Getting enough sleep can help improve your health and boost feelings of well-being. Unfortunately, cancer and its treatments often disrupt sleep. About half of people with cancer have insomnia or other sleep disorders.
Several strategies can help improve your sleep while undergoing cancer treatments. Additionally, your cancer care team may be able to offer recommendations to help you get a better night’s rest.
High-quality sleep can help you feel better mentally and physically and protect you from additional health problems while living with cancer.
Cancer symptoms, treatment side effects, stress, and hospital stays can all affect sleep for those with cancer.
Sleep medications may provide short-term relief, but some may interact with cancer treatments or worsen side effects.
The most effective long-term solutions for improving sleep include cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), lifestyle changes, and treating any underlying sleep disorders.
Health benefits of sleep
Getting enough sleep may help people with cancer in several ways. For example, your body repairs damage and heals itself during sleep. This may help you recover from treatments like surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, which can harm healthy tissues. Sleep may reduce the side effects of these cancer therapies.
Additionally, sleep can strengthen your immune system. Not only can a healthy immune system help fight cancer, but it can also protect against infections. This is important because many cancer treatments can weaken or kill immune cells.
Sleep also provides other positive effects that allow anyone to boost their health. It can help:
- Reduce your risk of chronic conditions like heart disease and diabetes.
- Reduce blood pressure.
- Lower your stress levels.
- Balance hormones that control things like appetite, energy levels, healing, and immunity.
- Boost your mood.
- Sharpen your thinking by improving your memory, focus, and problem-solving abilities.
- Protect against depression and anxiety.
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- Reduce your risk of experiencing an injury due to things like falls or a car accident.
For best results, adults should aim to get at least 7 hours of sleep per night.
How cancer affects sleep
There are several reasons why you may get worse sleep while living with cancer:
Cancer symptoms — Tumors can cause issues like pain, coughing, muscle cramps, and changes in urination patterns that make it hard to relax and get quality rest.
Cancer treatments — Various treatments can cause sleep-interrupting side effects such as pain, night sweats, digestive symptoms, and breathing problems.
Extra stress — Juggling multiple doctor appointments and treatments, trying to keep up with usual responsibilities when you’re not feeling your best, and dealing with financial concerns can raise stress levels and trigger anxiety. These extra mental health struggles may keep you up at night.
Hospital stays — If you need to sleep overnight in the hospital, you may be frequently interrupted by your health care team. You may also feel uncomfortable in a different environment.
You may have a sleep disorder if you have a hard time falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up too early. Other signs may include snoring or gasping in your sleep, feeling like you need to move your legs too much at night, or experiencing fatigue during the day. Your doctor may suggest sleep tests to help find any potential problems.
Medications for better sleep
When sleeping problems arise, many people turn to sleep aids. Various medications can help you feel drowsier at night and make you fall asleep more quickly. Your doctor may prescribe drugs like benzodiazepines, antidepressants, or anti-seizure medications.
Many people with sleep problems also try melatonin. This hormone helps control sleep within the body, leading some to believe that taking melatonin as a supplement can improve sleep. However, research into this area has produced mixed results. Some studies have found that melatonin can help people sleep longer at night, while other studies haven’t shown a strong effect.
Make sure to talk to your doctor before using any sleep aids, including melatonin, as they can cause extra side effects for people with cancer or make cancer treatments less effective.
Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I)
It’s important to know that sleep medications are generally meant to be used in the short term and are less effective in the long run. Therefore, other strategies are also very important when you’re trying to improve your sleep.
Many sleep experts recommend CBT-I as the best first treatment for insomnia. This type of therapy involves learning how to achieve better sleep naturally by examining your beliefs and behaviors surrounding sleep. Unlike medications, CBT-I doesn’t produce any side effects, and it keeps working long after treatment ends.
You may be able to find a therapist in your area who specializes in CBT-I or you could receive this treatment online through a website or app.
Lifestyle changes for better sleep
Being more active during the day often helps you rest better at night. This can be very difficult because many cancer treatments cause fatigue, which makes it hard to do anything physical. However, increasing your activity levels can combat fatigue and improve the quality of your sleep. It may be especially helpful to be more active when you first wake up or to spend time outside in the sun. Try taking a short walk every morning.
Improving your sleep hygiene — your habits that affect your ability to rest — can also help lead to a better night’s sleep. You may want to try:
- Going to bed at a consistent time each evening and setting your alarm for the same time every morning.
