This year the headlines about how lack of sleep causes breast cancer, went around the world. Again. From India, Australia, Europe and the US, the latest study on cancer risk and sleep, from Dr. Rebecca Richmond, from Bristol University, UK, allowed journalists (even me) to get creative with their headlines.
“Early risers may avoid breast cancer”,
“Half your risk of breast cancer by going to bed early” and
“Women who have a lay-in have a higher risk of breast cancer.”
These headlines are enough to give anyone sleepless nights. And then, you can worry some more, as you are not sleeping.
If we take a closer look at the recently published study, they show that :
· Women who consider themselves to be “morning people” have less risk in developing breast cancer. 40% less risk.
· Those who regularly sleep more than 8 hours also have a 20 % higher risk of developing cancer.
The percentages are certainly quite startling. Dr. Richmond’s study took the results from four hundred thousand women. It all points to a clear-cut recommendation.
We should all be trying to sleep between 7-8 hours a night and go to bed earlier.
However, if we take a look behind the sensational headlines is it that simple? For example, the study was mostly using data from European women. The women self-reported on how much sleep they had and whether they considered themselves morning people or not. Their sleep patterns and sleep was not scientifically measured and recorded. Whilst not undermining the study, it does put some of the headlines into question.
Last year it was reported that across a global analysis into sleep, Japanese men and women slept the least out of all 28 countries studied. Japan, the country with the longest people on the planet also sleeps the least hours? It doesn’t really fit with the data.
The data for sleep in these studies came, in part, from fitness tracking companies. The data suggest that people in Japan sleep 15% less than their US counterparts. But Japanese people live 7% longer than their friends in the US. As always, we need to follow our common sense.
Taking sleep data from companies who promote fitness trackers is bound to skew the data towards the younger generation. Fitness tracking companies target market is the 18-30 year olds.
This the age, where people are getting to work early, working harder, and partying regularly.
It is not surprising that this demographic is reporting less sleep.
Apart from the salary men and office ladies (the female equivalent) in general the Japanese sleep about seven hours. The Japanese also have a lower retirement age, so perhaps, there is the time to catch up on the sleep missed when they were younger.
So, what can we take away from these studies? Well, you can always find a study to prove or disprove almost any case. We need, to look at the wider evidence. Sleep is important, there is no doubt. There is mountain of evidence from medical bodies around the world, that lack of sleep is detrimental to health. With that comes an increase risk of accidents, mental health issues and life-threatening medical diagnosis such as cancer.
This latest study does appear to show that a regular sleep pattern and rising early is likely to reduce the risk of developing cancer. For women, the risk of breast cancer appears to be significantly increased with late nights and less sleep.
How much of a risk? Well, enough for me to try to get some high-quality sleep for most nights of the week. So, if we think that the report holds some insights into sleep and cancer, how do we know what the right amount of sleep is for us and what is the best advice to get a good night’s sleep?
A good starting point is to go to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. They recommend that adults should regularly get seven hours (plus) of sleep a night.
We can also look to Japan, who sleep roughly the same as us, but live 7% longer. Diet is a contributing factor, of course, but I’m also going to throw in some sleeping advice from Japan too.
Four practical things that we can do to improve our sleep.
(1) Sleep on a firm surface. Futons. Now I know this is a hard one for us to buy into. We love, our big, comfy beds in the US. However, doctors always recommend firm mattresses.
They support our spines and necks. Firm mattresses allow our bodies to fall into alignment. Futons are simply firm mattresses placed directly on the floor.
You can get a firm mattress for your standard bed or you could go Japanese and buy a futon. I’m only going to recommend Japanese-made Futon’s like this one from Amazon.com. The US-made futons tend to be too thick, too dense and too heavy. They are made to fit onto our traditional bed frames. Whereas, the Japanese ones, are designed for everyday use. They are light, comfortable and fold into small spaces.
(2) Support your head and neck properly. Japanese pillows are great at this.
We all think we know about Japanese pillows. The wooden ones at least. They are known as Hako-Makura. Whilst some Japanese still use the wooden pillows, they are really from an earlier time. Today, most Japanese sleep with pillows that are soft and supportive.
There are many types, but the most popular pillows are the ones that support your head and neck by their shape. These have an indentation in the center of the pillow for your head to rest in. You can find them on the US Amazon site here.
Most of these types of pillows are designed to be regularly washed to keep them clean, fresh and hygienic.
The other popular pillow is the buckwheat husk pillow. It is made from cotton, and filled with the dried husks of buckwheat. It is said to circulate the air, stopping the build-up of damp and spores.
The husks are irregular in shape and therefore don’t slide over each other. This allows the pillow to retain its shape whilst also gently supporting the head and neck. They are also odorless.
These pillows are great for people who can’t find the right size pillow, as they are height-adjustable.
(3) Have a warm bath before you head to bed.
I know that I tend to have a shower in the morning, but in Japan it is recommended to have a relaxing bath two hours before you retire to bed.
Just take 15 minutes to relax in the warm water.
Not only does this relax the muscles, it also raises your core temperature. Once you are out of the bath, your body then loses heat, and this causes your core temperature to fall.
This fall in temperature triggers your body to prepare for sleep and you will go to sleep easier.
(2) Drink a glass of water before you go to bed. In the West, it’s a habit to have a glass of water on your nightstand in case you are thirsty in the night. In Japan, it is common practice to drink a glass of water before sleep. Hydration is important to get good quality sleep. The brain and body require a good level of hydration in order to flush out it’s toxins from the day’s activities.
These four pieces of Japanese advice could go some way to helping you establish a healthy, regular 7-8 hours of sleep a night. And maybe cutting your chances of developing cancer. Seems like a win-win to me
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