Year: 2021
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: Stress is a known contributor to immune system suppression associated with higher illness susceptibility, including acute infectious respiratory illness or the common cold. Sleep quality is an additional mechanism that may underlie the association between stress and cold symptomatology. Although the associations between stress and sleep and cold symptomatology have been examined separately, little is known about the mechanistic role of sleep in these associations. The present study fills that void by examining archival data from the Common Cold Project (Pittsburgh Cold Study 3). The results indicate sleep quality surfaced as an indirect pathway linking stress to changes in cold severity. Additionally, better sleep was associated with greater changes in cold severity above perceived stress. These findings suggest that better sleep may be associated with less severe symptomatology. Future research should address mechanisms underlying the associations between stress, sleep, and cold symptomatology.
Language: English
Topic: Sleep and related disorders
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Pennsylvania Department of Health, Carnegie Mellon University, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Center for Research Resources, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
OpenAlex ID: W3169931707