Effects of Experimental Sleep Deprivation on Peripheral Inflammation: An Updated Meta-Analysis of Human Studies.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Systematic review and meta-analysis of human experimental trials
PubMed 40474574 · doi:10.1111/jsr.70099
What was done
A systematic review and meta-analysis (PRISMA-compliant) was conducted across PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, and CINAHL up to March 2025 evaluating the effects of experimental total and partial sleep deprivation on circulating inflammatory markers in healthy adults. Data were pooled using DerSimonian and Laird random-effects models across 35 included studies comprising 887 participants.
What was found
Multiple nights of experimental partial sleep deprivation (sleep duration reduced to ~4.30 hours for 3 or more nights) significantly increased circulating interleukin-6 (IL-6: k = 5, d = 0.42, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.73, p < 0.01) and C-reactive protein (CRP: k = 5, d = 0.76, 95% CI 0.09 to 1.43, p = 0.03) compared to normal sleep. A single night of total or partial sleep deprivation showed no significant association with changes in inflammatory markers.
Why it matters
The findings indicate that systemic inflammatory upregulation requires cumulative, multi-night partial sleep restriction rather than an acute single-night deficit in healthy adults, providing a benchmark protocol (3+ nights of ~4.3 hours sleep) for studying sleep-related immunopathology.
Limits
Key positive findings for multi-night partial deprivation rely on a small subset of studies (k = 5 for both IL-6 and CRP), and the confidence interval for CRP is wide. The meta-analysis is restricted to healthy adult populations, and the abstract does not report data on long-term outcomes or whether recovery strategies (e.g., naps or sleep extension) restore baseline immune markers.
Cited by
- supports Sleep deprivation increases levels of the inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6).