A person's sleep is an integral part of their life and an absolute necessity. This is the way for the mind and body to relax, without having to pay for it.
Lack of it is incredibly unhealthy - besides making people feel disoriented, unfulfilled and mentally unstable, it can lead to the development of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancerous growths and others.
Undoubtedly you may say that sleep is not the most important part of life, but in reality it is exactly that. That is what numerous studies in this field also claim.
According to a new study in Reykjavik, the problems with sleep - difficulty falling asleep and continued wakefulness, double the risk of prostate cancer in men, while lack of sleep in women increases their risk of developing breast cancer.
The scientists conducted their study related to prostate cancer with the participation of 2102 men aged between 67 and 96. The participants had to answer questions before the beginning of the study, such as whether they take sleep aids, whether they have problems sleeping if they wake up at night, and whether they have a difficult time going back to sleep.
From the answers given it became evident that 8.7 % have severe sleep disorders, and 5.7 % - very severe sleep disorders, and it is important to note that none of the men had prostate cancer at the beginning of the study, which lasted 5 years. In that time, 6.4% of participants got prostate cancer.
Research published by Harvard University explained that poor sleep increases the levels of C-reactive protein, interleukin 6 and other substances, which are typically high in infections, trauma, diseases and others. It is indeed these values that unlock diseases of the cardiovascular system, diabetes and others.
And since our body recharges using sleep, the absence of it disturbs hormonal balance, sometimes disrupts the timely release of hormones or the sending of chemical signals.
All of this leads to fatigue, drowsiness, and from there to increased blood pressure, atherosclerosis (constricted blood vessels due to clogging from cholesterol plaques), heart failure, heart attack, stroke, diabetes and obesity.
