Sleep News and Research

Latest Sleep News and Research

Sleep medications increase risk for nighttime falls and potential injury

Adults who take one of the world's most commonly prescribed sleep medications are significantly more at risk for nighttime falls and potential injury, according to a new study by the University of Colorado at Boulder.

14 Jan 2011

Exposure to room light prior to bedtime suppresses melatonin levels, increases cancer and diabetes risk: Study

According to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, exposure to electrical light between dusk and bedtime strongly suppresses melatonin levels and may impact physiologic processes regulated by melatonin signaling, such as sleepiness, thermoregulation, blood pressure and glucose homeostasis.

13 Jan 2011

Addition of caffeine to alcohol does not improve sustained attention or reaction times

Marketing efforts that encourage mixing caffeinated "energy" drinks with alcohol often try to sway young people to believe that caffeine will offset the sedating effects of alcohol and increase alertness and stamina.

13 Jan 2011

Health, social and economical consequences of sleep disorders: A controlled national study

"Snoring, sleep apnoea, and obesity-related respiratory difficulties are fairly common disorders that affect a large proportion of the population," according to Poul Jennum, Professor of Clinical Neurophysiology at the Center for Healthy Ageing at the University of Copenhagen Faculty of Health Sciences. He is head of the Danish Centre for Sleep Medicine, Glostrup Hospital, which treats patients from all over the country.

13 Jan 2011

Central Florida Pulmonary Group to implement ChartLogic's EHR Suite

Central Florida Pulmonary Group, a 15-physician medical group based in Orlando, has selected ChartLogic's EHR (electronic health record) Suite. The medical group serves patients through offices in Orlando, East Orlando and Altamonte Springs and includes a pulmonary function laboratory, an imaging center and sleep medicine department.

13 Jan 2011

Scientists quantify amount of energy lost during sleep deprivation

American scientists have quantified for the first time ever the amount of energy lost during a night of sleep deprivation according to new research published in The Journal of Physiology.

13 Jan 2011

Educational psychologist calls for national review of medicating children to treat behavioural issues

According to the NHS Business Service Authority, some prescriptions of amphetamines for children have increased nearly 120 fold between 1994 and 2009. This is causing ongoing concern amongst some educational and child psychologists.

12 Jan 2011

5 easy steps to improve heart health

Did you know that a good night's sleep can help prevent heart disease? There are many simple ways to lower your risk.

12 Jan 2011

FDA accepts Merck's JANUMET extended-release formulation NDA for type 2 diabetes

Merck today announced that the New Drug Application (NDA) for the Company's investigational extended-release formulation of JANUMET for type 2 diabetes has been accepted for standard review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Company is also moving forward as planned with regulatory filings in countries outside the United States.

12 Jan 2011

Quality of life measures most useful for clinical decision-making in trials with QOL as primary outcome

Quality of life measures tend to be most useful for clinical decision-making in trials in which quality of life is the primary outcome, according to a recent study published online January 7 in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

10 Jan 2011

FDA approves Abstral drug for treatment of breakthrough pain in cancer patients

Orexo AB announces today that its partner ProStrakan Group plc has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for Abstral. Abstral is licensed for the treatment of breakthrough pain in cancer patients, 18 years of age and older, who are already receiving, and are tolerant to, opioid analgesics for their underlying persistent cancer pain.

10 Jan 2011

First web-based TBI screening tool for veterans

A team of researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine has developed the first web-based screening tool for Traumatic Brain Injury. This instrument has recently been used by soldiers returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who participated in the Sixth Annual Road to Recovery Conference and Tribute in Orlando to determine if they sustained a TBI.

6 Jan 2011

Winter depression is more common in women than men

As the winter months approach bringing holidays and good cheer, certain health issues may arise that women should have on their radar. From mental health issues like stress, depression and seasonal affective disorder (SAD), to physical concerns like skin care, the winter can certainly pack a punch.

6 Jan 2011

Bright light therapy for the aged depressed: Study

A new study shows that exposure to bright light may ease symptoms of depression in elderly people. The researchers tried three weeks of bright light therapy using specially designed light boxes and saw that it improved symptoms of depression by as much as 54% in older adults with depression. The light therapy also improved sleep and optimized levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Low levels of serotonin are associated with depression and often targeted by antidepressant drugs. This is the first study of its kind to show a beneficial effect of bright light therapy on treating depression in the elderly with non-seasonal major depressive disorder.

5 Jan 2011

Metabolic cost of missing one night of sleep equivalent to walking two miles

In the first-ever quantification of energy expended by humans during sleep, a University of Colorado team has found that the metabolic cost of an adult missing one night of sleep is the equivalent of walking slightly less than two miles.

5 Jan 2011

New approach to Alzheimer’s care

Protocols and practices at an Arizona nursing home that allows patients with Alzheimer’s disease freedom to eat and sleep when they want makes appears to make them happier and easier to care for, the New York Times reports. Beatitudes, a ministry of the Church of the Beatitude, has also done away with restraints. Each patient is cared for according to his/her individual needs.

3 Jan 2011

New guideline provides evidence-based recommendation for children undergoing tonsillectomy

A multidisciplinary clinical practice guideline, "Tonsillectomy in Children" will be published in the January issue of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

3 Jan 2011

Tips to prevent a hangover

Dr. Andrew Yacht, director of the division of general medicine and vice chair of medicine for education at Maimonides Medical Center in New York City said, “Alcohol clearly causes hangovers, but why it causes hangovers isn’t very well understood…Part of the suspected cause is dehydration and an electrolyte and hormonal imbalance. Some of the symptoms may be caused by low blood sugar. Or, it may be that the direct toxic effects of alcohol are causing the symptoms.”

2 Jan 2011

General anaesthesia brings reversible coma and not sleep: Study

Anaesthesia has been one of the greatest gifts of science and use of general anaesthesia is a routine part of surgical operations at hospitals and medical facilities around the world. However precise biological mechanisms of the drugs’ effects on the brain are only now being analyzed. In a review article published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, scientists have tried to analyze a range of disciplines, including neuroscience and sleep medicine to understand how anaesthesia actually works.

2 Jan 2011

Fungus may provide clue about human response to changes in circadian rhythm

Humans are not the only species ruled by a circadian rhythm. Even simple organisms like moulds are governed by an inner clock. Studying red bread mould may teach us how our own internal clock works. This is exactly what the Centre for Organelle Research at the University of Stavanger, Norway is doing.

30 Dec 2010