the study - suggesting these changes may be common.<br /><br><br /><br>Dr Akhilesh Reddy, a specialist in the body clock at the University of Cambridge, said the study was "interesting".<br /><br><br /><br>He said the key findings were the effects on inflammation and the immune system as it was possible to see a link between those effects and health problems such as diabetes.<br /><br><br /><br>The findings also tie into research attempting to do away with sleep, such as by finding a drug that could eliminate the effects of sleep deprivation.<br /><br><br /><br>Dr Reddy said: "We don't know what the switch is that causes all these changes, but theoretically if you could switch it on or off, you might be able to get away without sleep.<br /><br><br /><br>"But my feeling is that sleep is fundamentally important to regenerating all cells."<br /><br><br /><br><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21572686">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21572686</a>

BBC News - Bad sleep 'dramatically' alters body

A run of poor sleep can have a potentially profound effect on the internal workings of the human body, say UK researchers. The activity of h...

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