Welcome back! Last week, we talked about preparing for a natural disaster. It’s more complicated than you would think. If you aren’t part of a CERT or NERT team, you may want to catch up on that blog. Click HERE.
We all want to know if there are ways to reduce our risk of contracting cancer, correct? Sleep is not one of the things I would have ever considered as a risk factor. I was watching a video a couple of weeks ago that talked about mice getting tumors if they were deprived of sleep. First of all, poor mice! Second of all, really? I was so curious and I hope some of you are as well.
Can our lack of sleep make us sick? Let’s get at it…
Photo credit: Getty Images
Let’s start with the function of sleep
What is actually going on in our body when we sleep? The answer is SO MANY THINGS.
Sleep is essential for good health. In fact, we need sleep to survive — just like we need food and water. So, it’s no wonder we spend about one-third of our lives sleeping.
Many biological processes happen during sleep:
- The brain stores new information and gets rid of toxic waste.
- Nerve cells communicate and reorganize, which supports healthy brain function.
- The body repairs cells, restores energy, and releases molecules like hormones and proteins.
These processes are critical for our overall health. Without them, our bodies can’t function correctly.
How much sleep is recommended?
The recommended amount of sleep depends on your age. It also varies from person to person, but the CDC suggests the following durations based on age:
- 18 to 60 years: 7 or more hours
- 61 to 64 years: 7 to 9 hours
- 65 years and older: 7 to 8 hours
What happens if I can’t get that much sleep?
According to the Cancer Therapy Advisor, Researchers found evidence to suggest that individuals who slept less than 6 hours each night, those who did not nap during the day, and those who got less than 7 hours of sleep in total had an increased risk of cancer.
For this study, the researchers analyzed data from 14,851 participants in the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, a population-based survey of people older than 45 years of age. The researchers evaluated associations between cancer and nighttime sleep duration, daytime napping, and total sleep duration.
The study participants’ mean age was 58.78 years, 53% were women, 29% slept for less than 6 hours per night, and 46.9% did not take naps during the day. Over a median follow-up of 6.9 years, there were 229 cases of incident cancer.
You have my attention, continue…
On July 11, 2023, The American Cancer Society posted about this study and said that short nights and total sleep duration were both associated with a high risk of incident cancer but varied by sex. Interestingly, cancer risk was restricted to women with short stable sleep trajectories.
Plain Language Summary
- This study showed that short nights and total sleep duration were associated with a high risk of cancer incidence in the middle-aged and elderly Chinese population, with implications for early effective cancer prevention.
- Habitual sleep is a modifiable and dynamic lifestyle behavior, and long-term short-sleep trajectories among women can predict cancer outcomes.
- Future studies should examine the association between the trajectory of sleep parameters based on objective measures and specific cancer types.
Were there any theories as to why?
They suggested several possible mechanisms for the association between sleep and cancer risk, including decreased melatonin levels, impaired immune function, and disruptions of circadian rhythms that could promote tumorigenesis (the production or formation of tumors).
2010 Study
The American Cancer Society posted an article in 2011 about a study that found that a shorter duration of sleep significantly increases the risk of colorectal adenomas. The authors’ results suggest sleep duration as a novel risk factor for colorectal neoplasia (colon cancer).
Is there a difference between good sleep and bad sleep?
Getting 12 hours of poor sleep will not have the same beneficial effects as eight hours of good-quality sleep.
It’s clear that we need good sleep in order to stay healthy, but how do you know if you are getting “good” sleep? It’s pretty simple, according to Sleepstation.
If you’re waking up feeling well-rested and restored, with the energy to get through the day, then your sleep quality is probably good.
If you suspect you aren’t getting good quality sleep, there are a number of things you can do to correct that problem. Among them, asking your doctor for a sleep study. This can pinpoint the exact problems you are having, and provide a roadmap to correction.
If you don’t have a sleep disorder (it’s ruled out), then you can address other issues, such as anxiety, PTSD, depression (sleeping too much or too little is common), hormones (women in menopause will have a lot of trouble with their sleep patterns), and more.
Your doctor will be the key to finding a solution to your sleep difficulties and should be your first line of defense when tackling this multifaceted problem.