- Quitting smoking.
- Avoiding naps during the day, especially in the afternoon.
- Finishing dinner a couple of hours before you plan to go to sleep.
- Avoiding caffeine and alcohol, particularly in the afternoon or at night.
- Staying away from your phone, tablet, computer, or TV in the evening.
- Keeping your pajamas and bed sheets clean and using soft fabrics.
- Creating a relaxing routine before bedtime by reading, listening to music, or taking a warm bath.
- Darkening your bedroom by turning off electronics and investing in blinds or shades that block light.
- Cooling down your bedroom with air conditioning or fans.
- Getting up and doing something else if you can’t fall asleep within 20 minutes of lying down.
If you’re struggling to get good rest, talk to your cancer care team. Your doctor may be able to suggest additional solutions, treat sleep disorders, or alter your cancer treatment plan in a way that helps you rest easier.
It may also help to talk to a doctor who specializes in palliative care. This type of treatment aims to improve well-being and relieve cancer symptoms and treatment side effects. You can use palliative care at any stage of your treatment journey, along with other types of cancer treatments that aim to get rid of your cancer. Your palliative care team or usual health care team can help you figure out how to sleep better.
- American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia: An Effective and Underutilized Treatment for Insomnia.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Key Sleep Disorders.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tips for Better Sleep.
- Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology. Exogenous Melatonin as a Treatment for Secondary Sleep Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
- National Cancer Institute. Sleep Disorders (PDQ)-Patient Version.
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Melatonin: What You Need to Know.
- National Institute on Aging. What Are Palliative Care and Hospice Care?
- NIH News in Health. The Benefits of Slumber: Why You Need a Good Night’s Sleep.
- Pharmacy and Therapeutics. Pharmacological Treatment of Insomnia.
Kulala usingizi wa kutosha kunaweza kuboresha afya yako na kuongeza hisia zako za starehe. Kwa kusikitisha, kansa na matibabu yake mara nyingi huharibu usingizi. Karibu nusu ya watu walio na kansa wana tatizo la kulala usingizi au matatizo mengine ya usingizi. Kuna mbinu kadhaa zinazoweza kukusaidia usingizi wako uwe bora wakati wa matibabu ya kansa. Kwa kuongezea, timu yako ya utunzaji wa kansa inaweza kutoa mapendekezo ya kukusaidia kupata mapumziko bora ya usiku. Kulala vizuri kunaweza kukusaidia kuhisi vizuri kiakili na kimwili na kukuhifadhi dhidi ya matatizo ya afya zaidi wakati wa kuishi na kansa. Dalili za kansa, athari za matibabu, mkazo, na kukaa hospitalini zinaweza kuathiri usingizi wa wagonjwa wa kansa. Dawa za kulala zinaweza kutoa misaada ya muda mfupi, lakini zingine zinaweza kuingiliana na matibabu ya kansa au kuzidisha athari mbaya. Njia bora za kuboresha usingizi ni matibabu ya tabia ya utambuzi (CBT) na mabadiliko ya mtindo wa maisha. Matokeo ya usingizi wa kutosha kwa afya ya binadamu ni muhimu kwa watu wenye kansa. Kwa mfano, mwili wako hujirekebisha na kujirekebisha wakati wa usingizi. Hii inaweza kukusaidia kupona kutokana na matibabu kama vile upasuaji, kemotherapy, na tiba ya mionzi, ambayo inaweza kuharibu tishu zenye afya. Kulala kwaweza kupunguza madhara ya matibabu hayo ya kansa. Kwa kuongezea, usingizi unaweza kuimarisha mfumo wako wa kinga. Si