Relief for Cancer Patients With Insomnia

Battling cancer is a tough job. Not only does the disease take its toll on an ailing body, but modern treatments often include side-effects that can make healing all the more challenging. And insomnia is among those side effects.

I see many patients who've gone through cancer treatment only to be left with chronic insomnia. In fact, as many as one-third of all cancer patients develop sleep problems during treatment that then can persist for years afterward--even after the cancer has gone into remission. Sadly, the insomnia doesn't go into remission too. Insomnia takes over these patients' lives for many reasons, including stress caused by their illness and changes to regular sleep patterns caused by their treatments.

But there's hope. A new study is underway in a research program based in Alberta, Canada to help such patients gain the control they so desire of their sleep life. It's called I-CAN Sleep (short for Individuals with Insomnia and CANcer), and it's the first Canadian study to assess sleep-improving techniques specifically intended for cancer patients and survivors.

Why is this necessary? Well, consider the following:

• Insomnia very rarely goes away on its own once it becomes chronic.  Some sort of intervention is typically required.
•  Sedatives aren't a viable long-term solution because sleep becomes dependent on the medication. Besides, who wants to rely on sedatives for the rest of their lives?
• Insufficient sleep can negatively impact a person's mood and pain threshold, compounding the difficulty of cancer treatment--and setting up an individual for living with a high risk for other health challenges, such as heart disease, obesity and diabetes.

The crux of this study examines two areas related to sleep:

1. how the body can relax the mind; and
2. how the mind can relax the body.

My guess is the study will show that the techniques I've been endorsing for years are helpful. They are, after all, the essence of mind-body sleep medicine. Examples include:

• Establishing an ideal setting for sleep that entails a calm, clutter-free and cool bedroom.
• Taking the time to r-e-l-a-x before bedtime and "power down" so the mind and body prepare for sleep and actually expect sleep to be imminent. This can encompass any number of mind-body practices such as visualization, light yoga, meditation and deep breathing. 
• Avoiding stimulants, from electronics and caffeine to page-turning thrillers and work at night.
• Learning how to engage the mind when your head hits the pillow to sedate the body to sleep naturally. Again, this can involve certain bedtime practices that teach the body to enter a deeply calming and sleep-enhancing state.

Note that all of these strategies are non-invasive, drug-free and cost free. Something that typically cannot be said for all those exhausting weeks and months of addressing an illness as scary and severe as cancer with traditional medicine. 

I would also venture to guess that those patients who can successfully get back a restful night will gain back more than sound sleep. They'll capture more health. More vitality and energy. And definitely more life.

To learn more about the I-CAN Sleep program, call 1-877-SLEEP40.

Sweet Dreams,

Michael J. Breus, PhD
The Sleep Doctor™
www.thesleepdoctor.com

This article on insomnia in cancer patients is also available at Dr. Breus's official blog, The Insomnia Blog: by Sleep Doctor Michael Breus, PhD.

 

 

 

Follow Dr. Michael J. Breus on Twitter: www.twitter.com/thesleepdoctor

Comments

[SchrodingersKatz]

12:59 PM on 07/26/2010

As for cancer, go to PubMed and read the hundreds of abstracts about how the molecules in cannabis kill many types of cancer cells.

I wish doctors would unite and tell the DEA to let the research in this country proceed without all the roadblocks. Are you listening, Docs?

[SchrodingersKatz]

12:56 PM on 07/26/2010

Cannabis is the safest sleep aid. No hangover the next day.

[Mister Biggles]

08:43 PM on 07/24/2010

Marijuana is a Swiss Army Knife for the body, mind and soul.

[dshare]

11:19 AM on 07/23/2010

Acupuncture treatment & Chinese herbs are very effective in calming the mind and having a sound night sleep along with helping boost one's immunity during chemo.

[undrgrndgirl]

09:55 PM on 07/22/2010

and maybe a little indica cannabis...

[Red45]

09:33 PM on 07/22/2010

I have chronic insomnia. It's horrible to lay awake and not be able to sleep all night long. It's frustrating, scary and worse that you can believe until it happens to you. It really is awful. After being put on several sleeping medications that either didn't work or worked too well and I couldn't keep from nodding off during the day, I tried marijuana, which is working perfectly. Fortunately, I live in a medical marijuana state and can get it when I need it. There is no hangover, no risk of getting hooked on a prescription sleeping pill, and I can use it when I need it. Nothing else has worked for me. Nothing.

[f0rTyLeGz]

05:31 PM on 07/22/2010

I've had insomnia since chemo... four and a half years ago. I took sedatives for a while, but the side effects of those pills were awful, and produced their own anxiety, since I started to feel like a zombie in the day time. But my mornings have been lost now for many years. If I have an appointment it has to be after 2pm. I too use all the strategies mentioned above, and they work a little, and I sleep better than I used to sleep, but it is a far cry from how I used to sleep in the good old pre-cancer days.

[Ljilja]

11:09 AM on 07/22/2010

Thanks for the excellent advice.

I was in treatment for breast cancer five years ago and had trouble with insomnia. Somehow, on my own, I came up with the solutions you mention.

One of the things that helped me most, was "going to a quiet, safe place" that I imagined every night before sleep. It was always the same image: a beautiful mountain top, with a view of the sea. I would be lying in the hammock in the sunshine.

It helped me distance myself form the place I was in, relax and fall sleep. Mind is a powerful healer.

http://graciouslivingdaybyday.com/2010/04/06/six-month-checkup/

[jetscan]

10:51 AM on 07/22/2010

I'll give it a try. Powering down my mind is the only problem I have, sometimes.

Thank you.