Sleeping Patterns and Bone Health
Improving our sleep quality can have a positive impact on everything from motor skills to weight control. Did you know that a good night’s sleep can influence bone health?
Our bones are constantly being repaired. Mature bone tissue is regularly removed from our skeleton and replaced with new bone tissue. This is known as bone remodeling or bone metabolism.
Bone remodeling regulates bone repair in addition to maintaining bone strength, flexibility, and density. Whether our bones are weakened by micro-damage from everyday activities or fractured by a traumatic injury, bone remodeling responds by reshaping or replacing damaged bone structure. A disruption in the bone remodeling process can result in metabolic bone diseases such as osteoporosis.
Sleep deprivation may have an effect on our bone remodeling function, according to recent research. Researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin discovered a link between chronic sleep deprivation and abnormalities in bone and bone marrow development. Sleep deprivation caused a dramatic imbalance in bone growth in laboratory animals.
Sleep-deprived animals stopped forming new bone, and the bone they did have lost density over time. Sleep deprivation also had an effect on bone marrow, resulting in decreased bone flexibility. Bone flexibility is critical for fracture prevention.
According to the findings of the study, sleep deprivation may also have an effect on bone remodeling in humans. Life moves quickly, and many of us are dealing with stresses that can make it difficult to sleep well. Chronic sleep problems may play a role in the gradual loss of bone density and the development of osteoporosis as we age.
We all know that getting a good night’s sleep is essential for overall health and productivity during the day. We now have another reason to practice good sleep habits: a good night’s sleep may help keep our bones healthy and strong.
