Sleep News and Research

Latest Sleep News and Research

Link between insomnia and obesity

A possible link between lack of sleep (insomnia) and obesity has been traced to hypocretin/orexin cells in the hypothalamus region of the brain that are easily excited and sensitive to stress, Yale School of Medicine researchers report in the April issue of Cell Metabolism.

13 Apr 2005

Fish and soy oil help keep hearts healthy

Researchers say that older people who take a daily fish or soy oil supplement can reduce their risk of developing irregular heart rhythm or sudden cardiac death.

12 Apr 2005

Drug that reduces the pain of fibromyalgia and improves sleep

A study of a drug that reduces the pain of fibromyalgia and improves sleep is published by a University of Kentucky physician in the peer-reviewed journal, Arthritis & Rheumatism.

12 Apr 2005

Unconventional wiring of the brain circuits that govern sleep and waking might explain the prevalence of insomnia

Unconventional wiring of the brain circuits that govern sleep and waking might explain the prevalence of insomnia and the condition's association with obesity, according to new work published in the April issue of Cell Metabolism. Characterized by a chronic inability to fall asleep or remain sleeping, insomnia is estimated to affect one in every eight Americans.

12 Apr 2005

Project to treat infant asphyxia in lower income countries

Scientists in a federally sponsored global research network will undertake a new project that will train midwives and traditional birth attendants in resource poor countries on how to treat newborn asphyxia, a major cause of infant death. The treatment, developed in the United States, is the standard of care provided to infants born in this country.

12 Apr 2005

Soy oil increases heart rate variability

Taking daily supplements of fish or soy oil may improve cardiac function and protect against heart attacks in the short-term. Study results published in the April issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians, are the first to show that soy oil increases heart rate variability (HRV), a measure of cardiac autonomic function.

11 Apr 2005

FDA approves Ambien CR for treatment of insomnia

Sanofi-aventis announced today that it has received an approvable letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Ambien CR (zolpidem tartrate extended release) CIV. Ambien CR is the controlled-release formulation of zolpidem, the world's leading sleep aid.

11 Apr 2005

Mothers' poor health revealed in new study

Sleep deprived new mothers are doing it tough, but getting help from early parenting centres improves their mental health, according to a new report.

7 Apr 2005

Soft music at bedtime will help older adults sleep better and longer

Sleep, a vital ingredient in life, can sometimes become difficult as humans get older. But a recent study by researchers at Case Western Reserve University's Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and the Buddhist Tzu-Chi General Hospital in Taiwan shows that listening to soft music at bedtime will help older adults sleep better and longer.

6 Apr 2005

Contrary to common wisdom, sleeping pills may not increase fall risk

In nursing homes across the country, elderly people with insomnia often go untreated, because of the perception that sleeping pills increase the risk of falls and injuries that are a bane of old age.

6 Apr 2005

Gene could be cause of early bird disorder

A sleep disorder which makes people nod off early and wake fully alert before dawn is now thought to be caused by a mutant gene.

4 Apr 2005

Study looks at infants and chronic nighttime crying

Two University of Maine researchers working in conjunction with colleagues in Japan have found links between infant and child sleeping arrangements and the phenomenon of "yonaki," or nighttime crying.

3 Apr 2005

Solving sleep problems helps epileptic children

Sleeping woes may explain why children with epilepsy are often so hyperactive, say researchers with the University of Florida's Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute.

30 Mar 2005

A circadian rhythm gene discovered

A few rare people who consistently nod off early, then wake up wide-eyed much before dawn, can blame a newly-found mutant gene for their sleep troubles, Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers announced today.

30 Mar 2005

Finding opens new doors to determining susceptibility to antidepressant side effects

In a finding that opens new doors to determining susceptibility to antidepressant side effects, researchers at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute report that changes in brain activity prior to treatment with antidepressants can flag patient vulnerability.

30 Mar 2005

High-rise homes have the highest levels of cockroach allergens

Roaches like to live high in the sky in places like Chicago, New York City and the Bronx, according to a recent study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The study, conducted by an allergist affiliated with Children's Medical Center Dallas, found high-rise homes in Northeastern cities had the highest levels of cockroach allergens -- leading to a higher incidence of asthmatic episodes.

30 Mar 2005

Study links colic, maternal depression to family problems

Some families with new babies face excessive infant crying, or colic. And some new mothers go through maternal post-partum depression (PPD) following childbirth. Neither situation is considered healthy, but a recent study published in the Infant Mental Health Journal has found that the combined impact of colic and PPD can have a highly toxic outcome. Researchers have linked colicky babies and maternal depression to decrease in overall family functioning.

29 Mar 2005

Important that menopause not viewed as a disease

An independent panel convened last week by the National Institutes of Health found that many women move through the menopausal transition with few disabling symptoms, and that it is important that menopause not be viewed as a disease.

28 Mar 2005

Sleeping in contact lenses can lead to an increased risk of severe eye infection

The University of Manchester study found that wearers who failed to remove their lenses before bedtime had an increased risk of developing keratitis than those who routinely took out their lenses before going to sleep.

22 Mar 2005

Depression appears to be a major cause of insomnia in people with HIV

Patients in the last stages of HIV infection with full-blown AIDS and those who have suffered some kind of brain impairment as a result of the disease are also more likely to suffer from insomnia, the reviewers conclude in the current issue of Psychosomatic Medicine.

22 Mar 2005