tu kwamba mfumo wa kinga wenye afya unaweza kusaidia kupambana na kansa, bali pia unaweza kulinda dhidi ya maambukizo. Hilo ni jambo la maana kwa sababu matibabu mengi ya kansa yanaweza kudhoofisha au kuua chembe za kinga. Kulala pia hutoa matokeo mengine mazuri ambayo humruhusu mtu yeyote kuimarisha afya yake. Inaweza kusaidia: - Kupunguza hatari yako ya magonjwa ya kudumu kama vile ugonjwa wa moyo na kisukari. - Kupunguza shinikizo la damu. - Punguza mkazo wako. - Hifadhi ya homoni ambazo kudhibiti mambo kama hamu ya kula, ngazi ya nishati, uponyaji, na kinga. - Kuongeza hali yako ya moyo. - Tengeneza uwezo wako wa kufikiri kwa kuboresha kumbukumbu yako, uwezo wako wa kukaza fikira, na uwezo wako wa kutatua matatizo. - Huzuia kushuka moyo na wasiwasi. - Kudumisha uzito mzuri. - Kupunguza hatari ya kupata jeraha kutokana na mambo kama vile kuanguka au ajali ya gari. Kwa matokeo bora, watu wazima wanapaswa kulala angalau masaa saba kwa usiku. Kuna sababu kadhaa kwa nini unaweza kupata usingizi mbaya wakati wa kuishi na kansa: Dalili za kansa zinaweza kusababisha matatizo kama maumivu, kikohozi, maumivu ya misuli, na mabadiliko katika mifumo ya mkojo ambayo hufanya iwe vigumu kupumzika na kupata mapumziko ya ubora. Matibabu ya kansa <unk> Matibabu mbalimbali yanaweza kusababisha madhara ya kuharibu usingizi kama vile maumivu, jasho la usiku, dalili za kumeng'enya chakula, na matatizo ya kupumua. Mkazo wa ziada - Kujipanga na miadi na matibabu mengi ya daktari, kujaribu kushikilia majukumu ya kawaida wakati huna hisia bora, na kushughulika na wasiwasi wa kifedha kunaweza kuongeza viwango vya mkazo na kusababisha wasiwasi. Matatizo haya ya afya ya akili ya ziada yanaweza kukufanya usilala usiku. Kukaa hospitalini <unk> Ikiwa unahitaji kulala usiku kucha hospitalini, huenda ukakatizwa mara nyingi na timu yako ya utunzaji wa afya. Pia huenda ukahisi vibaya katika mazingira tofauti. Unaweza kuwa na tatizo la usingizi ikiwa una matatizo ya kulala, kulala, au kuamka mapema sana. Dalili nyingine za ugonjwa huo ni kuugua, kukosa pumzi wakati wa usingizi, kuhisi kama unahitaji kusonga miguu yako usiku au kuwa na uchovu wakati wa mchana. Daktari wako anaweza kupendekeza vipimo vya usingizi ili kusaidia kupata matatizo yoyote yanayowezekana. Dawa za kulala vizuri Wakati matatizo ya kulala yanapotokea, watu wengi hutumia dawa za kulala. Dawa mbalimbali zaweza kukusaidia kuhisi usingizi usiku na kukufanya ulale usingizi upesi. Daktari wako anaweza kuagiza dawa kama vile benzodiazepines, dawa za kukandamiza mshuko wa moyo, au dawa za kuzuia mshtuko wa moyo. Watu wengi wenye matatizo ya usingizi pia hujaribu melatonini. Homa hii husaidia kudhibiti usingizi ndani ya mwili, na hivyo kuwafanya wengine waamini kwamba kutumia melatonini kama nyongeza ya chakula kunaweza kuboresha usingizi. Hata hivyo, utafiti uliofanywa katika eneo hilo umetoa matokeo tofauti-tofauti. Uchunguzi fulani umegundua kwamba melatonini inaweza kuwasaidia watu kulala usingizi mrefu usiku, ilhali uchunguzi mwingine haukuonyesha athari kubwa. Jihadharini na kuzungumza na daktari wako kabla ya kutumia dawa yoyote ya kulala, ikiwa ni pamoja na melatonin, kwani inaweza kusababisha athari za ziada kwa watu wenye kansa au kufanya matibabu ya kansa yasiwe na ufanisi. Tiba ya tabia ya utambuzi kwa insomnia (CBT-I) Ni muhimu kujua kwamba dawa za kulala kwa ujumla zinakusudiwa kutumiwa kwa muda mfupi na hazifanyi kazi kwa muda mrefu. Kwa hiyo, mbinu nyingine pia ni muhimu sana unapojaribu kuboresha usingizi wako. Wataalamu wengi wa usingizi hupendekeza CBT-I kuwa tiba bora ya kwanza