Just One Night of Sleep Deprivation May Cause Serum Protein Changes

Summary: The study identified 66 proteins significantly altered by sleep deprivation, affecting coagulation and immune response processes. Despite promising insights, the small sample size and other limitations necessitate further research before clinical implications can be drawn. The findings contribute to understanding the molecular impact of sleep deprivation.

 We have seen a sudden rise in metabolic disorders since the beginning of the industrial age. Nowadays, people are more likely to die of non-infectious diseases. This pandemic has multiple causes, like reduced physical activity levels, increased calorie intake, and less realized causes, such as sleep deprivation.

Science knows a lot about the harms of obesity, high-calorie intake, and sedentary lifestyle. However, the role of sleep deprivation in various health disorders is still poorly understood. Of course, science knows that sleep deprivation is bad for health, but how bad is it? And how quickly and how much sleep deprivation can harm health.

It appears that even sleep disturbances can have some acute adverse effects on health. This means that even sleep deprivation for a day may harm health!

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Modern technology has allowed us to carry out more extensive studies. Researchers in a recently published study analyzed how a single night of sleep deprivation affected 500 proteins.

The study conducted by the researchers analyzed the impact of sleep deprivation on human serum proteins using mass spectrometry. Specifically, out of 494 proteins identified, 66 were found to be differentially expressed after just six hours of sleep deprivation.

The altered proteins were primarily associated with biological processes such as protein activation cascade, platelet degranulation, blood coagulation, and hemostasis. These processes play critical roles in maintaining homeostasis, suggesting that sleep deprivation can disrupt essential bodily functions, potentially leading to adverse health outcomes.

Further analysis using gene ontology provided deeper insights into how sleep deprivation affects various biological processes, molecular functions, and immune system activities.

The study identified specific associations related to wound healing, cholesterol transport, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particle receptor binding, and granulocyte chemotaxis. These findings align with existing knowledge that sleep deprivation has broad and significant effects on the body's physiological and immune responses.

Despite these findings, the researchers acknowledged several limitations in their study. The small sample size, the exclusive inclusion of adult females, and the reliance on data from a single night of sleep deprivation limit the generalizability of the results.

Of course, researchers accept that it is too early to make any conclusions. It is challenging to draw definitive conclusions.

Nevertheless, the study adds to the growing body of evidence that sleep deprivation has a tangible impact on biological processes at the molecular level. It is among the first studies to show that even a single night of sleep deprivation may harm health. This approach is different from previous studies that focused on chronic sleep deprivation and issues like insomnia. This study highlights how important a good night's sleep is, and even short-term changes in sleep patterns are not good.

By identifying specific proteins and pathways affected by lack of sleep, this research contributes to a better understanding of the mechanisms through which sleep deprivation exerts its harmful effects. This knowledge could eventually lead to the development of biomarkers or therapeutic strategies to counter the consequences of poor sleep, particularly for individuals who are regularly exposed to sleep disruption, such as shift workers.

In summary, while the study successfully identified proteins and biological processes affected by sleep deprivation, it remains too early to translate these findings into clinical applications. More extensive research involving larger and more diverse populations, external validation cohorts, and rigorous statistical analyses is needed to confirm these results and explore their potential implications for managing sleep-related disorders and countering the risks associated with chronic sleep deprivation.

The study represents a step forward in understanding the molecular impact of sleep deprivation, but it is clear that further research is essential before these findings can influence clinical practice.

Source:

Bjørkum, A. A., Griebel, L., & Birkeland, E. (2024). Human serum proteomics reveals a molecular signature after one night of sleep deprivation. SLEEP Advances, 5(1), zpae042. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleepadvances/zpae042