Osteoporosis with its weak bones and fracture risk can be caused by many things, like changes in hormones, older age, and our lifestyles.
However, most often, doctors can’t explain why someone develops osteoporosis.
At a recent University of Colorado Department of Medicine Research Day, a team presented a great study that revealed a completely new cause of osteoporosis that is very pleasant to address.
We reach our highest bone density and strength in our early to mid-20s. This peak determines the risk of bone fractures later on. After reaching this peak, bone density stays fairly stable for about two decades. Then, as women go through menopause and men get older, bone density starts to decrease.
Sleep patterns also change as we age. Older adults tend to sleep less, and the quality of their sleep changes too. They take more time to fall asleep and spend less time in deep, restorative sleep.
The reason why the scientists thought there could be a connection between the two conditions relates to the fact that our bone cells contain genes that control our internal clocks. These cells are active all day, breaking down old bone and building new ones according to a set rhythm.
This rhythm in our bone cells suggests that disturbances in our sleep or body clock could directly impact our bone health, and that’s the question they wanted to answer.
Throughout the study, the researchers made their participants stay in a controlled environment. They lived without clocks and on a 28-hour day cycle, simulating the stress of rotating night shifts or jet lag.
To check on bone health, they drew their participants’ blood and checked for bone turnover markers, which are chemicals that indicate how much bone is being broken down and built.
The researchers found what they thought they might.
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1. These sleep and schedule changes led to worse bone health for both men and women.
2. The impact was significantly more harmful in younger participants.
3. Young women showed especially high increases in markers that indicate bone breakdown. Obviously, if we break down more bone than we build, it can lead to osteoporosis.
Therefore, getting enough quality sleep might be more important than we thought, not just for our energy levels and mood, but also for keeping our bones strong.