{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.03924820342730791, 'fraction_numerical': 0.030403537866224434, 'mean_word_length': 4.764331210191083, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
The impact of common cold and flu on sleep: sufferer and physician perceptions

Introduction: Few studies document the impact cold and flu infections have on sufferers’ sleep or of physician attitudes to the benefit of sleep in aiding recovery. Aims & Objectives: A large multinational survey was conducted to understand more about the effect of cold and flu on sufferers. A second survey was conducted to understand the professional view of the role of sleep in relation to cold/flu recovery. Methods: 4008 adult cold/flu sufferers were surveyed online in each of 8 countries (Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Russia, U.S.) in 2016. 150 German physicians were surveyed online in 2017. Results: Most sufferers reported waking up at least once at night due to their symptoms and numbers were similar across countries (from 90% in Italy to 96% in Brazil, France, Mexico and U.S.). One of the biggest aspects of life negatively impacted from cold/flu was the ability to sleep well, which was particularly noted in the Western EU countries (France: 63%, Italy: 60%). 95% (143/150) of the physicians classed themselves as general practitioners. 93% (139/150) of the physicians agreed that sleep helps their cold/flu patients recover faster and 95% (142/150) stated that a good night’s sleep was important for their cold/flu patients. When asked to provide the scientific rationale for sleep being good for cold/flu patients, 50% (74/148) of the physicians stated they believe the immune system is activated or more efficient at night to work against eliminating the viral source of infection. Conclusions: Colds all over the world have detrimental effects on sleep as viewed by sufferers and good sleep is believed by physicians to have an important role in helping cold/flu patients recover faster.