Want to Prevent Cancer? Make Sure You Sleep Well

[Guest guest]

Want to Prevent Cancer? Make Sure You Sleep Well

 

http://www.mercola.com/2003/oct/22/cancer_sleep.htm

 

By Dr. Joseph Mercola

with Rachael Droege

Many of us rush through our days and nights without taking the time to get a

good night’s sleep. Would you pay more attention to your sleep habits if

they could help to prevent cancer? Well, they certainly can, so if you feel

you need a good excuse to get some quality sleep, this is it.

 

How well you sleep can seriously alter the balance of hormones in your body.

This can then disrupt your sleep/wake cycle, also called the circadian

rhythm. A disrupted circadian rhythm may influence cancer progression

through shifts in hormones like melatonin, which the brain makes during

sleep.

 

According to Brain Behavior Immunology October 2003, having a regular

circadian rhythm may be necessary in order for your body to defend against

cancer, and sleep/wake rhythms that are disrupted due to stress or other

issues may promote cancer growth.

 

Melatonin is an antioxidant that helps to suppress harmful free radicals in

the body and slows the production of estrogen, which can activate cancer.

When your circadian rhythm is disrupted, your body may produce less

melatonin and therefore may have less ability to fight cancer.

 

Exposure to light during the night can also reduce melatonin levels, which

is why it is important to sleep in total darkness to decrease the risk of

cancer. Another link between cancer and the disrupted circadian rhythm lies

with a hormone called cortisol, which normally reaches peak levels at dawn

then declines throughout the day. Cortisol is one of many hormones that help

regulate immune system activity, including the activity of a group of immune

cells called natural-killer cells that help the body battle cancer.

 

Yet another mechanism that may be related to the cancer/sleep association is

the hormone insulin. University of Chicago researchers have repeatedly shown

that insufficient sleep will result in an increased rate of diabetes due to

increased insulin resistance, and insulin has been clearly linked to cancer

in previous studies.

 

We all know that sleep is important. The research is quite clear that

insufficient rest will result in increased rates of cancer and diabetes,

while optimizing your sleep can slow down the aging process. If you need

some help getting a good night’s sleep, you can review the sleep guidelines

that seem to help many of our patients.

 

I recently attended a conference with Dr. Deepak Chopra and thought that

many could also benefit from the following tips from his Insomnia Protocol:

 

The natural human biorhythm is to sleep between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. This

means you should be in bed, with the lights out, by 10 p.m. and be up by 6

a.m. If this is difficult for you, keep in mind that people naturally

followed this pattern before the advent of electricity. When the time

switches in two weeks ideally you should be in bed by 9 PM since this is

equal to 10 p.m. prior to the time switch.

 

Decrease your mental activity after dinner. Journaling may help in this

process by allowing you to put your anxieties on paper and get them out of

your mind.

 

Make preparations for the next day, such as determining what you’d like to

accomplish, so you don’t have to think about it.

 

Take a hot bath for up to an hour with calming fragrances (lavender,

vanilla, sandalwood) 30 minutes before bedtime. Use the bath to let go of

your daily stress, include soothing lights and music and massage your body

with oils.

 

Use your bed for sleep and sex only. Even reading should be done elsewhere,

unless it has a calming effect, such as spiritual literature.

 

Turn all lights off. Lie on your back and focus on they way your body feels

(your mind-body awareness) and on your breathing.

 

Try reciting a mantra for five minutes. This could be some sort of favorite

sound or prayer that you recite continuously.

 

 

Something warm, like a hot water bottle, may help soothe your anxieties,

especially when placed between the navel and bottom of rib cage.

 

If you wake during the night, try repeating some of the techniques above or

massaging your head or feet.

 

If you find it difficult to sleep in your bed, pick another area of the

house to sleep in.

 

 

--

Related Articles:

Sleep Problems May Complicate Many Illnesses

 

Sleep Tight with Melatonin

 

Continued Insanity--Sleep Medications to Kids

 

Sleep-Deprived Children More Prone to Injury

 

New Treatment for Sleep Apnea

 

If You Sleep Less Than Six Hours You Are Creating a 'Sleep Debt'

 

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[Guest guest]

Dr Kurt Donsbach uses 50 mg of melatonin nightly as part of his

cancer therapy. It is a tremendous antioxidant.

 

Duncan

 

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> Want to Prevent Cancer? Make Sure You Sleep Well

>

[Guest guest]

There are many people in and out of conventional and alternative medicine,

that have succeeded in scaring me into taking no more than 1.5 mg Melatonin.

Apparently, the word " hormone, " is what worries them. I even worry about

this small amount. I wish there were evidence one way or another, regarding

safe dosage. Do you know of any?

JP

 

 

-

" Duncan Crow " <duncancrow

 

Wednesday, August 11, 2004 10:13 AM

Re: Want to Prevent Cancer? Make Sure You

Sleep Well

 

 

 

Dr Kurt Donsbach uses 50 mg of melatonin nightly as part of his

cancer therapy. It is a tremendous antioxidant.

 

Duncan

 

>

>

> Want to Prevent Cancer? Make Sure You Sleep Well

>

 

 

 

 

 

 

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