Sleep

Good sleep enhances task performance

Sleep deprivations has been used to test the importance of sleep for memory and learning. It is difficult to interpret because of side effects, such as fatigue and reduced alertness. A study conducted on sleep-deprived patients by circumventing these complications by allowing recovery sleep by Harvard Medical school researches. Subjects who were sleep deprived on the first day showed no...

Individuals with sleep related breathing disorders more prone to heart disease

A good night’s sleep is a gift, exclusive to the blessed. The less fortunate are those with sleeping disorders, who may experience problems such as early morning headaches or serious daytime fatigue. Among the various sleep disorders, sleep apnea in its mild or moderate form is commonly experienced. Sleep apnea is a disorder characterized by brief interruptions of breathing during sleep. Most ind...

Sleep apnoea increases post-operative risks

People with sleep apnoea (shortness of breath) experience a greater risk of complications after elective knee or hip replacement. In sleep apnoea - which is most common in obese people - the muscles of the back of the throat relax during sleep and so obstruct the airways. The person stops breathing, momentarily, many times during the night and levels of oxygen in the blood fall.// Res...

Sleep, snoring....stroke

Scientists warn that, too much sleep and snoring could put you at an increased risk of stroke. American researchers from the University of Buffalo, New York, have found that sleeping more than eight hours a night, snoring or being drowsy during the day can damage your health. Experts say this means snoring and sleep disorders will now have to be treated more seriously.// Dr David Smit...

Sleeping sickness - a silent killer

Scientists from around the world are gathering in the West African state of Burkina Faso to tackle a disease believed to claim 1,00,000 African lives every year. Popularly known as Sleeping Sickness, and officially as 'African Trypanosomiasis', the disease is carried by the Tsetse fly. Some 60 million people living in Tsetse fly-endemic areas of west and central Africa are at risk, as are cattle...

Deep Sleep Doesn't Increase Memory

Students who go to bed early to be ready for a big test the next day might be missing the mark, according to a study to be released Friday by a San Fernando Valley researcher that finds a good night's sleep does not increase memory. // REM sleep is a deep sleep during which an individual's eyes dart rapidly under closed eyelids and the body is almost completely paralyzed except for...

Deprived sleep leads to ageing

Sleep deprivation has a similar impact on the body to the ageing process and may increase the severity of age-related chronic disorders such as heart disease and diabetes, researchers have found. These days, the average number of hours people spend asleep per night in more developed countries has decreased from nine hours to seven-and-a-half hours. The change has been made to accommodate incr...

Cure for sleepless nights

Chronic insomniacs would fare better if they kept the bed for sleep and sex rather than popping sedatives, according to research. A Canadian study found that taking sleeping pills worked in the// short-term, but only changing their behaviour was effective over a long period. Insomnia is defined as trouble falling asleep, waking frequently in the night and waking up early in the mornin...

Warm yourself to sleep

According to Swiss researchers, you are more likely to fall asleep swiftly if your hands and feet are warmer than the temperature of the bedroom. Herbal infusions, relaxation techniques, hot baths and// sleeping pills have all been put forward as answers to that wide-awake feeling. But it appears that nothing beats the dilation of blood vessels in the hands and feet as a sure way to induce droopi...

Genetic disorder related with sleep patterns

Scientists have discovered a genetic disorder which they say is responsible for people who find it impossible to stay up late or sleep in. The findings could lead to new treatments for jet lag//, insomnia and seasonal depression. The researchers from the University of Utah say people who cannot stay awake much after 8.30pm and who wake up around 5.30am may be suffering from a disorder...

Less sleep increases mortality rates

According to sleep researchers people who sleep for more or less than seven hours a night have increased mortality rates. A study of over one million adults conducted over a six year time period// shows that the old advice that you need eight hours sleep a night might need modifying. Looking at the length of time people sleep and its relationship to life expectancy, researchers at the University...

Sleepwalking has genetic roots

Adults who sleepwalk are more likely to have a specific genetic variant of part of their immune system than those who do not. Sleepwalking in adults is quite different from childhood sleepwalking.// It's more likely to lead to injury or violent behaviour, and those affected often have other health problems, like sleep apnoea. A study of 60 adult sleepwalkers in Bern, Switzerland, shows an interes...

Sleepy drivers increase road death toll

Researchers say that driving when sleepy increases the risk of a car crash resulting in serious injury or death by eight times.A team at the University of Auckland studied 500 drivers and passengers admitted to hospital, or who had died, between 1999 and 2000.// A furthe r400 drivers using the region's roads in the same period were used as a control group. Drivers reporting sleepiness...

