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Bad sleep can be tied to life-shortening conditions

Author: Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date: Sun, 7 Jun 2026, 5:04pm

A new study finds poor sleep is tied to rising cancer risk for those under 50, with irregular sleeping patterns and insomnia being three times more likely to get cancer within five years.

But sleeping can be hard to do, especially if you're younger and faced with the stresses of today, or the distractions on your phone.

You could also do shift-work at irregular hours to make your living, in that case, you delay sleep for later or force yourself to run on empty.

So what can be done about improving our sleep quality, and what are we doing wrong - and more to the point, how do you recognise chronic sleep deprivation?

Sleep Expert and Director of Sleep Well Clinics, Dr Alex Bartle talks to Tim Beveridge.

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