Health
‘I can’t sleep because of racing thoughts at night — how can I stop them?’: Ask a doctor
Even when following the recommended sleep hygiene habits — like cutting off caffeine mid-day, stashing your devices an hour before bed, and winding down your day with light music or reading — racing thoughts could still interrupt your nightly rest.
If your sleep routine isn’t a dream, you’re not alone — one in three American adults don’t regularly get the recommended amount of uninterrupted slumber, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Fox News Digital asked a psychiatrist for common reasons and his top tips to achieve a quiet mind that’s conducive to rest.
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Reasons for racing thoughts
While causes can vary, there are some common triggers for racing thoughts at night, according to Ramaswamy Viswanathan, MD, president of the American Psychiatric Association, who is based in Brooklyn, New York.
One in three American adults don’t regularly get the recommended amount of uninterrupted sleep, according to the CDC. (iStock)
Stress and anxiety are the primary culprits.
“Anxiety about the day ahead can also cause it,” the doctor told Fox News Digital. “Mental health conditions such as anxiety disorders and bipolar disorder also can lead to racing thoughts.”
Those thoughts tend to be more active at night, when there aren’t other activities occupying the mind.
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“At night, when there are fewer distractions, it’s easier to ruminate over the day we just had and worries such as troubles at work, family or financial concerns,” said Viswanathan, who is also professor and interim chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn.
Consuming stimulants such as caffeine or taking certain medications close to bedtime can also interfere with relaxation and excessive mental activity, he noted.
How do racing thoughts impair sleep?
Racing thoughts lead to a heightened state of arousal, which makes it difficult to relax and transition into sleep, the doctor said.
And when you finally do fall asleep, an anxious mind could interrupt that sleep as the night progresses.
Stress and anxiety are the primary culprits of racing thoughts at night, experts say. (iStock)
“Many people also resume worrying when they wake up in the middle of the night, and this interferes with falling back asleep,” Viswanathan noted.
Although it’s normal to have brief periods of awakening during the night, most people fall back to sleep quickly.
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Those who are experiencing stress, anxiety and worry, however, aren’t able to drift back as easily.
“Since there is physiologic arousal with racing thoughts, that arousal does not readily subside when one falls asleep, and this can interfere with deep, restorative sleep,” Viswanathan told Fox News Digital.
This can be compounded as people then start to worry about their inability to fall asleep, which makes it even more difficult to drift off.
Effects of sleep deprivation
Inadequate or poor-quality sleep can have serious negative effects on the mind and body, including decreased brain function and difficulty making decisions, solving problems and regulating emotions, Viswanathan told Fox News Digital.
“It causes headaches, irritability and fatigue, and reduces attention and functional efficiency,” he said. “It also contributes to traffic accidents, work mistakes and relationship impairment.”
Fatigue, headaches and irritability are among the common effects of insufficient or poor-quality sleep, according to experts. (iStock)
Long-term health can also be compromised.
“Sleep deprivation can suppress immune function, make one more susceptible to infections, and cause unhealthy eating and weight gain,” Viswanathan warned.
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It can also increase the risk of developing chronic health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke, and can also also shorten life span, he added.
Strategies to silence racing thoughts
Taking a proactive approach is the best way to tackle chronic sleep troubles, according to Viswanathan.
“Addressing sleep issues early on and seeking professional help when needed is important to prevent immediate and long-term consequences,” he said.
Sleep deprivation can increase the risk of developing chronic health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke, and can also also shorten life span. (iStock)
Below are some actionable steps to help keep nighttime thoughts under control.
1. Establish a bedtime routine
Sticking to a regular nighttime routine with a consistent bedtime and awakening time is “very important,” Viswanathan advised.
“Sleep deprivation can suppress immune function, make one more susceptible to infections, and cause unhealthy eating and weight gain.”
2. Be careful with late drinking and eating
Abstain from caffeinated beverages, alcohol or heavy food too close to bedtime, the doctor recommended.
3. Refrain from device use close to bedtime
Stop using smartphone displays, television screens and computers an hour before bed, Viswanathan suggested.
Abstain from caffeinated beverages, alcohol or heavy food too close to bedtime, one doctor recommended. (iStock)
“The blue light emitted from these devices interferes with the circadian rhythm,” he said.
