b'Does Sleep Deprivation Lower Military Vaccination Effectiveness?By Brenda L. MooneySAN DIEGOThe dangers of sleep deprivation inTheinvestigativeteamcitedastudyofBritish militarypersonneliswell-documented;issuesin- Army recruits which found that those who slept less clude a detrimental effect on readiness and a high- than 6 hours per night were four times more likely to erlikelihoodoferrorsandinjuries. Anewstudybe diagnosed with a respiratory infection compared focused on a different concern, however, describingto recruits who slept 7 to 9 hours. how inadequate sleep compromises immune healthThey advised that sleep, the circadian system and and, therefore, vaccine effectiveness. theimmunesystemareoftenintertwined,noting, The U.S. military invests substantial resources toIn reality, circadian disruption and sleep deficiency vaccinate all personnel, including recruits, againstoftenco-occur.Forexample,beforeU.S.military operationallyimportantinfectiousdiseasethreats.recruittraining,individualsmaytravelfromdif-However,researchsuggeststhatvaccineimmuneferent time zones to arrive at boot camp and must response and, therefore, vaccine effectiveness mayadapt to an early sleep-wake schedule (i.e., circadian beinadvertentlyreducedbecauseofchronicand/ disruption), which is followed by short sleep dura-or acute sleep deficiency experienced by recipientstion and poor sleep quality from the time of arrival aroundthetimeofvaccination,wroteresearch- throughout the 10- to 13-week recruit training pro-ers from the Naval Health Research Center and itsgrams, the researchers explained. Warfighter Performance Department.ThestudyfurtherpointedoutthatU.S.military The report in Military Medicine specifically calledrecruits receive the first set of required vaccinations for more research into how sleep deficiency affectswithin the first few days after arrival to training, fol-vaccine administration schedules, response to vac- lowing by boosters and additional vaccines.cination and rates of clinical protection. This areaDespite the efforts and resources utilized to vacci-of research may benefit the health and readiness ofnate against, surveil for, and treat infectious diseases servicememberswhilealsodecreasinghealthcarein the U.S. military, the amount, quality, and timing utilizationandassociatedcostsfromillness,theof sleep received around vaccinations are neither con-authors advised. 1 sidered nor monitored for recruits or active duty per-Background information in the study pointed outsonnel, the researchers emphasized, adding that past that sleep deficiency, defined as short duration, poorstudies suggest that sleep deficiency can have nega-quality, and/or mistimed sleep (e.g., circadian mis- tive implications for the desired immune response. alignment), can have a negative effect on the func- Collectively,thesestudies,amongothers,sup-tioning of multiple biological systems and increaseport sleep as playing a critical role in the immune disease risk. response to vaccination and potentially overall clini-Noting that military personnel tend to be a uniquecal protection; however, further research is required population with high risk and prevalence of sleepto better assess the mechanisms and effects, includ-deficiency, the study team argued that immune sys- ing for novel infections and vaccines such as those tem implications should be considered. In particu- for COVID-19, which was temporarily mandated by lar, regular sleep is critical to maintaining healthythe Secretary of Defense for all U.S. military per-immunesystemfunctionandpromotesimmuno- sonnel in August 2021 and may be reinstated in the logicaldefensesagainstmicrobialandinflamma- future, they concluded.tory attacks, the authors wrote. Specifically, sleep1Anderson MS, Chinoy ED, Harrison EM, Myers CA, Markwald RR. deficiency deregulates immune responses, leading toSleep, Immune Function, and Vaccinations in Military Personnel: increased pro-inflammatory signaling and is associ- Challenges and Future Directions. Mil Med. 2023 Apr 27:usad119. ated with an increased risk of infectious diseases. doi: 10.1093/milmed/usad119. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37104811.14'