Mechanism behind getting sick from lack of sleep

Factual Questions
1

I usually get about 7 hours of sleep per night. At the beginning of this month I had to pull a couple all-nighters and another couple nights where I only had a few hours of sleep. After that stretch I started having a few symptoms: runny nose, sneezing, coughing, feeling unusually warm. I went to bed really early the first night I could, slept for twelve hours straight, and was absolutely fine the next day and thereafter. That was two weeks ago.

This past weekend I again found myself staying up late a couple nights in a row, building up a sleep deficit, and by Saturday night I was sneezing and wheezing. Again, not a serious case like if one had the flu, just an annoyance. Anyway Sunday night I went to bed at 7pm, slept for twelve hours straight again, and I’ve been fine since then.

I guess I have two questions.

(1) Is there any relationship at all in the events I’m observing? I know n=2 is a small sample of events to have a theory about.

(2) If so, what’s the mechanism for this? What would make my body, otherwise functional if tired and easy to doze off through lack of sleep, decide to start expelling mucus in my nose like seasonal allergies?

I know medical advice threads are iffy, so to nip that one in the bud, I will be strictly ignoring any advice in this thread. I’m just curious about how the body works. Thanks in advance to the Dopers that are able to shed any light on this tenuous connection.

2

I usually get a cold when I have several nights of low sleep. I keep these colds the full two weeks though. I always presume it is because of the weakening of the immune system that makes me get them (also happens when stressed).
I joke with my wife that I generated the cold because it is so predictable. No other “sick” people needed.
I doubt anything I said helped. Just more data.

3

Sleep deprivation wreaks havoc on your entire body. Metabolic and immune functions will take an appreciable hit, and injuries will take longer to heal. That’s the tip of the iceberg. These effects cascade. I would suspect your immune system is already weakened, and the lack of sleep pushes you “over the edge,” so to speak.

I’ll leave it to a medical professional to go further, lest I impart any unsound ideas or advice.

4

Here’s an article from the Mayo Clinic confirming that sleep deprivation can weaken the immune system, and talking a little bit about the mechanisms by which this happens.

5

I’ve wondered about this myself. If I go three nights in a row with limited sleep I can just about guarantee that I will come down with a cold. Identical symptoms lasting about ten days or so. Its like the virus is always there just waiting for my immune system to falter. I’m in pretty good shape otherwise. I work out regularly and watch what I eat.

6

See the “restorative theory” concerning why we sleep:

http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep/why-do-we-sleep