A good sound sleep is an indispensable and essential part of human health. Today’s contemporary people are prone to ignoring the importance of sleep and its health benefits. People often stay up late, causing sleeplessness, not realizing that this habit may lead to an increased risk of fostering an onset of a variety of diseases.
Some studies have found that low-quality sleep may interfere with the body’s internal physiological clock, disrupting the immune system’s normal functioning. Insufficient or poor quality sleep may cause a significant risk of cancer developing.
5 physical abnormalities during sleep
1. Night sweats
Night sweats can be caused by certain diseases, such as diabetes, hyperthyroidism, menopausal syndrome, tuberculosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and so on. If you wake up at night because your body is drenched in sweat and there is no other reason, such as being too hot or having stressful dreams, following up with a doctor’s check-up could be essential to find the cause.
2. Insomnia
Experiencing insomnia at night may be a symptom of cancer being present in the body. Insomnia may make it difficult for us to fall asleep or cause sudden wakefulness. Psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression may increase the risk of cancer; equally, cancer treatment may cause side effects such as insomnia. If you experience frequent insomnia, consult your doctor.
3. Sleep apnea
Sleep apnea is when you suddenly stop breathing for some time during sleep. This may be caused by bad habits, such as obesity, smoking, and alcohol consumption. Some cancers may also cause sleep apnea. If this condition occurs frequently, it is recommended to consult a doctor as soon as possible.
4. Increased nocturia
Some people have to get up four or five times a night to go to the toilet; as the night progresses, the quality and soundness of sleep will be compromised.
So why is there an increase in nocturia? For men, it is essential to be alert to the two diseases of prostate hyperplasia and prostate cancer. For women, they should take note of any urinary tract infections. Of course, other diseases can cause increased nocturia, such as kidney and heart disease.
5. Coughing at night
Coughing is a manifestation of the body’s self-protection mechanism. When the respiratory tract is irritated, such as when a foreign substance or virus enters, the nerve endings inside the throat will signal to the brain that it needs to perform a coughing maneuver to remove these substances.
5 bad habits that affect sleep
1. Emotional anger
Emotional anger is detrimental to one’s health, especially before retiring to bed. Unresolved anger will increase one’s heartbeat, causing shortness of breath, thus resulting in insomnia. All of these will seriously affect the quality of a person’s sleep.
Most patients diagnosed with cancerous tumors have revealed experiencing relatively big life-changing events before the onset of the disease, such as divorce, widowhood, loss of children, unemployment, etc. Cancer is more likely to manifest in people who harbor anger. Anger in women can lead to skin pigmentation, accelerated aging of brain cells, stomach ulcers, hyperthyroidism, and breast cancer.
2. Overeating before bedtime
Chinese medicine believes that “if the stomach is not harmonious, then you will have trouble sleeping.” The stomach and intestines should rest during the night as you sleep. So if you overeat before going to bed, your stomach and intestines still have to “work overtime.” This will overstimulate the brain, causing a person to appear in a dreamlike state, experience insomnia, and have a restless, shallow night’s sleep, leading to excessive tiredness.
Additionally, the blood will be concentrated in the digestive tract, leading to the coronary arteries being depleted of essential blood flow, which can lead to possible heart ischemia and inducing angina pectoris, causing the dreaded night infarction — very dangerous!
3. Exercising strenuously before bedtime
Many people think that it’s a good idea to exercise before going to bed. The reasoning is to make them so tired that they will fall asleep quickly. Excessive exercise before going to bed will cause the nerve cells in the brain that control muscle activity to become highly excited, which is not conducive to improving one’s sleep quality for the night.
4. Drinking black tea before bedtime
Strong black tea contains caffeine and other substances that can stimulate the central nervous system, making people excitable. It is best to drink tea during the day.
5. Sleeping on a poor-quality pillow
Investing in a good-quality pillow is essential for a good night’s sleep. Pillows that are too low can lead to a stiff neck, bloated brain, and swollen eyelids. On the other hand, pillows that are too high can affect the smooth workings of the respiratory tract and may also cause neck pain.
If you are experiencing any of these five harmful habits, it would be wise to change them to benefit your long-term health.
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