Early risers are less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than women who are night owls, according to researchers have lately found a link between the body clock and breast cancer.

According to a study presented by researchers from University of Bristol, women who are in the habit of waking up at the crack of the dawn reduced the risk of developing breast cancer by 40 to 48 per cent in comparison to late risers. Researchers also found that women who slept for more than seven to eight hours had a 20 per cent chance of developing the disease by

Dr Rebecca Richmond of the University of Bristol told BBC, “We would like to do further work to investigate the mechanisms underpinning these results, as the estimates obtained are based on questions related to morning or evening preference rather than actually whether people get up earlier or later in the day. In other words, it may not be the case that changing your habits changes your risk of breast cancer; it may be more complex than that.”

She further said, “However, the findings of a protective effect of morning preference on breast cancer risk in our study are consistent with previous research highlighting a role for night shift work and exposure to ‘light-at-night’ as risk factors for breast cancer.”

“These findings have potential policy implications for influencing sleep habits of the general population in order to improve health and reduce the risk of breast cancer among women,” she added.

Courtesy: The Indian Express