Sleep apnoea linked to surgical risks

People with sleep apnoea (shortness of breath) experience a greater risk of complications after elective knee or hip replacement. In sleep apnoea - which is most common in obese people - the muscles of the back of the throat relax during sleep and so obstruct the airways.// The person stops breathing, momentarily, many times during the night and levels of oxygen in the blood fall. Res...

Sleep disorders can have anomalistic sexual acts

Researchers at the University of California, observe abnormal behavior during sleep, such as walking, eating and even violence in many people. But a series of case reports shows that sleep disorders// can also involve unconscious, sometimes aggressive, sexual behavior. In a study of 10 patients with "atypical sexual behavior during sleep," researchers found that the patients' actions w...

Scientists Developed Cheap Way To Assess Sleep

Scientists from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center had developed a novel way to assess sleep and diagnose sleep related problems in a very cost effective manner. They had reported in the journal Sleep that it is possible to use the information from the heartbeats// to develop the procedures that will successfully measure the quality of sleep of the problems associated with it. Known...

Gastrointestinal conditions affect sleep

According to two new studies, reveal people with GERD, gastro-esophageal reflux disease, and other gastrointestinal disorders are more likely than others without these conditions to report excessive daytime sleepiness, insomnia, and poor sleep quality.// Researchers from Pennsylvania State University selected more than 1,550 adults, who reported having risk factors for sleep-related breathing dis...

Brain changes observed in people with sleep apnoea

Researchers in University of Boston observe that brain imaging sheds new light on the possible causes of sleep apnoea. In sleep apnoea, a person stops breathing, momentarily, many times during the night.// The cause is often a weakening of the muscles at the back of the throat, causing upper airway obstruction. Sleep apnoea is often linked with snoring and, naturally, causes daytime sleepiness. I...

Longer airway in males increases sleep disorder risk

Researchers have built a new model of the airway, which shows an important gender difference that has health implications. In sleep apnoea, the upper airway tends to collapse during sleep causing an obstruction to the free flow of air.// This actually causes breathing to stop momentarily many times in the night, leading to daytime sleepiness and a higher risk of heart disease and stroke....

Massage therapy regulates sleep cycle of newborns

A new study involving twenty mothers and their full-term infants, revealed that massage therapy helps newborns develop a more regular sleep cycle. Dr. Sari Goldstein from Tel Aviv University says that massage therapy by mothers in the perinatal // period helps infants coordinate their circadian systems with environmental cues. Circadian rhythm is a biological clock that helps humans an...

The elderly can sleep better now!

Researchers from Hong Kong have found from a recent study that auricular therapy may help the elderly who have trouble in getting a good night's sleep. Auricular therapy is an ancient treatment, similar to acupuncture, which is intended to stimulate certain nerve endings, particularly in the ear. The treatment is done by placing magnetic pearls on various points on the ear.// One hundr...

Less sleep:more risk for heart attack in women

Sleep deprivation, though not having proven cause and effects, is serious enough to be considered a health risk. Recent research study has shown that women who slept five or fewer hours were more likelier to have a heart attack than those who get the suggested eight hours. However, too much sleep isn't good, either, as researchers found that those women who slept nine or more hours// a night also...

Sleepwalking linked to a gene

A new study published in the journal, Molecular Psychiatry suggested that scientists have discovered a genetic marker which may make people susceptible to sleepwalking. Sleepwalking is a complex disorder and affects around half of young children and up to 3 per cent of adults. Though the condition is harmless, it may sometimes cause injuries to the person with the disorder or to others. Scientist...

Little sleep as bad as no sleep

New research from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine inPhiladelphia, USA, has shown that people who sleep less than 5 hours a day haveimpaired mental ability much similar to those who go without sleep for two orthree days continuously. The study that was published in the March issue of thejournal Sleep involved 48 participants divided into 4 groups. The first groupslept f...

Sleep Apnea Linked to Bed-Wetting in Kids

Snoring is a symptom of obstructive sleep apnea, a sleep disorder that causes people to temporarily stop breathing many times a night and appears to also promote bed-wetting in children, said Dr. Lee J. Brooks, a clinical associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. In a study of 160 kids ages 4 to 17 who were referred to a sleep-disorders //clinic...

Race Affects Sleep in Children

A new study shows Hispanic children are more likely to suffer from sleep disorders than white children. Researchers from the University of Arizona College of Medicine and the University of Minnesota School of Medicine examined data from the Tucson Children’s Assessment of Sleep Apnea study.The study consisted of more than 1,200 surveys completed by parents with children between ages 4 an...

