Chromosome Telomeres:

What’s Sleep Got To Do With It?

There has been lot of talk among sleep researchers about chromosome telomeres (the “caps” on the ends of one’s chromosomes that protect cellular breakdown.) Now, nobel prize winner and molecular biologist, Elizabeth Blackburn, and her colleague, Elissa Epel have written a book called The Telomere Effect, published in January of this year.

Telomere Shortening

Essentially, the telomere effect is the effect long vs short telomeres have on our health and well-being. Having short telomeres puts a person at an increased risk for disease and, therefore, for shorter life expectancy. Having long telomeres gives cells the opportunity to divide many times and, therefore, replenish.

Chromosome Telmeres and Sleep

What’s sleep got to do with it? Short sleepers have been found to have shorter telomeres (Jackowska et al, PLOSOne, 2012.) More specifically, older insomniacs, appear to have shorter telomeres than those in the same age range who don’t have insomnia (Carroll et al., SLEEP, 2016.) In other words, when the body isn’t given ample time to sleep, it can’t repair itself. Telomeres shorten, cells aren’t as protected and, as a result, they malfunction, making us vulnerable to disease, such as cardiovascular disease or cancer.

This research dovetails with that of Carol Everson who studied the effect of short sleep duration on leukocytes (antibodies responsible for fighting disease.) See my post

Is telomere length just one more thing for the everyday insomniac to worry about? Not necessarily. Elissa Epel, Ph.D. informs us that short telomeres can become long again through proper diet, exercise and meditation and that the reduction of psychological stress, in general, can have a rejuvenating effect on telomeres.

In particular, meditation seems to be key to telomere length. Elizabeth Hoge, M.D., a professor at Harvard Medical School, found that people who had more years of meditation under their belt had longer telomeres than people who had meditated little or not at all.

She looked specifically at loving-kindness meditation, a practice that facilitates self-compassion and compassion toward others, indicating that compassion, in particular, seems to have a calming effect on our nervous system and, subsequently, on our telomeres.

Chromosome Telomeres: Conclusion

So the next time you are worrying about the effects of not sleeping on your telomeres, meditate. Perhaps if you meditate, you can reassure yourself that you are doing something to lengthen those telomeres and promote health and well-being in general. Here is a link to a loving-kindness meditation by Tara Brach, PhD. you can try.

• Coping with Loneliness – Lost in Translation
• Insomnia and the Shared Bed
• Fear of the Dark and Insomnia