The benefits of regular physical activity and having enough sleep are hard to ignore. Not only do you get that extra boost in your confidence and self-esteem, but they can also help you prevent chronic health conditions. In addition, regular physical activity may cut cancer risk, and sleeping at least seven hours per night may maximize that benefit, a new research suggests.

James McClain, PhD, MPH, a cancer prevention fellow at the National Cancer Institute, and colleagues reviewed data on nearly 6,000 women from Maryland who completed surveys in 1998 about how much physical activity and sleep they typically get. Nine years after, the study group had 604 new cases of cancer.

Findings suggest that among the most physically active women younger than 65 -- women who reported getting about an hour a day of moderate physical activity -- cancer was 47% rarer for those who got at least seven hours of nightly sleep. Thus, McClain and colleagues believe that physical activity and sleep play an important role in reducing cancer risk. Those findings held regardless of other cancer risk factors.

McClain noted that “overall cancer risk among younger women is
relatively modest. It’s not a highly likely event by any means.” He also emphasized that no one in the study got cancer prevention benefits just by sleeping. “It’s not as though you got the benefit, the reduction in cancer risk, if you weren’t active,” said McClain.

The findings, however, need to be checked in larger groups of people. McClain suggests that overall lifestyle, not just one or two habits, might be more important for reducing cancer risk.

Other benefits of regular physical activity include brain chemical stimulation which may help you feel more relaxed and less stressed. Exercise can help you manage or prevent high blood pressure, heart disease, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes and other chronic conditions. It promotes better sleep habits which help maximize all the benefits mentioned.

Mark Walters  is a part-time writer and a part-time researcher. He is currently self-studying various Far Eastern languages and is an avid fiction reader. He is currently writing articles oriented towards consumers of pharmaceutical products.

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