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Sleep Problems Strongly Linked with Prostate Cancer

Here’s another study showing a strong association between poor sleep and cancer: An Icelandic study found that men with problems falling asleep had a 70% increased risk of developing prostate cancer, and a 210% increased risk if they had trouble staying asleep. Associations were even stronger for more advanced prostate cancers. Note that I wrote about this possibility in my book, Sleep, Interrupted, which was published in 2008.

Sleep Duration And Colon Cancer Risk

There have been more and more studies showing an association between sleep duration or sleep apnea with increased cancer risk. In this study, longer sleep duration was associated with increased colon cancer risk in people who snored or were overweight. As we know from cancer research studies, hypoxia is a major mechanism of cancer progression. Whether you stop breathing repeatedly throughout the night, or have increased levels of stress from not sleeping long enough, lower levels of oxygen can result.

NY Times Highlights The Importance of Sleep in ADHD

Here’s an important article that everyone should read in the New York Times.  The author highlights the fact that in many cases of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the real deficit may in your child’s sleep.

Sleep Deprivation Can Affect Your Gene Expression

Conventional thinking states that your genes don’t change, but here’s a revealing study that shows how sleep can significantly affect levels of gene expression. In this study, even mild levels of sleep deprivation or circadian rhythm disruption were found to increase or decrease expression of up to 711 genes, based on a technique called transcriptome analysis.

Biological areas affected included the following: gene-expression regulation, chromatin modification, macromolecular metabolism, and inflammatory, immune and stress responses.

What this means is that poor sleep, whether it’s due to insufficient sleep, insomnia, or sleep apnea, can have a negative effect on your hormones, metabolism, immune system, and your stress response.

Alcohol Before Sleep: Good or Bad?

There are probably millions of people in the US every year who drink a glass of wine or other alcoholic beverage just before bedtime. Reasons can include being able to sleep faster, or for red wine’s health benefits. Here’s a recent study that only repeats what’s already known about in sleep medicine for years: That alcohol can make you go into deep sleep faster, but later on, it cuts into your REM sleep, increasing the chances that you’ll have apneas or sleepwalk. The reason for this is that alcohol relaxes your throat muscles, so it’ll make you more prone to obstruction and arousals. 

I disagree with the authors to moderate alcohol just before bedtime. I think everyone should stop any sort of alcohol (and food) within 3-4 hours of bedtime. Even if you don’t have sleep apnea, do you want to begin having apneas at night?

Expert Interview: Dr. Barry Krakow on PTSD, Insomnia, and Sleep Apnea

In this Expert Interview, I interview Dr. Barry Krakow about his work on PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), insomnia, and obstructive sleep apnea. These are the questions I asked:

- How did you get involved with mental health patients who have sleep disorders?

- How is insomnia and sleep apnea related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?

- What’s the hard evidence that sleep-breathing disorders and insomnia go hand-in-hand?

- Why do you use the term, complex insomnia to describe the co-existance of insomnia and sleep apnea?

- Tell us about your paper that’s coming out in SLEEP on complex insomnia.

- What comes first, insomnia or sleep apnea?

 

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Did Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys Have UARS?

The hip-hop and pop music world was saddened to hear that Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys died at at the age of 47. He had been battling parotid gland cancer. As you may know, one of my hobbies is to analyze facial features, particularly jaw configurations in relation to one’s ability to breathe and sleep properly at night. I came across this picture on MSNBC, showing Mr. Yauch’s narrow and recessed mandible, along with a very narrow and pinched in nose. Having small jaws leads to airway crowding, predisposing to breathing problems while in deep sleep during muscle relaxation. 

There’s nothing more public about his health status besides his cancer, but one of his hallmark features was his raspy voice. If  he had upper airway resistance syndrome, it’s likely he also had laryngopharyngeal reflux disease. Besides aggravating hoarseness, reflux can also cause chronic oral cavity, nasal and lung inflammation, potentially leading to a multitude of health problems. It’s also very likely that he didn’t like to sleep on his back, and had unrefreshing sleep. Studies are beginning to show that lack of good sleep may also be a risk factor for cancer. 

All this is speculation, but celebrities are also modern humans, being susceptible to craniofacial features that can lead to sleep-related breathing disorders. Do you know of other celebrities that have small jaws or facial features?

 

 

 

Expert Interview: Dr. Emerson Wickwire On Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for CPAP

 In this interview, Dr. Wickwire shares his wisdom about comprehensive approaches to managing sleep apnea, including cognitive-behavioral treatment to maximize success with CPAP .

 Some of the questions include: 

 What are cognitive-behavioral treatments (CBT)?

 Have cognitive-behavioral treatments been applied to sleep disorders?

 What is the psychology of sleep apnea?

 What factors influence PAP use?

 What are Wickwire’s Four Pillars of CPAP Success?

 What is a PAP adherence risk profile?

 What CBT interventions have been tested to improve PAP adherence?

 And much more…

Please fill in your contact information below to receive your free MP3 recording:

Contact Information
First Name *
Last Name
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*By clicking ‘submit’ above, you are agreeing to receive ongoing communications from Dr. Park including monthly newsletters, events alerts, and other such written correspondences. Your e-mail will remain strictly confidential and will not be disclosed to any third parties without your prior written consent. You may unsubscribe to any or all portions of our e-mail correspondences at any time. Thank you for your cooperation.

Hotels That Promote Better Sleep

There’s been a trend in recent years by hotels to cater to people who have sleep problems during their stay. One hotel in particular is the Benjamin Hotel in New York City, which employes a sleep concierge. A New York Times journalist chronicled his odyssey of trying to get some shut eye over the course of the night. After reading the entire article, I’m not sure if the journalist actually got a better night’s sleep.

Sleep problems while traveling are a major source of sleep deprivation, from time zone changes to unfamiliar surrounding, and disrupted sleep routines. Having a sleep program such as what the Benjamin offers is a step in the right direction, but seems limited in what they can offer (different pillow selections, higher quality bed sheets, eye masks, etc.). It seems that a hotel guest is the perfect opportunity to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea, using some of the simpler screening tests that are available. They could also do a better job of emphasizing better sleep hygiene, such as not eating close to bedtime or not watching TV just before going to bed.

How well do you sleep when you travel?

The Most Sleep-Deprived Occupations

Here’s a top 10 list of the most sleep deprived and most well rested occupations. Although there are exceptions to the rule, it seems that occupations that involve heavy physical activities performed outdoors during the day are more conducive to better sleep. More sedentary jobs that are done indoors are more likely to lead to to less sleep. It’s important to note that this list only shows the total number of hours slept, not the quality of sleep. 

Are you on one of these two lists, and do you think it’s accurate? 

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