It turns out maybe having Fido or Fifi in your bedroom with you is okay, as long as the pup isn’t actually in your bed. It’s no secret that dogs love to sleep near their favorite humans. And, in many cases, the feeling is mutual. According to the American Veterinary Association, more than 40…
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Swiss and UK researchers say their new study indicates that children more often sleep poorly if their mothers suffer from insomnia symptoms. This report comes from researchers from the University of Basel in Switzerland and the University of Warwick in England. It grew from a study of 200 school-aged children and their parents. Sleep plays…
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It’s not news that stress can keep you from sleeping, or at least sleeping well. But, a new study from a Japanese university says there’s a cure: sugarcane. The research group led by Mahesh K. Kaushik and Yoshihiro Urade of the University of Tsukuba, found that the substance octacosanol reduces stress and restores stress-affected sleep…
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Johns Hopkins researchers report the unexpected presence of a type of neuron in the brains of mice that appears to play a central role in promoting sleep by turning ‘off’ wake-promoting neurons. The newly identified brain cells, located in a part of the hypothalamus called the zona incerta, they say, could offer novel drug targets…
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Not sleeping the correct amount has a lot of downsides, including obesity, heart disease, and reduced mental capacity. Add another possible side effect: increased risk-taking. Young adults have a natural sleep requirement of about nine hours a day on average. Older adults need seven-and-a-half hours. According to studies, however, about one-third of the persons in…
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When you have rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, you dream. But, according to a new study, individuals who get less REM sleep may have a greater risk of developing dementia. There are five stages of sleep. Stage one is light sleep. Stage two is when the body begins to prepare for deeper sleep, including stages…
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With school back in session (or nearly back in session) across the country, sleep for students is a big issue around many households. Leading pediatrics and sleep associations agree that teens shouldn’t start school before 8:30 a.m. However, a lot of parents are not on board for changes to fix the problem. A new study…
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If you’re the type who regularly gets less than six hours of sleep, you may as well be drunk most of the time. According to new research from a Canada-based health firm, being awake for 18 hours results in the same cognitive impairment people get from being drunk. This is so severe that driving while sleep…
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A UK study has found that children who regularly sleep just one hour less than the recommended amount had higher risk factors for type 2 diabetes, including higher levels of blood glucose and insulin resistance. The recommended sleep duration for a 10 year old is 10 hours. “These findings suggest increasing sleep duration could offer…
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Computer analysis of oxygen levels in the blood during sleep could — by itself — provide an easy, relatively inexpensive and sufficiently reliable way to determine which children who snore habitually could benefit from a diagnosis and treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. This approach was most accurate for children with severe apnea. Because of the…
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