Know this: You are NOT alone. In May of 2023, Sleep Statistics reported the following:
Statistics About Insomnia, Sleep Apnea, and Other Sleep Disorders
- According to estimates, 50 million to 70 million people in the U.S. have ongoing sleep disorders.
- 9% to 15% of U.S. adults have insomnia that affects their daytime activities.
- Women are 40% more likely to have insomnia than men.
- Having a sleep disorder during pregnancy may increase the odds of premature birth by 33.9%
- 76% of U.S. adults with a sleep issue or disorder share a household with at least one other person who does, according to a SleepFoundation.org survey.
- 55% of nurses say they experience insomnia.
- 32% of people snore, according to a survey of visitors to SleepFoundation.org. 20.6% of them have been diagnosed with sleep apnea.
- About 44% of men and 28% of women snore.
- 17% of children ages 2 to 14 snore.
- A 10% increase in body weight may make you six times more likely to have Obstructive Sleep Apnea.
- Some 0.9% of adults ages 40 and older experience central sleep apnea (CSA).
- You may exert as much as 250 pounds of force when you grind your teeth.
- Restless legs syndrome (RLS) affects 5% to 10% of adults and 2% to 4% of children.
- 1 in every 2,000 adults has narcolepsy. In the U.S., that equates to about 165,950 people.
- People with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are 37.6% more likely than others to have a sleep disorder.
- 66.8% of adults say they have talked in their sleep.
- 22.4% of adults say they have had a sleepwalking episode.
- 7.6% of people have had an episode of sleep paralysis.
Statistics About Sleep and Mental Health
- 70% of adults with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) feel tired in the winter, compared to 44.2% of those without it, according to a SleepFoundation.org survey.
- 40% of people with insomnia may have a diagnosable mental health condition.
- 83% of adults with depression may have at least one symptom of insomnia.
- 58.2% of respondents with SAD use sleep aids, compared to 26.3% of those without SAD, according to a SleepFoundation.org survey.
- 54.4% of respondents to a SleepFoundation.org survey say stress and anxiety were the top reasons they have trouble falling asleep. Sunday was the night of the week in which they had the most trouble falling asleep.
- As much as 91% of U.S. adults with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have symptoms of insomnia.
- 80% of people with PTSD have nightmares within three months of experiencing trauma.
- Wildfires can cause as much as 134.9 hours of lost sleep per year for a U.S. adult, according to a SleepFoundation.org survey. 76.6% of adults who have lost sleep to wildfires cite anxiety as the reason.
- 72.5% of wildfire survivors experience insomnia.
Lastly, let’s talk about the children – do they need more sleep than adults?
According to Dr. Mayank Shukla, yes.
“Because children are in the process of growing, they need more sleep than adults. It is recommended that adults get between 7 to 9 hours of quality sleep each night. Children require more sleep and depending on their age, the amount of sleep necessary can differ. Below you will find the recommended hours of sleep for children from newborn to school age.
- Newborn (0-3 months): 14 to 17 hours
- Infant (4 to 11 months): 12 to 15 hours
- Toddler (1 to 2 years): 11 to 14 hours
- Preschool (3 to 5 years): 10 to 13 hours
- School Age (6 to 13 years): 9 to 11 hours
“Children need more sleep than adults because they are in the process of growing. Physical and mental development is necessary for children to fully develop and mature in a healthy way.
“Healthy sleep patterns help children maintain a healthy weight, and reduce the risk of obesity, and other harmful physical health issues. Children who don’t get the right amount of quality sleep are more likely to have behavioral problems at school”.
If you insist that your children follow your sleep patterns, you may want to rethink your stance. Not getting enough sleep can lead to serious health problems.
In conclusion
I can’t stress this enough…see your doctor. They are the key to getting your sleep issues resolved, regardless of your age. We all deserve to be happy and healthy. Make that call.
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As always, this blog is not a replacement for sound medical advice. I am not a doctor. Please make an appointment to see your healthcare provider and put a good plan in place that works for you and the needs of your body.
That’s all I have for you this week, dear reader. I’ll see you back here next Wednesday to share another cup of coffee. Until then, be good to yourself and each other.
Mind, Body, Spirit…Osteopathic Doctors treat the whole person, not just the ailment. Is your PCP a DO? Would you like to learn more about Osteopathic Physicians? Click HERE!