CAN SLEEP HELP YOU AVOID THE FLU? If you feel a cold or sore throat coming on, one of the best things you can do is get some sleep. One study showed that people who received flu shots and were sleep-deprived the next night did not create the antibodies required to protect against the flu. As soon as you see the first signs of an upper respiratory infection, try to sleep for 10 hours. If you're chronically sleep deprived, you're more likely to develop recurring infections and