Lack of sleep 'raises cold risk'

Sleeping less than seven hours a night greatly raises the risk of catching a cold, US research has suggested.

A team from Carnegie Mellon University found the risk was trebled compared with those who sleep eight hours or more a night.

It is thought that a lack of sleep impairs the immune system, and the body's ability to fight off the viruses that cause colds and flu.

The study appears in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

Previous research has suggested that people who sleep seven to eight hours a night have the lowest rates of heart disease.

However, there has been little direct evidence that getting a good night's sleep can help ward off a cold.

The researchers studied 153 health men and women with an average age of 37 between 2000 and 2004.

Each was interviewed about their sleeping habits over a two-week period.

Credits: BBC