Alcohol is no tonic for sleep

Although alcohol can initially help someone fall asleep, it can also disrupt sleep in the latter part of the night, reports the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.// "Three or more drinks will cause the average person to fall asleep sooner than usual," says researcher Shawn Currie of the University of Calgary. "However, falling asleep faster is the only real benefit o...

Help For Kids With Difficulty In Sleeping

According to a recent study conducted researchers suggest that kids who struggle to breathe during sleep may benefit from // having their tonsils and adenoids out. Adenotonsillectomy is a common surgical procedure in the United States. Most of the time, it is performed to treat recurring bouts of tonsillitis. During the past decade, however, doctors have also used the surgery to treat ob...

Cancer Patients and Sleeplessness

Sleeplessness is one major problem with patients effected with cancer. It is reported that patients with cancer have three-times the risk of sleeplessness as compared to healthy people.// "When it came down to night, I couldn't sleep. No matter how many sheep fly over that bed, it's not going to help," says Angel Colon who had a relative suffering from cancer. Sleep Medici...

Sleep Disorder,The Likely Cause Of Most Road Accidents

Sleepiness accounts for 31 percent to 41 percent of the major crashes of commercial vehicles. According to recent research, the latest two step test // could make roads safer .The test is 91-percent accurate at predicting who has sleep apnea. The study was done to help predict which commercial drivers are at risk of sleep apnea and could fall asleep at the wheel. Sleep apnea is a serious...

Sleep Disorders Could Indicate Other Medical Problems

New research shows that sleep disorders may be linked to other medical problems including attention deficit disorder ( ADD ), // neuromuscular conditions, and psychiatric problems. Researchers conducted a study and found about half of patients with sleep apnea also had ADD. Results also show a high degree of ADD in patients with insomnia. Further testing showed some of these patients als...

The Dangers Of Sleep Apnea

A latest study shows that people who suffer from sleep apnea run a higher risk of complications resulting from anesthesia administered // during surgery . Sleep apnea is a condition in which patients stop breathing periodically during sleep . Statistics show the most common form of the condition, known as obstructive sleep apnea, affects as many as 4 percent of all middle-aged men and 2...

The Link Between Eye Disease And Sleepiness

Recent research shows that people who have optic nerve damage are at increased risk for sleep disorder.// The study involved 25 people with visual impairment. The participants had their sleep-wakefulness cycles followed for 14 days, and their results were compared with those of 12 young subjects with normal sight. Researchers discovered those with optic nerve disease were 20-times more...

Less Sleep Could Lead To Weight Gain

According to a recent study researchers find people who get only four hours a night have increased levels of a hormone // which in turn could lead to weight gain. An investigation was conducted among 12 healthy young men whose hormone levels and appetites were measured before the study started, after they had slept about four hours a night for two nights, and after they had slept about...

Activity Found To Improve Sleep In The Elderly

A new study suggests getting active can help elderly patients who have trouble sleeping .For the study researchers enrolled // 12 healthy adults between the ages of 67 and 86 in a 90-minute daily activity program. The program consisted of 30 minutes of exercise followed by 30 minutes of seated social activity and another 30 minutes of exercise. The sessions took place either in the morning or in...

Sleeping Less May be related to Weight Gain

Less 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. Commenting on...

The Link Between Obesity And Lack Of Sleep Studied

Insufficient sleep leads to excessive daytime sleepiness, altered mood, and an increased risk for work-related injuries // and automotive accidents. A recent study suggests that obese and overweight people may be getting less sleep than normal-weight individuals . For the study researchers examined patients' total sleep time per 24 hours in relation to their body mass index. More than 1,...

Oral examination may not predict relationship between snoring and sleep disturbance

Recent studies have shown that oral examination may not foretell much relation to snoring and sleep disturbances in patients.// OSAS, also known as the condition of fragmented sleep is associated...

Diagnosing Sleep Apnea By Overnight Sleep Testing Method

After studying 100 patients at an ear , nose and throat clinic researchers say people who go to the doctor complaining of snoring // shouldn't expect to receive a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome ( OSAS ) based on a routine examination alone instead an overnight sleep testing needs to be done inorder to reach a diagnosis of the same . For the study, physicians evaluated the...

Understanding The Mystery Behind Sleepless Nights

Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder leaves nearly millions groggy and restless every morning. What many don't know is that // the tricks they do to get to sleep may actually be what's keeping them awake. Sleep specialists say as we age, biological changes gradually cause sleep to be lighter and less restful but they also say its never too late to get back on the right path. Resea...