[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/01\/sleep-trouble-during-cancer-treatment\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/01\/sleep-trouble-during-cancer-treatment\/","headline":"Sleep Trouble During Cancer Treatment","name":"Sleep Trouble During Cancer Treatment","description":"

Cancer can affect the quality of your sleep. Here's how to deal with sleep problems when you have cancer, from medications to lifestyle changes and more.<\/p>","datePublished":"2025-01-14","dateModified":"2026-04-14","author":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/hillman.upmc.com\/","name":"UPMC Hillman Cancer Center","url":"https:\/\/hillman.upmc.com\/","sameAs":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/upmc-hillman-cancer-center\/","parentOrganization":"UPMC"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"UPMC HealthBeat","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-1466597786.jpg","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-1466597786.jpg","height":867,"width":1999},"url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/01\/sleep-trouble-during-cancer-treatment\/","about":["Cancer Care","Health Topics A-Z"],"wordCount":960,"articleBody":"Having trouble falling asleep (and staying asleep) is common during cancer treatment. About half of people undergoing cancer treatment have sleep problems.Changing your daily routine can help you sleep better. If that doesn’t work, your doctor might need to adjust your medications or prescribe medications to help you sleep. Your doctor can also treat another problem affecting your sleep, like restless leg syndrome.What Causes Sleep Problems During Cancer Treatment?People with cancer may have trouble sleeping due to:Inflammation in the body.Pain related to their treatment or cancer.Side effects of their treatment.Stress.Other disorders like restless leg syndrome.Research suggests that inflammation in the body (the body’s response to cancer) can worsen sleep quality. Medications can have side effects like drowsiness during the day and insomnia at night.Of course, cancer is stressful. You may feel anxious about how the diagnosis will affect your work and relationships, how treatments will affect you, and more.People with blood cancers are often deficient in iron. This can lead to restless leg syndrome. This syndrome affects the muscles and nerves in the legs. It makes people want to kick or move their legs.The symptoms of restless leg syndrome are worse at night or when resting.You may also have a condition unrelated to cancer that is affecting your sleep. For example, sleep apnea is a condition in which the airway narrows at night. This can interrupt deep sleep.How Do You Tackle Insomnia When You Have Cancer?In many cases, lifestyle changes and de-stressing techniques are enough to improve your sleep quality.Making these changes during the day can help:Avoid alcohol.Avoid caffeine, especially in the afternoon.Avoid napping during the day.Do some light exercise, like walking, jogging, swimming, or yoga. Ideally, you should exercise in the morning or early afternoon. Late exercise can keep you up at night.Get exposure to morning light by going for a walk or sitting outside before lunchtime. This helps reset your body’s circadian rhythm.Talk to a therapist or friend if you’re feeling anxious.Try meditation and mindfulness during the day if you’re feeling anxious.In addition, changing your sleep hygiene routine can help. Try making these changes in the evening:Avoid eating within two hours of your bedtime.Go to bed at the same time every night.Have a wind-down routine that doesn’t involve screens (because blue light can trick your body into thinking it’s daytime). For example, you could read, do a calming activity, or take a bath.If you can’t sleep, practice deep breathing or progressive relaxation. That’s when you clench and then relax your muscles. Start with your toes, feet, and legs and move up, ending with the muscles in your face.If that doesn’t work, get out of bed and read or listen to a podcast. Staying in bed when you can’t sleep can make you feel more anxious about sleep.How Can Your Doctor Help?If lifestyle changes don’t help your insomnia, see your doctor. They may adjust any medication that has insomnia as a side effect. That’s especially true for medications treating side effects rather than cancer itself.If you’re anxious or depressed, your doctor may suggest medication for anxiety or depression. They can also connect you to a therapist or support groups that can help you with your anxiety.If necessary, your doctor may prescribe short-term medications to help you sleep. If pain is affecting your sleep, adjusting your pain medications can help.Your doctor can also test you for other problems that can affect sleep, like restless leg syndrome or sleep apnea. Doctors treat restless leg syndrome with iron, B12, and folate supplements if you’re low in these nutrients. In some cases, anti-convulsant medications may be necessary.Some supplements or natural remedies, like melatonin, magnesium, potassium, or herbs, can help sleep. However, you should ask your doctor before taking any over-the-counter medication or natural supplements. That’s because they can interact with cancer medications.Sleep studiesYour doctor can often diagnose and treat your sleep problem based on your symptoms alone. However, for severe insomnia, or if they suspect an underlying problem, your doctor may suggest a sleep study.That’s when you sleep at a clinic with machines monitoring your breathing, heart, and muscle movements. This can help your doctor diagnose sleep apnea. It can also help your doctor understand how severe your insomnia is.If you have sleep apnea, special breathing machines at night can keep the airway open in people who have sleep apnea.Why Is Sleep So Important When You Have Cancer?Sleep is vital for everyone, but even more so when you have cancer. Getting a good night’s rest can help you deal with all the extra stress of treatments and the emotional stress that comes with cancer. Rest also helps your body fight cancer, increasing the success of cancer treatments.A Sleep Medicine Review study found that people with sleep apnea had a higher risk of their cancers spreading. Another study found that sleeping too much or too little lowered survival in people with colon cancer. The British Journal of Cancer study defined too little as five hours or less and too much as nine hours and above.How much sleep you need depends on many factors, including sex and age. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society recommends all adults get at least seven hours of sleep every night. When you have cancer and are undergoing chemotherapy, radiation, or other treatments, you may find you need extra sleep.Editor's Note: This article was originally published on January 14, 2025, and was last reviewed on December 18, 2025."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2025","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"01","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/\/01\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Sleep Trouble During Cancer Treatment","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/01\/sleep-trouble-during-cancer-treatment\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]