Just one night of poor sleep could have these surprising health effects

Researchers at the Dasman Diabetes Institute in Dasman, Kuwait, aimed to investigate how sleep quality impacts systemic inflammation and immune response in 237 participants.

After tracking the participants' dietary intake, physical activity and sleep patterns, the researchers found that obese individuals had "significantly lower sleep quality and higher chronic low-grade inflammation," according to a press release.

In a subsection of the study, five healthy participants went without sleep for 24 hours and were monitored and tested throughout.

The experiment uncovered that just one night of sleep deprivation resulted in a disruption in immune cells, or monocytes, in these participants, similar to what was observed in obese participants.

Sleep expert Dr. Wendy Troxel, RAND Corporation senior behavioral specialist and a licensed clinical psychologist in Utah, also commented on the findings in a conversation with Fox News Digital.

Troxel, who was not involved in the study, said the "intricate connection" between sleep, obesity and inflammation is "consistent with previous research that links these factors to obesity-related diseases."

Regarding the negative health impact of just one poor night's sleep, Troxel said these effects can be reversed after two nights of recovering sleep.

These findings should be "interpreted with some caution," Troxel added, given the small size of the study sample.

Dr. Clayton Skaggs, founder and CEO of the Central Institute for Human Performance (CIHP) in Missouri, agreed that these findings support the "vital importance of timely rest."

During sleep, the body releases proteins called cytokines that help fight infection and mediate inflammation, the expert told Fox News Digital.

"A loss of sleep disrupts this process, leaving the immune system in a relatively activated, pro-inflammatory state," he said.

Skaggs added that sleep deprivation can also lead to a stress hormone imbalance, like elevated cortisol and adrenaline levels, which can further impact inflammation and immune regulation.

"While a single night of poor sleep might not cause overt illness in a healthy individual, these studies highlight that the immune system is highly sensitive to even short-term sleep loss," he said. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers for comment.