The article that I ran across for
this week discusses how the disruption of your circadian clock could increase
your chances of getting breast cancer. A circadian clock is driven by
environmental cues and drives 24-hour rhythms in the cellular processes in
almost every tissue in the body. The circadian clock controls cellular
processes, which means that is plays a role in cell division. The disruption of
circadian rhythms can be associated with abnormal cell divisions that occur in
cancer. The environmental cue that is
most talked about in the article is the exposure to light in the natural day
and night cycle. The modern western lifestyle that we live may have an
influence on the onset and progression on breast cancer by the disruption of
our internal clocks. This disruption could be brought upon our circadian clocks
by irregular shift work, repeated bouts of jet lag, and during ageing.
The suprachiasmatic nucleus is a
central pacemaker that coordinates circadian rhythms by the use of light to be
the established time-giver. As we know, the exposure to natural light indicates
to our bodies that we need to wake up and be active, while the lack of natural
light lets us know that we need to rest. This time of rest is when our body has
the chance to rejuvenate itself and work to keep a healthy system. The article
indicated that women who work irregular shift patterns have a higher frequency
of hormone-related breast cancer. The definition used for irregular night
shifts refers to working a mix of nights and days during the week. An example
of this could be nurses, who are on-call a majority of the time and work
all-times of the day if it is necessary. Their circadian clocks do not have
enough time adjust to the new shift pattern before it is changed again.
The thought of cancer has always been seen as
scary and as something that is all too real when it comes into your life or to
someone close to you. Breast cancer is what many women fear as they grow older,
especially if someone in their family has had it before. An example of this
would be myself because my grandmother had breast cancer and I have my concerns
about whether or not I have the possibility of getting breast cancer as well. Now
I have learned that my life as a college student with constant changes in my
sleeping patterns provides even more of a risk. I realize that this is
important information for everyone who lives a nocturnal lifestyle and that it
could lead to a lifestyle change to avoid increasing you risk of cancer. Link to Source: http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/658/art%253A10.1186%252Fs13058-016-0743-z.pdf?originUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fbreast-cancer-research.biomedcentral.com%2Farticle%2F10.1186%2Fs13058-016-0743-z&token2=exp=1475782567~acl=%2Fstatic%2Fpdf%2F658%2Fart%25253A10.1186%25252Fs13058-016-0743-z.pdf*~hmac=b4dd6fe3fe7ee81f1fff5313b4331f4a2fc5e2c1af4e37bdc86311eebc4dc975
Citation: Blakeman, V.; Williams, J.; Meng, Q.; Streuli, C.; Breast Cancer Research. 2016. 10.1186/s13058-016-0743-z
I had to do a lot of various shifts during my time in the military in it definitely took its toll on me. My sleep schedule would be thrown off especially working 10 pm to 7 am where I'd only sleep for about 4 hours after work, but some how feel awake because it was sunny.
ReplyDeleteWow, this is an eye opener. I always knew that college caused my sleep schedule to become messed up but I never knew that it could potentially increase my chance of breast cancer. And it is scary because I am such a night person and do well on less sleep, which I know is not good for me.
ReplyDeleteI have never really considered the idea of this clock work and how effective it is on the body. Interesting that it has so much a toll that it can be linked to breast cancer. Just another thing showing how college kid all-nighters are not good for the body. I could only imaging how this has come to disturb you with your family history and what not. College is stressful! We just have to try to keep our hopes up high, our heads down low, and our sleep patterns as regular as possible!
ReplyDeleteJohn Erwin: I hope that someday you have a job that doesn't suck.
ReplyDeleteNichole: I wonder if the disruption has to be sustained. Like maybe the occasional all nighter isn't so bad (fingers crossed).