The Healing Power of Sleep in Cancer

Posted by Naveen Dagla on February 21st, 2019

Why Sleep is so important? Lack of sleep, on the other hand, leads to serious health issues which include hypertension, heart attack, obesity, depression, stroke, injuries due to accidents and more. Sleep has a great impact even on a dreadful disease like cancer. Many recent studies have shown that sleep determines how efficiently and effectively your body fights cancer and also in progression and recovery. Psychiatrists at the Stanford University suggest that cancer cells are affected and the balance of hormones is altered due to sleep issues. There are many reasons people are not getting enough sleep and one of the main reason is a good mattress, the reason can be any, but the healing power of sleep cannot be side-lined in normal people or cancer patients.

Hormones, sleep, and cancer connection:

There is a connection between cancer and hormones. Cortisol is one such hormone which can battle cancer. It aids in regulating the immune system and also releases natural killer cells which can in turn fight against cancer. The levels of cortisol are at its highest at dawn and gradually decreases as the day progresses. A research conducted on women night shift workers shows that they have higher chances of breast cancer than women who work normal hours as their cortisol levels are shifted and peak at noon. Moreover, people who frequently wake up in the night are likely to have abnormal patterns of cortisol. These hormones are also released during stress and can further lead to worsening of cancer and other issues.

Melatonin which is called as the sleep hormone is also affected by lack of sleep. It has antioxidants which prevent cell damages which leads to cancer. In women, melatonin reduces estrogen levels so when you sleep too little the melatonin quantity is less and estrogen levels are high and thus a higher chance of cancer. So if the hormonal pattern is affected by sleep, it can lead to a rapid increase of cancer. So cancer patients should get enough sleep on thebest-rated mattress so that the body can recover from it. Sleep can have a great influence on the outcome of cancer.

Sleep and cancer:

If you don’t get enough sleep, it leads to inflammation which increases the chances of cancer and other chronic diseases. Research done on mice has proved that irregular sleep has a great effect on tumour growth. Mice that had disturbed sleep had tumours that were two times bigger than the mice that got normal sleep. Men who suffer from sleep disorders are more likely to get prostate cancer than normal sleepers. Research also suggests that people who suffer from sleep disorders like sleep apnea, insomnia, are high-risk candidates for developing the illness.

Role of sleep in cancer recovery:

It is essential to restorative sleep when undergoing cancer treatment as it helps to fight the disease effectively. There are many benefits of sleep in treating cancer which include cognitive, physical and psychological advantages. Some of them are:

• Better tolerance to pain
• Increase in energy levels
• Lower levels of stress and anxiety
• Better focus, memory, and concentration
• More optimism, better mood
• Better problem solving and decision making
• Getting good sleep is considered as a critical sign in cancer treatment.

Sleep disruptions are common in cancer patients. One of the reasons can be the mattress says sleep expert Wakefit, so check out for the mattress price. If so then it is time to change it and buy the best mattress in India. The important thing is to find out the reason for the lack of sleep and seek help. Sleep’s role in your health cannot be underestimated and has to get the most priority.