- A good night's sleep may help to protect against cancer,
it was claimed last night.
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- But restless nights may disrupt hormone balances and
make a person more vulnerable to the disease, scientists suggest.
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- Previous studies have shown that cancer patients who
go through group therapy or have a strong social network fare better than
those who do not.
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- According to the new theory, the reason could be that
people with stronger social support sleep more soundly.
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- A team of American scientists led by Professor David
Spiegel, from Stanford University in California, argues that sleep can
seriously alter the body's hormonal balance.
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- This made the sleep/wake cycle - also called the circadian
rhythm - a good candidate for linking social support with cancer outcomes.
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- "Psychosocial factors affect your behaviour patterns,
such as exercise, what you eat and drink, and your sleep," said Prof
Spiegel at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science, in Seattle.
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- He suggested two ways in which the circadian rhythm might
influence cancer progression. The first involved melatonin, a hormone produced
by the brain during sleep.
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- Melatonin was an anti-oxidant which mopped up damaging
groups of atoms called free radicals. When sleep was disrupted the body
produced less melatonin and cells could become more prone to cancer-causing
DNA mutations.
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- Melatonin also slowed production of the female hormone
oestrogen, which can help fuel many breast and ovarian tumours. The second
link lay with the hormone cortisol, which normally reaches peak levels
at dawn and then declined during the day.
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- A spokesman for Stanford University said, "In past
work, Spiegel and his colleagues have found that women with breast cancer
whose normal cortisol cycle is disrupted."
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