Revista brasileira de psiquiatria : orgão oficial da Associação Brasileira de Psiquiatria, Asociación Psiquiátrica de la América Latina
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To review the literature on the interaction between sleep and the immune system. ⋯ Sleep deprivation and immune system exert a bidirectional influence on each other. Since sleep deprivation is considered a stressor, inasmuch as it induces elevation of cortisol or corticosterone levels in humans and rodents, respectively, and given the well-known immunosuppressive effect of glucocorticoids, we propose that increased activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is a major mediator of the immune alterations observed in patients with insomnia or in sleep deprived subjects.