Sleep Info

A new position statement from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine warns that drowsy driving is a serious public health concern requiring greater public awareness and increased efforts to improve preventive education. The AASM reports that drowsy driving, which is defined as the operation of a motor vehicle while impaired by a lack of adequate…
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A new research study from the University of Pennsylvania shows that lead exposure in early childhood are associated with increased risk for sleep problems and excessive daytime sleepiness in later childhood. The research is based on data from a study involving more than 1400 Chinese children that began in 2004 to investigate the influence of lead…
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While the weather outside isn’t frightful just yet in most parts of the country, the cold weather is coming soon.  With the arrival of winter comes the arrival of cold and flu season.  There are a lot of things you can do to avoid getting sick, such as getting a flu shot, washing your hands,…
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A lack of sufficient sleep reduces the body’s sensitivity to insulin, impairing the ability to regulate blood sugar and increasing the risk of diabetes. The new study adds to a growing body of information linking a lack of sleep to a range of ailments including obesity, metabolic syndrome, mood disorders, cognitive impairment and accidents. “We…
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A new study published in the current issue of Biological Psychiatry reports that treatment for insomnia, either by cognitive behavioral therapy or the movement meditation tai chi, reduces inflammation levels in older adults over 55 years of age. “Behavioral interventions that target sleep reduce inflammation and represent a third pillar, along with diet and physical…
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Lack of adequate sleep can do more than just make you tired. It can short-circuit your system and interfere with a fundamental cellular process that drives physical growth, physiological adaptation and even brain activity, according to a new study from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Albrecht von Arnim, a molecular biologist based in the Department…
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A study led by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers suggests that waking several times during the night is more detrimental to people’s positive moods than getting the same shortened amount of sleep without interruption. Researchers studied 62 healthy men and women randomly subjected to three sleep experimental conditions in an inpatient clinical research suite: three consecutive…
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Research conducted at the University of Warwick in England indicates that therapy can be an effective way to treat sleep problems among those with chronic pain. Researchers found that cognitive behavioural therapies (CBT) were either moderately or strongly effective in tackling insomnia in patients with long-term pain. They also discovered that chronic pain sufferers didn’t just benefit…
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A new study of sleepwalkers found an intriguing paradox: Although sleepwalkers have an increased risk for headaches and migraines while awake, during sleepwalking episodes they are unlikely to feel pain even while suffering an injury. Results show that sleepwalkers were nearly 4 times more likely than controls to report a history of headaches (odds ratio…
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Alzheimer’s patients frequently suffer from sleep disorders, mostly even before they become forgetful. Furthermore, it is known that sleep plays a very important role in memory formation. Researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now been able to show for the first time how the pathological changes in the brain act on the…
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