People who sleep five or fewer hours a night are likely to also drink significantly more sugary caffeinated drinks, such as sodas and energy drinks, according to a new study of more than 18,000 adults. The authors, from the University of California in San Francisco, emphasize that it’s not yet clear whether drinking sugar-sweetened beverages…
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What do the Star Wars movies and sleep research have to do with each other? Princess Leia … that’s what. Every night while you sleep, electrical waves of brain activity circle around each side of your brain, tracing a pattern that, were it on the surface of your head, might look like the twin hair…
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Thanks to new research, babies could soon be test for being at risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) shortly after birth. Researchers at Australia’s Children’s Hospital at Westmead have discovered babies who die from SIDS have greatly decreased levels of a certain brain protein which regulates sleep arousal. They also found the Orexin protein…
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It’s been known for some time that sleep apnea can cause heart problems, but new research says disrupted sleep by itself, without the presence of sleep apnea, can cause similar problems. Obstructive sleep apnea, sleep interrupted by pauses in breathing, is a known risk for atrial fibrillation – an irregular heartbeat that can lead to strokes,…
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A new study has found that children using screen-based media devices such as smartphones and tablets at bedtime more than double the risk of inadequate sleep compared to children without access to such a device. The study, conducted at Cardiff University, comprised a systematic review of 20 existing observational studies, involving 125,198 children, also found…
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Have you ever heard of “sleeping with one eye open” in a dangerous situation? It turns out your brain thinks anything new is a dangerous situation, and that’s why it’s hard to sleep well on the first night in a strange place. A study from Brown University looked at the phenomena, which sleep experts call…
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According to new guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics, infants should sleep in the same bedroom as their parents – but on a separate surface, such as a crib or bassinet, and never on a couch, armchair or soft surface. The new guidelines are designed to reduce the risk of sleep-related deaths. Recommendations call…
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New research has found yet another way not getting the right amount of sleep can prove harmful. Researchers from Boston University say getting either more or less than the optimal amount of time asleep can negatively impact male fertility. The “sweet spot” appears to be 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night, said study author…
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There’s more evidence that sleep issues cause a variety of seemingly unrelated problems. According to new research from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), a sleep abnormality likely plays an important role in schizophrenia. “One of the most exciting advances in sleep research over the last decade has been the growing understanding of sleep’s causal relationship to psychiatric…
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It’s well known that Americans, on average, don’t get enough sleep. What people don’t think about is that many American children aren’t getting enough either, and it may end up making them overweight. According to the National Sleep Foundation, about 30-percent of preschoolers do not get enough sleep. A new study from the University of Colorado…
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