Puzzle pieces

Trying to unravel the puzzle of how/why I developed cancer has lead me on this expedition of health. I hope that the info I print out in these blogs will also prevent and help others faced with similar obstacles, (usually brought on by ignorance of our own). To begin this series, the following are a couple of many articles I have found supporting the lack of night sleep and cancer. I feel that it played a major role in my contracting cancer and not being able to rid myself of it by natural means alone. (This is only the beginning of the puzzle, hang in there with me).

(Natural News) http://www.naturalnews.com/ The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is adding working the night shift to a list of possible carcinogens, after conducting an analysis of the existing research on the topic. The IARC reviewed studies on night workers, primarily nurses and airline crews, and found that those who worked overnight were more likely to develop cancer than those who worked during the day. "There was enough of a pattern in people who do shift work to recognize that there's an increase in cancer," said IARC carcinogen classifications unit head Vincent Cogliano. Animal studies have shown that animals forced to stay awake at night and sleep in the light develop more malignant tumors and die sooner than animals with normal sleep cycles. Research on humans has also linked years of overnight work among women to higher breast cancer rates, with a similar effect on prostate cancer in men. One factor behind the link may be meletonin, which a hormone that the body produces primarily at night. Melatonin has a role in regulating the body's internal clock, and also plays a role in the immune system. Because melatonin breaks down when the body is exposed to light, workers who sleep during the day and are active in well-lit places at night may have an excess of melatonin. In addition, overnight workers tend to be sleep deprived, because it is impossible to fully reverse the body's internal clock. “Night shift people tend to be day shift people who are trying to stay awake at night," said Mark Rea, director of the Light Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Sleep deprivation has been linked to a variety of negative health effects, including suppression of the immune system. According to Aaron Blair of the National Cancer Institute, switching between day and night work is even harder on the body than only working at night. Blair recommends that anyone who has to work at night make an effort to sleep in a darkened room after work. “The balance between light and dark is very important for your body," Blair said. "Just get a dark night's sleep.

Dr. Ben Kim: http://www.drbenkim.com/ Earlier this year, an article in The Washington Post summarized the results of an interesting Israeli study that indicates that women who live in areas that are highly illuminated at night are more likely to develop breast cancer than women who live in neighborhoods that are darker at night. This study supports the hypothesis that melatonin, a hormone that is produced by your body mainly at night, is capable of suppressing the growth of tumor cells.This is something that I've written about before; if you'd like to get more information on this topic, please feel free to view the following articles:
Importance of Sleeping in Darkness Problems with Shift Work and Irregular Sleep There is enough evidence to support the link between irregular sleep and an increased risk of developing cancer that the World Health Organization decided in December of 2007 to classify shift work as a "probable carcinogen."This puts shift work in the same risk-for-cancer category as exposure to diesel engine exhaust and toxic chemicals like poly chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and some types of insecticides.Getting back to light exposure during sleep time, you should know that your melatonin level drops quickly when your eyes register light, but the drop is quickest in response to light in the blue part of the light spectrum - fluorescent bulbs and computer monitors give off this type of light.With this in mind, if you live in a brightly illuminated neighborhood, it's probably a good idea to have window coverings that block out the street lights at night, and to use faint night lights in your bathrooms to help keep melatonin levels as high as possible during sleep time. To end today's issue, here's an old Korean proverb for your consideration: "Life is half spent before we know what it is." Dr. Ben Kim
~~~A final note for today series-- that I had to learn and continue to try and practice~~~
*Don't Compare Yourself With Others* If you do, you'll live a life of misery and despair. You'll always feel inadequate in every area of your life. Let's take health, for example. A lot of people come to me and say, "I know a friend who eats junk food all day long and looks perfectly healthy and is more energetic than I, who's been trying hard for so long to improve my diet". The truth is, everybody starts in life with a different constitution, with different weaknesses. Yes, some people can abuse their body more than others, without feeling the damage. Some people can eat junk foods and not get sick... for a while. Others are more sensitive to everything they eat. Some people can take in large quantities of alcohol, and still can function in this world. Does that mean they are healthy? You can't judge the appearances. Someone may appear perfectly healthy on the outside, but at a cellular level they are very sick. Did you know that one of the first "symptoms" of high blood pressure is *death*? Some people are "perfectly healthy" until the day when they fall dead -- the inevitable consequence of their unhealthy lives. Others are not so lucky, and must endure the pain and agony of degenerative diseases. The same goes for success in life. Lot's of people appear to have it all, but are actually very sad. Most people who "own" expensive cars and big houses are actually buried in debt. But in spite of all of that... we can't help it. We keep on comparing ourselves with others. We know that rock stars and movie stars are among the most dysfunctional and unhappy people in the world, but yet, we envy them and want what they have. We know that 80% of lottery winners end up in *worse* position 5 years later than the day before they won, but yet, we wish we would get as "lucky as them" too. And we look at others who appear healthier than we are... but if we look closer we know than they are not. Yet, we secretly envy their energy. Comparing yourself to others is a sure path to misery. Instead, compare yourself to *yourself*.You can evaluate your *own* progress, from one period of your life to another. From one way of eating to another. You'll find that if you make constant progress you will reach your goals of vibrant health and optimal physique!