Sleep protects against fractures
Insomnia in women doubles the risk of osteoporosis
Lack of proper sleep is another epidemic of modern society along with obesity, although official medicine strongly recommends sleeping at least seven hours a day. Judging by the results of a recent study published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research (Ochs‐Balcom et al., Short Sleep Is Associated With Low Bone Mineral Density and Osteoporosis in the Women's Health Initiative), this primarily concerns mature women whose lack of sleep can provoke the development of osteoporosis – serious diseases of the bone system with often tragic consequences
As is known, sleep disorders are associated with an increased risk of depression, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular and oncological diseases, and a decrease in mental abilities. However, until recently there was no data on the effect of lack of sleep on the state of the musculoskeletal system, although theoretically it was possible to assume its negative impact on metabolic processes in bone tissue.
Back in 2018, a group of American scientists retrospectively analyzed a huge sample of more than 150 thousand women. As a result of the study, it turned out that those of them who slept no more than 5 hours a day were more likely to fall and break bones. But what was the reason for such a high injury rate? Is it a change in the structure of bones and muscle strength or in a poor physical condition caused by some other concomitant pathologies?
In order to answer these questions, scientists examined more than 11 thousand middle–aged and elderly women (average age - 63 years) who are in menopause. As you know, after 40-50 years in the female body there is a critically sharp drop in bone mass, which is associated with a weakening of the function of the ovaries that produce estrogens. Female sex hormones inhibit the function of cells that destroy the "old" bone, so in menopause, the processes of bone destruction begin to prevail over the processes of recovery. So all the examined people were obviously at an increased risk of developing osteoporosis.
All women participating in the experiment had bone mineral density measured in various parts of the skeleton, including the femur and spine. As you know, it is minerals, primarily calcium phosphate, that gives our bones hardness and density, and with osteoporosis they are "washed out". With the help of special statistical programs, the researchers removed the influence of such characteristics as age, smoking, physical activity, body mass index, etc. on this indicator.
It turned out that women who sleep less than five hours a day, bone mineral density and bone mass indicators were indeed significantly lower than those who slept seven hours or more. In general, all other things being equal, the risk of developing osteoporosis in women with a lack of sleep more than doubled.
In conclusion, it is worth recalling that osteoporosis is deadly in the literal sense of the word: every fifth patient with a hip fracture dies a year after the injury, every third receives a disability, and most have difficulties with basic self-care. But thanks to recent research, there is an easy way to reduce the risk of such injuries – to take care of a good, full sleep.
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