A good night's sleep is good for your health, but the details have long been sketchy.
Now, after decades of study into the relationship between sleep patterns and health in general, science is pointing to the often overlooked role of sleep in particular diseases - from cancer to diabetes to Parkinson's. But most researchers don't think about it and most laboratories are not equipped to study it.
At The Rockefeller University Hospital, that's changing. The hospital has established a new Sleep Research Center equipped to conduct clinical investigations of normal sleep patterns as well as sleep disorders that occur
in conjunction with disease states under investigation at the hospital. The center, which consists of two patient rooms and a technician's room, was opened last fall with start-up equipment provided by partners at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
The Sleep Research Center is equipped with electroencephalography to study brain waves, instruments to examine muscle tone and movements, eye movements and respiratory and cardiac function. Video cameras and microphones also record the subjects' activities in sleep. Subjects' rooms are also outfitted with state-of-the-art mattresses and bedding to obviate the factor of discomfort from study results.
"Many of our investigators, especially those who are already conducting clinical studies, can benefit from the opportunities the new center affords," says Barbara O'Sullivan, medical director of The Rockefeller University Hospital. "So many disorders, including obesity and diabetes, cancer, immune disorders, Parkinson's disease, addictive diseases, menopause and stress, can be affected by or can themselves affect sleeping patterns in a number of ways."