By Colleen Travers — 2019
Experts share the warning signs that your lack of sleep may signal a greater health problem.
Read on www.huffpost.com
CLEAR ALL
With each diagnosis, knowing her life hung in the balance, she was “stunned, then anguished” and astonished by “how much energy it takes to get from the bad news to actually starting on the return path to health.”
When Peter Keating took off from the starting line at the Boston Marathon, it was the realization of a dream come true, but he never imagined just how unique his 26.2-mile trek would be.
For the first time in forever, Nathan Adrian truly has no idea if he’ll have a strong swim Friday. And at this point, it doesn’t really matter to the five-time Olympic gold medalist. He’s simply elated to be back.
‘Skin cancer worked its way into my lymph nodes. I was devastated.’
1
A study looking at the data of thousands of participants suggests that there may be a link between severe sleep apnea and the likelihood of developing cancer. However, this link appears to be stronger in women.
Many cancer patients face sleep problems, such as difficulty falling asleep, frequent nighttime waking, rising too early in the morning, or excessive sleeping during the day.
Getting enough sleep is important for overall health and may be related to cancer risk.
People with cancer sometimes have an increased risk for sleep problems because of treatment effects and other factors. It's important to know why sleep problems can happen, what can be done to help manage them, and when to ask for help.
Roughly half of patients with cancer have symptoms of insomnia, and many may have sleep problems that linger for at least a year, a small study suggests. The most common malignancies were breast cancer, tumors of the prostate or testicles, and colorectal cancer.
As knowledge has grown about sleep’s integral role in overall health, many sleep scientists have turned their attention to how sleep and cancer are connected.