Participants who received a cancer diagnosis had higher odds of increasing sleep duration (OR = 1.16, 95% CI 1.07, 1.27) compared to participants who did not receive a cancer diagnosis, suggesting that a cancer diagnosis may contribute to increased sleep duration beyond expected age-related changes.
Cancer diagnosis was associated with increased odds of longer sleep duration compared to those without a cancer diagnosis.
The study included 20,210 CPS-3 participants, of whom 4,042 were cancer survivors matched to participants without a cancer diagnosis.
Sleep duration was measured at three timepoints: baseline (2006–2013), 2015, and 2018, based on self-reported average sleep during the prior year.
Restricting the analysis to female participants with any cancer diagnosis or breast cancer only yielded similar results to the overall analysis.
Cancer incidence was determined through linkage to state cancer registries, providing an objective measure of diagnosis timing.
This research suggests that being diagnosed with cancer is associated with sleeping more than usual, beyond what would be expected simply from getting older. Using data from a large prospective study of over 20,000 U.S. adults, researchers compared changes in sleep duration between people who received a cancer diagnosis and those who did not, matching them on key characteristics like age and sex. They found that cancer survivors were about 16% more likely to increase their sleep duration after their diagnosis compared to people without a cancer diagnosis. The study collected self-reported sleep data at up to three points in time (around 2006–2013, 2015, and 2018), which allowed the researchers to track how sleep changed before and after a cancer diagnosis. The findings held up when the analysis was limited to women with any cancer or breast cancer specifically, suggesting the pattern is not unique to one cancer type or sex. This research matters because sleep is closely linked to overall health, immune function, and quality of life, and disruptions to sleep are common among people affected by cancer. Understanding how a cancer diagnosis itself—separate from aging—shapes sleep patterns could help healthcare providers better anticipate and address the sleep needs of cancer survivors. It also raises questions about what drives this increase, such as fatigue from treatment, emotional stress, or changes in daily activity, which future studies could explore.
Donzella S, Newton C, VoPham T, Peoples A, Bodelon C, Shams-White M, et al.. (2026). Change in sleep duration following a cancer diagnosis.. Cancer causes & control : CCC. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-025-02101-4