Cutting corners on sleep has been normalised under the pretext of work or getting some additional me-time by binge-watching at night. It is often the first thing to be compromised when life gets busy, gradually turning late nights into a regular habit.
Can regular poor sleep be life-threatening and increase cancer risk? But there is no evidence of a direct cause-and-effect relationship between poor sleep and cancer. “Current human evidence is not strong enough to establish a simple cause-and-effect relationship. This means poor sleep may create conditions that are favourable for cancer development. Despite there being no direct cause-and-effect relationship, chronic sleep deprivation may affect biological processes associated with cancer risk.
Dr Ashish B Agrawal, associate director and head (Unit II) – medical oncology, haematology and BMT, Sarvodaya Hospital, Sector-8, Faridabad, revealed that chronic sleep disruption deserves greater attention.
What research does show is that persistent sleep and circadian disruption can affect biological systems involved in cancer development,” he said.
He cautioned against treating sleep as downtime and stressed that it should be prioritised. But before you fret over pulling an all-nighter to meet a deadline, the oncologist assured that one or two nights of poor sleep are not expected to influence your likelihood of developing cancer. So, when does poor sleep become a concern? Poor sleep becomes a problem when it becomes a persistent pattern rather than an occasional occurrence. Irregular sleep schedules and night-time work can disturb your body’s natural internal clock.