ya kukabiliana na kukosa usingizi. Tiba hii inahusisha kujifunza jinsi ya kupata usingizi bora kwa njia ya asili kwa kuchunguza imani na tabia zako zinazozunguka usingizi. Tofauti na dawa, CBT-I haina madhara yoyote, na inaendelea kufanya kazi muda mrefu baada ya matibabu kumalizika. Unaweza kupata mtaalamu wa matibabu katika eneo lako ambaye ni mtaalamu wa CBT-I au unaweza kupata matibabu haya mtandaoni kupitia wavuti au programu. Mabadiliko ya mtindo wa maisha kwa ajili ya usingizi bora Kuwa na shughuli nyingi wakati wa mchana mara nyingi husaidia kupumzika vizuri usiku. Hii inaweza kuwa ngumu sana kwa sababu matibabu mengi ya kansa husababisha uchovu, ambayo hufanya iwe vigumu kufanya chochote cha kimwili. Hata hivyo, kuongeza kiwango cha shughuli zako za mwili kunaweza kupunguza uchovu na kuboresha hali ya usingizi wako. Inaweza kukusaidia hasa kuwa na shughuli nyingi wakati wa kuamka au kutumia wakati nje katika jua. Jaribu kutembea kwa muda mfupi kila asubuhi. Kuboresha usafi wa usingizi wako - mazoea yako ambayo huathiri uwezo wako wa kupumzika - pia yanaweza kusaidia kusababisha usingizi bora wa usiku. Unaweza kujaribu: - Kulala wakati uleule kila jioni na kuweka saa yako ya kuamsha saa ileile kila asubuhi. - Kuacha kuvuta sigara. - Kuepuka kulala usingizi wakati wa mchana, hasa alasiri. - Kukamilisha chakula cha jioni saa chache kabla ya kupanga kwenda kulala. - Kuepuka kahawa na pombe, hasa alasiri au usiku. - Kuepuka kutumia simu yako, kompyuta kibao, kompyuta, au televisheni jioni. - Weka pajamas na vitambaa vya kitanda vyako safi na utumie vitambaa laini. - Kuanzisha utaratibu wa kupumzika kabla ya kulala kwa kusoma, kusikiliza muziki, au kuoga kwa maji ya joto. - Punguza giza katika chumba chako cha kulala kwa kuzima vifaa vya elektroniki na kutumia mapazia au mapazia yanayozuia nuru. - Kupunguza joto katika chumba chako cha kulala kwa kutumia kiyoyozi au mashabiki. Kuamka na kufanya kitu kingine ikiwa huwezi kulala ndani ya dakika 20 za kulala. Ikiwa unajitahidi kupumzika vizuri, zungumza na timu yako ya utunzaji wa kansa. Daktari wako anaweza kukupendekeza suluhisho za ziada, kutibu matatizo ya usingizi, au kubadilisha mpango wako wa matibabu ya kansa kwa njia ambayo inakusaidia kupumzika kwa urahisi. Pia inaweza kusaidia kuzungumza na daktari anayefanya kazi ya kutibu magonjwa. Aina hii ya matibabu inakusudia kuboresha ustawi na kupunguza dalili za kansa na athari za matibabu. Matibabu ya kupunguza maumivu yanaweza kutumika katika hatua yoyote ya matibabu, pamoja na aina nyingine za matibabu ya kansa ambayo yana lengo la kuondoa kansa. Timu yako ya huduma ya kupunguza maumivu au timu ya kawaida ya huduma ya afya inaweza kukusaidia kujua jinsi ya kulala vizuri. - Jarida la Marekani la Tiba ya Mtindo wa Maisha. Tiba ya Ujuzi na Tabia ya Kutokula Usingizi: Matibabu Yenye Ufanisi na Yasiyotumiwa Vema kwa Kutokula Usingizi. - Vituo vya Kudhibiti na Kuzuia Magonjwa. Matatizo Makuu ya Usingizi. - Vituo vya Kudhibiti na Kuzuia Magonjwa. Mashauri ya Kulala Vizuri - Mipaka katika Neuroendocrinology. Exogenous Melatonin kama matibabu ya Sekondari Usingizi Uharibifu: A Systematic Review na Meta-Uchambuzi. - Taasisi ya Kitaifa ya Kansa. Matatizo ya usingizi (PDQ) - Toleo la Mgonjwa. - Kituo cha Kitaifa cha Afya ya Kuongeza na Kuunganisha. Melatonin: Mambo Unayohitaji Kujua. - Taasisi ya Kitaifa ya Kuzeeka. Utunzaji wa Kupunguza Ugonjwa na Utunzaji wa Hospice Ni Nini? - Habari za NIH katika Afya. Faida za Kulala Usingizi: Kwa Nini Unahitaji Kulala Usingizi Mzuri Usiku. - Pharmacy na Tiba. Matibabu ya Dawa ya Insomnia.