Keep Your Stem Cells 'In Shape' With A Good Night's Rest

The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) recently came out with new guidelines on how much sleep individuals need at different age intervals of their life.

Oftentimes, many of us don't quite meet the requirements. Work, hobbies and even insomnia can prevent some from getting that critical amount of much needed rest. 

If you're used to staying up late, new research gives you another reason to try and get into better sleeping habits. Not only can adequate sleep help you feel better rested, but it can help your stem cells stay in shape.

Research shows that normal stem cells can help repair the majority of stress-induced DNA damage. However, excessive exposure to certain stresses hurts the majority of a stem cells ability to repair damage; this can even result in the mutation of some stem cells, which increases the risk of ailments.

"We believe that this model perfectly explains the gradual accumulation of DNA damage in stem cells with age and the associated reduction in the ability of a tissue to maintain and repair itself as you get older," said lead study author Dr. Michael Milsom, in a news release.

The study examines how stress response critically impacted mouse models of a rare inherited premature aging disorder that's caused by a defect in DNA repair, known as Fanconi anemia. Humans suffering from this health issue usually suffer from a collapse of their blood system with an extremely high risk of getting cancer.

"We felt that stress induced DNA damage was the missing ingredient that was required to cause hematopoietic stem cell depletion in these mice," added Milsom.

When the mice were exposed to stimulation mimicking a prolonged viral infection, they were also unable to efficiently repair the resulting DNA damage and their stem cells failed.

During the same space of time, normal mice showed a steady decline in hematopoietic stem cell numbers. However, the mice dealing with Fanconi anemia had depleted stem cell levels, resulting in bone marrow familiar and inadequate production of blood cells.

"This perfectly recapitulates what happens to Fanconi anemia patients and now gives us an opportunity to understand how this disease works and how we might better treat it," commented Milsom.

More information regarding the findings can be seen here.