Sleep News and Research

Latest Sleep News and Research

Younr black people experience the most pain

Adults under the age of 50 who have chronic pain may be less able to cope with their condition and more prone to associated depression than their elders, a new study suggests.

25 Jan 2005

Nasogastric tube after abdominal surgery slows recovery

Routine use of a nasogastric tube after abdominal surgery, once thought to speed the return of normal intestinal functions, actually slows recovery, according to a new review of research.

24 Jan 2005

Quality of life improves for children who receive treatment for obstructive sleep apnea

Behavioral and emotional difficulties are found in children with obstructive sleep apnea, but they improve after treatment, according to a study in the January issue of Archives of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery.

17 Jan 2005

Obese and overweight patients in a study group reported sleeping less

Insufficient sleep causes neurocognitive changes such as excessive daytime sleepiness, altered mood, and increased risk for work-related injury and automotive accidents, according to background information in the article. It has been reported that the average American is currently getting less sleep than they did a century ago.

10 Jan 2005

Lack of sleep could make you fat

Lack of sleep could make you fat. In an editorial published in the Jan. 10 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, two Northwestern University researchers stress the need to better understand the growing epidemic of obesity in the United States by studying how loss of sleep alters the complex metabolic pathways that control appetite, food intake and energy expenditure.

10 Jan 2005

Restless legs syndrome is underdiagnosed in kids

A new Mayo Clinic study has for the first time established rates of restless legs syndrome in children, finding that almost 6 percent of children seen in Mayo's sleep clinic have the disease.

28 Dec 2004

Researchers show benefit of dreams after an emotional event

The advice to 'sleep on it' for a while isn't a bad idea, according to a new study done in part by University of Alberta researchers.

22 Dec 2004

Biological clock affects the patterns of heart-rate control in healthy individuals

In a newly reported, first-ever finding, physicists from Boston University and physiologists from Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) have found that the body’s biological clock affects the patterns of heart-rate control in healthy individuals independent of sleep/wake cycle or other behavior influences.

21 Dec 2004

Race may play an important role in determining a person's obesity and fitness levels

Race may play an important role in determining a person's obesity and fitness levels, shows a new study in the December issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP).

13 Dec 2004

Detrol LA significantly reduces symptoms of overactive bladder

Pfizer today announced results of a comprehensive six-year review of efficacy and safety data for Detrol LA (tolterodine tartrate extended release capsules) indicating that Detrol LA significantly reduces symptoms of overactive bladder (OAB) with a low occurrence of side effects, and should be considered first-line therapy.

13 Dec 2004

Association between gastrointestinal disorders and sleep disturbances

Mayo Clinic researchers report in the current issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings an association between gastrointestinal disorders and sleep disturbances. The association is important because these problems cause significant health issues including greater need for general medical and mental health treatment.

13 Dec 2004

Understanding what causes narcolepsy

Results of a preliminary study in this week’s issue of THE LANCET suggest a step forward in our understanding of the processes behind narcolepsy; there appears to be an underlying autoimmune process for people with a certain genetic profile. Future diagnostic testing of people with this profile should lead to substantial improvements in disease treatment.

13 Dec 2004

Neurobiologists distinguish in unprecedented detail the patterns of brain activity

Using hairlike microelectrodes and computer analysis, neurobiologists at Duke University Medical Center have demonstrated that they can see the detailed instant-to-instant electrical "brainscape" of neural activity across a living brain.

8 Dec 2004

Research suggests that lack of sleep may be contributing to the obesity pandemic

The recent rise in obesity may be partly due to the reduced amount of time we spend asleep, according to new research from the University of Bristol, UK.

6 Dec 2004

Babies who do not sleep on their stomachs fail to learn behaviors that may lessen their risk SIDS

Babies who never sleep on their stomachs don't learn behaviors that may lessen their risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found. Even so, the researchers caution that infants should always be placed on their backs to sleep.

6 Dec 2004

Prevalence of overweight increased in children aged two to four years from low-income families

The prevalence of overweight increased from 1989 to 2000 in children aged two to four years from low-income families, according to an article in the December issue of The Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

6 Dec 2004

MRI reveals similarities between the human and chimpanzee brain

New MRI-based studies present more evidence that the brains of chimpanzees are human-like in terms of the relationships among brain asymmetry, handedness and language, according to research undertaken at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta.

6 Dec 2004