Instead, the doctor suggests listening to light music, reading a book, or using relaxation techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation, deep breathing and meditation.
4. Try a warm bath
Taking a warm bath about three hours before turning in may help calm the mind — but Viswanathan cautioned that it shouldn’t be too close to bedtime.
5. Create an environment conducive to sleep
For optimal sleep, the bedroom should be quiet, dark and cool (around 68 degrees Fahrenheit), with comfortable bedding, the doctor recommended.
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Consider using motion-activated night lights to prevent falls in the event that you need to get up in the middle of the night.
6. Schedule a time to worry
If these techniques alone are not sufficient to reduce racing thoughts, Viswanathan suggests scheduling a “worry time,” designating a specific window of time to think about your concerns and identifying a path to possible solutions.
Writing down your worries and anxieties can help prevent sleep-interrupting thoughts. (iStock)
“This reassures you that you will address your worries, but keeps them from spilling over into your bedtime,” the doctor said.
7. Write down your concerns
Consider keeping a notebook next to your bed so you can jot down your worries as they occur and tell yourself you will act on them during the specified worry period the next day, offered Viswanathan.
8. Know when to seek help
If these self-help techniques do not work, it may be wise to seek help from a mental health professional.
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“This is especially important if you are suffering from a mental health disorder,” emphasized Viswanathan.
The professional will perform assessments to identify any sleep disorders and recommend treatment, which may include cognitive-behavior therapy, other psychotherapies or medications.
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A new injectable therapy is showing positive results in reducing melanoma throughout a five-year period.
The personalized mRNA cancer therapy, called intismeran autogene, combined with the cancer immunotherapy drug KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), is a collaboration between Merck and Moderna.
The results from the phase 2b KEYNOTE-942 study were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago on May 27.
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After about a five-year follow-up, the combo drug was found to reduce the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 49% compared to pembrolizumab alone.
The researchers analyzed data from 157 patients with high-risk stage 3 and 4 melanoma whose cancer had been removed via surgery. The participants were split into two groups — one received the combo therapy and the other only received pembrolizumab, according to a press release.
The therapy was found to reduce the risk of melanoma recurrence or death by 49% compared to pembrolizumab alone after a five-year follow-up. (iStock)
The findings revealed that the combination group saw benefits that were “sustained and durable over time.”
Intismeran autogene is designed using mutations identified in a patient’s own tumor, with the intention of teaching the immune system what the cancer looks like so that it can recognize and attack it.
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According to the researchers, intismeran is “well-tolerated” with a “manageable” safety profile.
The most commonly cited side effects of the personalized mRNA vaccine plus KEYTRUDA were fatigue, injection-site pain, chills, fever and headache. The researchers reported no new long-term safety concerns and no severe vaccine-related adverse events.
The combination therapy is currently being evaluated in a phase 3 study — the final confirmation stage.
Patients with late-stage melanoma have a “significant risk” of cancer recurrence, according to an expert. (iStock)
In a Merck press release from January, Kyle Holen, MD, Moderna’s senior vice president and head of development, oncology and therapeutics, noted that this data highlights the “potential of a prolonged benefit … in patients with resected high-risk melanoma.”
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“We continue to invest in our platform in oncology because of encouraging outcomes like these, which illustrate mRNA’s potential in cancer care,” he said.
Dr. Marjorie Green, senior vice president and head of oncology, global clinical development at Merck Research Laboratories, also commented that for many patients with stage 3 or 4 melanoma, there is a “significant risk of recurrence following surgery.”
Researchers confirmed that the combination therapy is currently being evaluated in a phase 3 study. (iStock)
“As such, demonstrating the longer-term potential of intismeran autogene and KEYTRUDA to reduce the risk of recurrence for certain patients with melanoma is a meaningful milestone,” she said.
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The company cited encouraging five-year follow-up data and pointed to upcoming late-stage INTerpath trial results with Moderna in several hard-to-treat cancers.
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An accidental lab discovery has opened the door to entirely new ways of preventing the flu.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells, SWNS reported.
By targeting the specific molecules the viruses rely on, scientists found that they could block them from entering new cells and halt their replication altogether.
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Researchers say these “fundamental insights” into seasonal influenza highlight a clear path toward developing better preventive medications.
