Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2008;4(6):1467-70.
doi: 10.2147/vhrm.s3934.

Sleep restriction increases white blood cells, mainly neutrophil count, in young healthy men: a pilot study

Karim Zouaoui Boudjeltia  1 , Brice Faraut, Patricia Stenuit, Maria José Esposito, Michal Dyzma, Dany Brohée, Jean Ducobu, Michel Vanhaeverbeek, Myriam Kerkhofs
Affiliations

Sleep restriction increases white blood cells, mainly neutrophil count, in young healthy men: a pilot study

Karim Zouaoui Boudjeltia et al. Vasc Health Risk Manag. 2008.

Abstract

Objectives: This study examines the effects of sleep restricted to four hours for three consecutive nights on blood parameters, known to be associated with cardiovascular risk, in young healthy men.

Material and methods: Eight young healthy men (age 24.5 +/- 3.3 years) were studied in the sleep restricted group. Nine young healthy men (age 24 +/- 2 years) were included in the control group and spent the days and nights in the sleep lab, while sleeping eight hours/night. One baseline night was followed by three nights of sleep restriction to four hours and by one recovery night of eight hours. Blood samplings were performed after the baseline night and after the third night of sleep restriction or without restriction for the control group.

Results: A significant increase in white blood cells (WBC) (5.79 +/- 1.05 vs. 6.89 +/- 1.31 10(3) cell/microl, p = 0.03), and neutrophils (3.17 +/- 0.69 vs 4.24 +/- 0.97 10(3) cell/microl, p = 0.01) was observed after the third night of sleep restriction. Other blood parameters were not affected. No significant variation was observed in the control group.

Conclusion: Sleep restriction affected WBC count, mainly neutrophils, considered as risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Stress induced by the short term sleep restriction could be involved in this observation.

Keywords: cardiovascular risk; cholesterol; men; neutrophils; sleep restriction.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Brohée D, Vanhaeverbeek M, Kennes B, et al. Leukocyte and lymphocyte subsets after a short pharmacological stress by intravenous epinephrine and hydrocortisone in healthy humans. Intern J Neurosci. 1990;53:53–62. - PubMed
    1. Brown DW, Giles WH, Croft JB. White blood cell count: an independent predictor of coronary heart disease mortality among a national cohort. J Clin Epidemiol. 2001;54:316–22. - PubMed
    1. Danesh J, Collins R, Appleby P, et al. C-reactive protein, albumin or leukocyte count with coronary heart disease: meta-analyses of prospective studies. JAMA. 1998;279:1477–82. - PubMed
    1. Dinges DF, Douglas S, Zaugg L, et al. Leukocytosis and natural killer cell function parallel neurobehavioral fatigue induced by 64 hours of sleep deprivation. J Clin Invest. 1994;93:1930–9. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Elkind MSV, Sciacca RR, Boden-Albala B, et al. Leukocytes count is associated with reduced endothelial reactivity. Atherosclerosis. 2005;181:329–38. - PubMed

Publication types