The Dark Side and Downsides of Melatonin.
By Piyali Syam • December 16, 2015 at 11:01pm Twenty-one years ago, MIT neuroscientist Dr. Richard Wurtman introduced melatonin as a new solution to sleep problems. His lab patented supplements in hopes of curing insomnia in the older population, whose melatonin receptors calcify with age. “Researchers say pills of the natural hormone…will bring on slumber quickly without the addictive effects of drugs,” the New York Times reported at the time. In the same article, Judith Vaitukaitis, then director of the National Center for Research Resource, said the hormone “offered hope for a natural, non-addictive agent that could improve sleep for …
Drowsy Driving Monitoring Systems Trending Toward Inward-looking Camera-based Tech
Published on December 7, 2015 Driver monitoring systems (DMSs) can analyze driver behavior or detect patterns tending towards micro-sleep to issue appropriate warnings and help revive the driver’s focus. Several original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have therefore adopted behavior-based DMS that employ frontal cameras, steering angle sensors, and sensors on the steering wheel. However, the current generation of behavior-based sensors used in passenger vehicles is capable of harbouring only two to three functions at most. Many vehicle OEMs are therefore moving from behavior-based DMSs towards inward-looking camera-based systems. New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Strategies for …
The Negative Impact Intense Workouts Have on Your Sleep.
Brielle Buis | December 16, 2015 You already know the importance of getting adequate nutrition after you workout to promote muscle growth. But, did you know that the true gold standard of your post workout regimen is getting enough sleep? Ironically, this golden ticket that might be the most important is also something that can possibly be hindered by a hard workout. A study conducted by Loughborough University looked into the effect that heavy training has on your sleep. To conduct the experiment the scientists, lead by head researcher S.C. Killer, studied the effects of two nine-day periods of heavy training, on 13 competitive cyclists. …
Increasing Sleep Time Raises T2D Risk in Older Women.
ENDOCRINOLOGY | 11.03.2015 Consistently adequate sleep duration over time appears best. by Salynn Boyles Contributing Writer Consistently getting too little sleep each night or increasing nightly sleep times over a period of several years were both associated with modest, long-term increases in type 2 diabetes risk in an analysis of women enrolled in the Nurse’s Health Study. Changes in diet, physical activity, and body mass index did not explain the finding of a small, but significant association with type 2 diabetes risk in middle-aged and older women whose sleep duration increased by more than 2 hours over the 14-year analysis. Regularly …
leep apnea patients face higher pneumonia risk.
By: Emily Lunardo | Immune System, Sleep | Saturday, December 19, 2015 – 09:00 AM A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) found a link between sleep apnea and pneumonia. It discussed that those who suffer from sleep apnea are at a higher risk of pneumonia. Sleep apnea is a chronic sleep disorder that affects approximately 18 million Americans, so you’re not alone. With sleep apnea, your breathing repeatedly starts and stops throughout the sleep cycle. The interruption in breathing can last seconds to minutes, and normal breathing usually resumes with a loud snort or choking sound. …
New Survey Explains the Importance of Sleep
Paula Davis-Laack | Posted: 12/02/2015 7:49 am EST Updated: 12/02/2015 8:59 am EST Are you a sleep worker? No, not a sleepwalker, but a person who goes to work and attempts to function on too little sleep? It turns out, one-third of American workers are sleep working — not getting enough sleep to function at peak levels, according to researchers at Harvard Medical School. On the home front, men and women experience interrupted sleep, but often for different reasons. Women are more than twice as likely to interrupt their sleep to care for others, and once they’re up, they are awake longer: …
Army report shows soldiers lack sleep, struggle to eat right.
By Michelle Tan, Staff writer | 9:54 a.m. EST December 13, 2015 (Photo: Army) Soldiers continue to struggle with eating healthy and getting enough sleep, according to the Army’s first Health of the Force report. The report, released Dec. 10 by the Army surgeon general’s office, gives leaders and commanders a snapshot of active-duty soldier health across 30 U.S.-based installations in 2014. It looked at injuries, behavioral health, chronic disease, obesity, tobacco use, sleep disorders, hospital admissions, and other health measures. Officials then created an overall Installation Health Index, rating each installation in the study. Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Fort Benning, …
One Company’s Mission To Fix Our Sleep Deprivation Crisis.
The health insurance provider Aetna wants you to know the difference a good night’s rest makes. 12/14/2015 11:53 am ET Carolyn Gregoire Senior Health & Science Writer, The Huffington Post Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini has made sleep health a major priority in the workplace. A whopping 40 percent of Americans are getting less than their recommended nightly sleep — an issue the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes as a “public health problem.” But more people and corporations are increasingly waking up to the importance of a healthy night’s sleep. Leading the charge is the Hartford-based health insurance giant Aetna. Under …
Photoplethysmographic Signal to Screen Sleep-Disordered Breathing in Hospitalized Heart Failure Patients
Feasibility of a Prospective Clinical Pathway Sunil Sharma, MD∗; Paul Mather, MD∗; Jimmy T. Efird, PhD∗,†; Daron Kahn, MD∗; Mohammed Cheema, MD‡; Sharon Rubin, MD∗; Gordon Reeves, MD∗; Raphael Bonita, MD∗; Raymond Malloy, MS∗; David J. Whellan, MD∗ [+] Author Information JCHF. 2015;3(9):725-731. doi:10.1016/j.jchf.2015.04.015 Abstract Objectives The purpose of this study was to evaluate the plethysmographic signal-derived oxygen desaturation index (ODI) as an inpatient screening strategy to identify sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). Background SDB is highly prevalent among patients hospitalized with CHF but is widely underdiagnosed. We evaluated overnight photoplethysmography as a possible screening …
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