Sleeping well can help prevent prostate cancer

There are few better feelings in the world than awaking well rested after a good night's sleep. The benefits are ten-fold, with your body and mind working at their optimum – but a new study has revealed that something altogether more serious could be prevented with a healthy sleep routine. A study conducted at the Harvard School of Public Health examined 928 Icelandic men and studied their sleep patterns in relation to urine samples. This allowed scientists to measure the amount of the hormone melatonin in the system at specific times. Melatonin levels naturally rise in the body during periods of deep sleep. Over the period of seven years following the initial study, 111 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer according to the report on the findings in The Independent. "We found that men who had higher levels of melatonin had a 75 per cent reduced risk for developing advanced prostate cancer compared with men who had lower levels of melatonin," commented Sarah Markt, the Harvard-based study leader. Markt goes on to explain that results do need to be replicated, but points out that there is definitely progress here towards better understanding a particularly brutal form of cancer that affects over 40,000 men each year, according to a statistic in The Independent. For now, the studies may not be able to precisely define the impact that good sleeping habits have on the body, but a good night's sleep is more likely to help than harm. Sleeping well can help prevent prostate cancer