Healthier Sleep Patterns Linked to Lower Risk of Being Hospitalized for Infection

CATEGORY: IMMUNE HEALTH

Healthier sleep is linked to a lower chance of ending up in the hospital with an infection. In a study of nearly 400,000 adults followed for more than 13 years, each step toward a healthier sleep pattern was associated with about 9% lower risk of being hospitalized for an infection.¹

How the Study Worked

Researchers drew on the UK Biobank, a large long-term health study, and gave each participant a healthy-sleep score from 0 to 4. A point was awarded for each of four habits: sleeping about seven to eight hours, being a natural early riser (your “chronotype,” or whether your body leans toward mornings or evenings), rarely having insomnia, and not feeling very sleepy during the day. The researchers then followed hospital records for about 13.5 years to see who was admitted for an infection. Because this was an observational study — it tracked people’s usual sleep rather than changing it — it can show a link but cannot prove that better sleep is the cause.¹

How Much the Risk Shifted

Every one-point gain on the sleep score was tied to roughly 9% lower risk of infection overall. The size of the link varied by infection type, from about 9% lower risk for sepsis (a dangerous, body-wide reaction to infection) up to about 20% lower for certain liver infections. The researchers estimated that if everyone met all four healthy-sleep markers, more than 1 in 10 of these infection hospitalizations might never have happened.

Why Sleep and Immunity Are Connected

Sleep is when your body does much of its immune housekeeping. During deep sleep, your immune system produces and organizes the cells and signaling proteins that find and fight germs, and it helps keep inflammation — the body’s defensive response — properly regulated. When sleep is short or broken over long periods, that maintenance work is disrupted, which may leave the body less prepared to hold off a serious infection.

Who Saw the Strongest Link

The connection between healthy sleep and lower infection risk was present across the group but stood out more in some people than others. It was more pronounced in adults under 65 and in women, though the study cannot explain why those differences appeared.

Key Takeaways

• In a large study, each step toward a healthier sleep pattern was linked to about 9% lower risk of being hospitalized for an infection.
• The strength of the link varied by infection type and was more pronounced in adults under 65 and in women.
• As an observational study, it shows an association, not proof that sleep causes lower infection risk.
• If you regularly struggle with sleep or with frequent infections, your healthcare provider can help you look into possible causes and options.

References

1. Li HM, Zhang XR, Liao DQ, et al. Healthy sleep patterns and risk of hospitalization for infection: a large community-based cohort study. Transl Psychiatry. 2025;15:100. link