A key theme of ICEP is physical activity and sleep. Here, Rebecca Richmond and Sarah Lewis describe ongoing ICEP research in this vital field.

Some of the key findings of previous ICEP research have highlighted the causal role of physical activity and certain sleeping patterns in reducing cancer   risk.  

Over   the  next   five years,  we  will  be  exploring  the mechanisms underlying these findings. As well as the interplay  between  physical  activity and   sleep  patterns, we will be investigating a variety of hormonal and  molecular  factors  which  may mediate the effects on a variety of cancers. This will  include the use of Mendelian randomization approaches (including multivariable and  two-step  MR) to unpick the causal relationships between activity, sleep  and cancer. 

We will  delve further into the use of accelerometers to assess the value of objectively-measured levels of physical activity and sleep in predicting cancer risk. This will be done with the support of collaborators in the School of Policy Studies and the University of Exeter.

We  will  also  be  conducting  analyses  to  investigate the role of “circadian misalignment” between reported sleep   preferences   and   actual   behaviours   (from accelerometers) on cancer risk. This research theme will  build  on  and  strengthen  collaborations  between groups at the University of Bristol (Population Health, Policy Studies and Experimental Psychology) as well as   with   other   institutions   (University   of   Exeter, University   of   Oxford,   Imperial   College   London, IARC). It will have important translational implications in terms of informing public health strategies for the promotion  of  physical  activity  and  healthy  sleep  for cancer  prevention. 

The  research  theme  also  links with  two  interventions  which  are  planned  as  part  of our new ICEP programme:  one  looking  at  the use  e-bikes  to  increase physical activity levels and enhance cancer survival and   another   aimed   at   improving   sleep   among smokers.