“The hope is that fundamental, curiosity-based research like this helps to pave the way for novel strategies to treat and prevent influenza infections,” principal investigator Dr. Emily Bruce, from the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, said in the SWNS report.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells. (iStock)
While several flu strains cause illness, H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses are the most common. However, current flu tests cannot differentiate between them, and clinical treatments are identical for both.
Although vaccines and antivirals are available, Bruce noted a “dire” need for better medications to stop the virus from spreading cell to xxcell.
“You don’t get sick when a virus is in one cell,” he noted. “You get sick because a virus replicates itself and goes into many more cells.”
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The study, which was published in The Journal of Virology, originally aimed to map how viral RNA segments are transported within cells to create new viral particles.
The team used H1N1 and H3N2 viruses isolated from the nasal passages of positive patients in 2022.
Clinical treatments remain identical for both primary strains of the flu virus. (iStock)
During the investigation, the team unexpectedly stumbled upon a cellular pathway that blocked the virus from entering lung cells, SWNS reported.
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The data revealed that when a specific human protein called Rab11B was depleted, H3N2 viruses failed to enter human lung cells. H1N1 viruses were completely unaffected.
Using reverse genetics, the team mapped this defect and uncovered a brand-new, H3N2-specific role for Rab11B during viral entry.
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This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way.
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“Viruses are like pirates from different countries hijacking someone’s ship,” Bruce said. “Different viruses, like different types of pirates, use different methods to get onboard.”
This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way. (iStock)
“We had previously thought that all flu viruses used the same way to get into a cell, but we discovered that this is not true,” she went on. “H1N1 and H3N2 need different proteins to get in, and if you get rid of the right protein, a specific virus can’t get in.”
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While these findings identify a critical cellular pathway for viral entry, the study was conducted using isolated cells, the researchers acknowledged.
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Further research is needed to determine whether blocking the protein is safe and effective within a live, complex human respiratory system.
Bruce and the team hope to conduct further research to determine whether this Rab11B-dependency is a fundamental property of H3N2, or if it’s a trait unique to currently circulating flu strains.
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Eating processed meat like ham, sausage and bacon may be linked to a higher risk of certain types of cancer, according to new research.
While health organizations have already confirmed that processed meat can contribute to colon cancer, this study looked closer at cancers in the upper digestive tract, where the link has historically been less clear.
To understand these connections, researchers from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), one of the world’s largest long-term nutrition and cancer cohorts, tracked the health and diets of 450,112 people across Europe for an average of 14 years.
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The study group included 131,426 men and 318,686 women, according to the study’s press release.
During the follow-up period, 876 people developed stomach cancer and 215 people developed esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is cancer of the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach.
For female participants, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk of developing the disease. (iStock)
Researchers tracked where the stomach cancers grew, separating them into the upper part of the stomach near the throat and the lower part of the stomach.
The researchers also sorted the tumors into two categories based on how the cancer cells appeared under a microscope: intestinal, which forms more organized structures, and diffuse, in which the cells are more scattered throughout the tissue.
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After adjusting for other lifestyle factors, the researchers found that for every extra 30 grams of processed meat a person ate per day, their overall risk of stomach cancer went up by 9%. Eating that same extra 30 grams a day was also linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma.
A standard single slice of regular deli-sliced ham or lunch meat averages around 28 grams, according to USDA data and nutritional tracking databases.
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken and turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach. (iStock)
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken or turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach, the researchers noted.
The study also revealed differences between men and women. For male participants, only processed meat showed a clear, statistically significant link to a higher risk of stomach cancer. For female participants, however, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk.
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These findings align with global health benchmarks, particularly those established by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The agency has long classified processed meat as a known human carcinogen, primarily due to its strong, well-documented links to colorectal cancer.
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However, health organizations have also consistently pointed to a potential, yet less definitive, relationship between these meats and cancers of the stomach.
Eating 30 grams of processed meat a day, or the equivalent to one slice of ham, was linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma. (iStock)
Further scientific investigation is needed to confirm the findings and to account for other underlying risk factors, such as certain stomach infections, which could interact with dietary habits.
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A key limitation of the study is its reliance on self-reported diets, which can sometimes lead to inaccuracies in how participants recall their meat consumption over time, the researchers noted.
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The findings were published in the International Journal of Cancer.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers requesting comment.
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