Afternoon jabs better for infant
US researchers say infants who are vaccinated in the afternoon will sleep better over the next 24 hours compared with those who receive the shot in the morning.
Researchers of the University of California, San Francisco found that Babies slept about 70 minutes longer in the first 24 hours after the shots, particularly if their immunizations were administered after 1:30 p.m.
A small rise in body temperature is an expected reaction in infants getting an immunization, and can be a sign of a good immune response while a higher rise in temperature may cause more disturbances and less sleep.
Enjoying a sufficient amount of sleep plays an important role in the immune response, researchers noted in their article published in Pediatrics.
Studies conducted on adults had shown that those who lacked enough sleep before or after receiving a vaccine were more likely to develop a weaker immunity.
“Given the importance of sleep for a healthy immune response, our findings suggest that the time of day of vaccine administration and sleep duration after immunization are important to consider,” said study author Linda Frank.
She suggested that if further investigations confirm the relation between vaccination time and immune response, afternoon immunizations should be recommended for all infants.
Source: presstv.com
