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Sleep Restriction Delays Suction Blister Skin Barrier Restoration

The suction blister model creates experimental skin wounds and permits evaluation of local immune response and wound healing. This pilot study assessed the effect of sleep restriction on skin barrier recovery after induction of a skin blister. Up to 8 blisters (~30 mm2) were induced via suction on participant's non‐dominant forearm either after 5 nights of adequate sleep (AS, 6.5‐9‐h sleep per night confirmed via activity monitors), after 48‐h of sleep restriction (RS, monitored in laboratory with ~2‐h sleep per night), or after 48‐h of sleep restriction in participants who underwent 72‐h sleep restriction (RS+). Top layer of blisters was removed to reveal up to 8 wounds. Skin barrier recovery was assessed by transepidermal water loss, measured daily until values were within 90% of unbroken skin. ANOVA with Tukey post‐hoc comparison determined significant between‐group differences. Skin barrier recovery was shorter for AS (n = 16, 23±5 years [mean±SD]) compared to RS (n = 10, 20±2 years) and RS+ (n = 10, 21±3 years): 4.2±0.9, 5.1±0.9 and 5.3±0.8 days, respectively (P = 0.008). Skin barrier recovery was not statistically different between RS and RS+. These data support the hypothesis that relatively modest sleep disruption delays wound healing.