Sleep News and Research

Latest Sleep News and Research

Researchers study sleep paralysis

Professor Chris French, has co-authored a paper on sleep paralysis with Julia Santomauro, both of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit at Goldsmiths, University of London, which is published in Issue 22 (August 2009) of The Psychologist.

14 Aug 2009

Discovery of first gene involved in regulating the optimal length of human sleep

Scientists have discovered the first gene involved in regulating the optimal length of human sleep, offering a window into a key aspect of slumber, an enigmatic phenomenon that is critical to human physical and mental health.

13 Aug 2009

Sleep patterns can identify adolescents at greatest risk for depression

Sleep patterns can help predict which adolescents might be at greatest risk for developing depression, a researcher at UT Southwestern Medical Center has found in a five-year study.

13 Aug 2009

Tiotropium - corticosteroid combination improves lung disease survival

Sufferers of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have a greater chance of survival when treated with a combination of drugs that includes tiotropium, according to research at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

12 Aug 2009

Short sleep times linked to increased diabetes risk

Short sleep times, experienced by many individuals in Westernized societies, may contribute to the development of insulin resistance and reduced glucose tolerance, which in turn may increase the long-term risk of diabetes, according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

10 Aug 2009

Research explains why women report more sleep disruption than men

Even with growing progress toward gender equality in the workplace, women continue to carry the most responsibility for family care, a load that according to a new study could indicate why women report more sleep disruption than men.

10 Aug 2009

Mal-illumination - the silent epidemic

Most of human history has witnessed people living and working outdoors during the light of day, absorbing "life-charging" full-spectrum solar energy from the sky. An average of 10 hours daily in the sunlight, 70 hours weekly, was common for eons.

10 Aug 2009

Stress about school and life keeps 68 percent of students awake at night

Not only that, more than 60 percent of college students have disturbed sleep-wake patterns and many take drugs and alcohol regularly to help them do one or the other.

10 Aug 2009

New journal integrates the science of medicine with the art of music

In response to a recent surge in studies that integrate medicine and music, SAGE, the world's leading independent academic and professional publisher, is pleased to launch Music and Medicine in July, a new interdisciplinary journal that will incorporate the research that combines the two disciplines.

9 Aug 2009

Regional nerve block anesthesia improve recovery, outcomes

When planning for surgery, patients too often don't consider the kind of anesthesia they will receive. In fact, the choice of anesthesia can improve recovery, even outcomes.

4 Aug 2009

Workplace meditation and yoga lowers stress

Twenty minutes per day of guided workplace meditation and yoga combined with six weekly group sessions can lower feelings of stress by more than 10 percent and improve sleep quality in sedentary office employees, a pilot study suggests.

4 Aug 2009

Divers who hold breath for several minutes elevate a marker for brain damage

Divers who held their breath for several minutes had elevated levels of a protein that can signal brain damage, according to a new study from the Journal of Applied Physiology. However, the appearance of the protein, S100B, was transient and leaves open the question of whether lengthy apnea (breath-holding) can damage the brain over the long term.

4 Aug 2009

Sleep heart health study

A study in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal Sleep indicates that self-reported worsening in initiating and maintaining sleep over a five-year period was significantly associated with poorer mental quality of life, and increasing daytime sleepiness symptoms were associated with both poorer physical and mental quality of life.

3 Aug 2009

Success of GERD therapy hinges on medication type and physician bedside manner

Patient satisfaction with their medications and the quality of interactions with their doctor reflect the success of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) therapy, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.

3 Aug 2009

Sibling risk of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and adenotonsillar hypertrophy

A study in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP indicates that children have an increased risk of developing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) if they have at least one sibling who has been diagnosed with the sleep disorder.

3 Aug 2009

Health-related quality of life in chronic kidney disease patients

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) can significantly lessen patients' quality of life, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). Certain types of patients - women, diabetics, and those with a history of heart complications - are most affected.

31 Jul 2009

Short-term complications after bariatric surgery for extreme obesity low

Short-term complications and death rates were low following bariatric surgery to limit the amount of food that can enter the stomach, decrease absorption of food or both, according to the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (LABS-1). The study was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health. Results are reported in the July 30 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

30 Jul 2009

New links between dreams and psychosis could revive dream therapy in psychiatry

Similarities in brain activity during lucid dreaming and psychosis suggest that dream therapy may be useful in psychiatric treatment, a European Science Foundation (ESF) workshop has found. This is strengthened by the potential evolutionary relationship between dreams and psychosis.

28 Jul 2009

Gene expression patterns in cancer could aid early screening and prevention

Distinctive patterns of genes turned off - or left on - in healthy versus cancerous cells could enable early screening for many common cancers and maybe help avoid them, Medical College of Georgia scientists say.

28 Jul 2009

Anesthesia not harmful for babies during birth process

Mayo Clinic researchers have found that children exposed to anesthesia during Cesarean section are not at any higher risk for learning disabilities later in life than children not delivered by C-section. These findings are reported in the current issue of the journal Anesthesiology.

28 Jul 2009