Yoga Improves Sleep for Cancer Patients | OSUN DEFENDER - 0 views
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regular practice of yoga can lead to significant improvements in sleep for people who have undergone cancer treatment.
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Research indicates that people coping with cancer are at significantly higher risk for sleep disorders than the general population
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Poor sleep and disrupted circadian rhythms are also associated with hormone dysregulation and immune system dysfunctio
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including physical pain or discomfort that interferes with falling asleep or staying asleep, side effects from medications and treatments, as well as stress and anxiety
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Researchers divided the participants into 2 groups, both of which followed the same standard post-treatment care plan. In addition, one group also participated in a 4-week yoga program, consisting of 2 75-minute sessions each week. The yoga regimen included physical postures as well as meditation, breathing and relaxation exercises
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410 patients with cancer, all of whom had undergone one or more types of treatment—including surgery, radiation and chemotherapy—within the past 24 months. Most of the participants (96%) were women, with an average age of 54, and 75% of participants had breast cancer. All were suffering from at least moderate levels of sleep problems.
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While short-term use of sleep medication may be useful, it’s critical to identify strategies for improving sleep that don’t rely on long-term use of sleep medicines
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, researchers measured sleep for both groups using questionnaires and wrist sensors worn during the night. They found both groups had improved their sleep during the 4-week period. However, the yoga group experienced significantly greater improvements to sleep compared to the non-yoga group:
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The yoga group saw their average sleep quality score improve from 9.2 at the beginning of the study to 7.2 at the end. The non-yoga group’s average score improved to a lesser degree, from 9.0 to 7.9.
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The yoga group experienced more significant improvements to daytime tiredness than the non-yoga group.
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The yoga group reduced their use of sleep medication by 21% per week during the course of the study. The non-yoga group, on the other hand, increased their sleep medication use by 5% per week.
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that the group practicing yoga improved their sleep while also reducing their reliance on sleep medication
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CDC’s first-ever investigation of prescription sleep medication that reliance on prescription sleep aids is alarmingly high, with 4% of the adult population of the U.S. taking medication to sleep
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After 3 months, patients who did yoga reported significant decreases in sleep disturbances, increased sleep duration, and less reliance on sleep medication, compared to a group that did not participate in the yoga regimen.
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A group of patients with a variety of cancers experienced improvements to sleep and decreases to levels of stress and fatigue after an 8-week program of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). MBSR includes meditation practices designed to address both physical and psychological difficulties.