Does Sleeping Well matter to me now?
During sleep (especially sleep at night), our bodies maintain optimal function of our internal systems. Sleep is also important for thinking (cognitive functioning), healing, and mental health. Either too little or too much sleep is linked to body terrainthe internal conditions of your body, including nutritional status, fitness, blood sugar balance, hormone balance, inflammation and more imbalances and many physical, mental, and emotional conditions including cancer and other chronic diseases.1Alschuler LN, Gazella KA. The Definitive Guide to Cancer, 3rd Edition: An Integrative Approach to Prevention, Treatment, and Healing. Berkeley, California: Celestial Arts. 2010; Block KI. Life over Cancer: The Block Center Program for Integrative Cancer Treatment. New York: Bantam Dell. 2009; Liou KT, Root JC et al. Effects of acupuncture versus cognitive behavioral therapy on cognitive function in cancer survivors with insomnia: a secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial. Cancer. 2020;126(13):3042-3052.
If you feel that a lack of sleep might be impacting your health and wellness, quality of life, and ability to function, then we invite you to explore options and suggestions in this handbook.
Personal story
CancerChoices Senior Researcher Laura Pole: I was conducting an Ayurvedic cooking workshop over a long weekend at a yogic retreat center. One of the participants was Anton, a 62-year-old gentleman from New York City. He had just finished treatment for prostate cancer and came to the workshop to learn about how to take better care of himself with food. Anton explained that he was a Cuban exile who fled to NYC in the ‘60s and had lived there ever since.
The morning after he arrived, our retreat center liaison came and told me Anton had not shown up for morning yoga and meditation (an expectation of all center visitors) and that she was going to have to talk to him about this. Anton explained he realized after sleeping so well the night before, that he had not had a full night’s sleep since moving to New York. The street noise was constantly disrupting his sleep to the point where this became his new normal. Anton asserted his needs with the center liaison and said he would continue to sleep in and would go to evening yoga and meditation. He ended up staying an extra week to rejuvenate his body, mind, and spirit in the peace and quiet of the beautiful mountain retreat. He also left with a simple plan to block out the noise from the streets and let in the healing of sleep.
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