The study of respiratory rhythms could help identify the possibility of insomnia in metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients, new research suggests.

Scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, USA, found that analysing heart rate, breathing patterns and cortisol levels in female MBC patients offered a better understanding of whether they were at risk from a chronic sleep disorder.

Insomnia is a common complaint from MBC sufferers and the report, which is published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, looks at the parasympathetic nervous system and how this relates to the problem.

Dr Oxana Palesh, research assistant professor at the university and leader of the study, said: "We were able to identify the role that the parasympathetic nervous system plays in insomnia."

She added that diaphragmatic breathing through yoga and meditation was among the treatments which could help fight sleep disruption.

"It's reasonable to suggest that simple breathing exercises may help more than we realise with insomnia."

The University of Rochester Medical Center recently unveiled Dr Kathy P Parker, a "nationally recognised" sleep disorder researcher, as the fourth dean of its School of Nursing.

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