Synchronizing Your Body Clocks May Help Shed Excess Weight and Prevent Insulin Resistance
June 18, 2015 http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=389596946&m=392014882 By Dr. Mercola If you struggle with excess weight, insulin resistance, and/or diabetes, getting more sleep may be of significant importance. According to recent research,1,2 poor sleep and/or lack of sleep can have a significant bearing on metabolic disorders such as these, and addressing your sleeping habits may be key for both the prevention and treatment of them. The answer as to why sleep is so important for normalizing your metabolism has to do with its effects on your body’s circadian clocks—and yes; you have a number of circadian clocks, not just one. As noted in …
Among College Freshmen, Sleep Disorders Risk May Predict Retention
Published on June 11, 2015 A study suggests that the risk for sleep disorders among college freshmen may be a predictor of retention and academic success. Results show that students at risk for a sleep disorder were more likely to leave the institution over the three-year period, although this association was weakened when covariates were included. Risk for sleep disorder also predicted grade point average (GPA) at the end of the first and second years. “A survey that screens for sleep disorders administered when students first enter college may identify a potentially modifiable risk factor for leaving before completing …
Sleep apnea common among patients undergoing heart procedure.
Illustration of obstruction of ventilation. Credit: Habib M’henni / public domain Patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), a coronary artery widening procedure used to treat heart disease, are at high risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to new research presented at the 2015 American Thoracic Society International Conference. “Our findings, in a large, multicenter sample of patients, reinforce the known association between OSA and cardiovascular disease,” said researcher Luciano Drager, MD, PhD, of the University of São Paulo School of Medicine in Brazil. “Nearly half of the patients in our study, who were treated with PCI for either myocardial …
Does Mom’s Cellphone Startle the Fetus?
Notes from Dr. Norman Blumenstock: The sounds emitted by cellphones carried by pregnant women may rattle the sleep-and-wake cycles of their fetuses, new research suggests. By Alan Mozes HealthDay Reporter Ringing cell phones may startle babies in the womb, new study finds. WEDNESDAY, May 6, 2015 (HealthDay News) — The sounds emitted by cellphones carried by pregnant women may rattle the sleep-and-wake cycles of their fetuses, new research suggests. The finding is based on a small study that tracked fetal reactions to repetitive cellphone and beeper use among more than two dozen resident physicians while they were pregnant. “We wanted …
Is Your Child a Mouth-Breather? There’s New Help at the Dentist.
Posted: 09/19/2014 5:19 pm EDT “If you can see or hear your child breathing, that’s a problem,” said Dr. Benedict Miraglia, a dentist in Mount Kisco, New York, who spoke at a recent seminar, “ADHD and The Role of Sleep,” in Hartsdale, New York. Seeing or hearing what should be silent and invisible is a clue to obstructed airways — which are often associated with snoring and sleep apnea, and increasingly, in children, with jaw malformation, a bad bite, sleep-deprivation and even ADHD and ADD — all of which can stem from mouth-breathing, which he says is also associated with …
Is your snoring a health hazard? How to find out.
Kim Painter, 8:39 a.m. EDT April 26, 2015 A loud snorer can wake up a whole household without having a clue. “There’s always a certain level of denial,” says Kathleen Bennett, a Cincinnati dentist who specializes in treating sleep breathing problems. “People come in all the time and say, ‘I have no problem sleeping, but my wife is complaining.’ ” If that rings a bell, sleep experts say, it could be time for a chat with your doctor. You may have a case of physically harmless, if annoying, snoring — or your snoring could be a sign of a more serious …
To Sleep Better, Spend More Time in the Dark.
April 23, 2015 By Dr. Mercola Recent research1 reveals that you have more than one biological clock in your body. As it turns out, virtually every organ in your body has its own clock or circadian rhythm, and in order to keep them all in sync, you need to keep a regular waking and sleeping schedule that is linked to the rising and setting of the sun. When your sleep schedule is erratic, a cascade of effects can occur, raising your blood pressure, altering hunger hormones, and disrupting your blood sugar control, for example. Chronic sleep disruptions also promote metabolic …
Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence Lower with CPAP.
Published on April 20, 2015 CPAP use was associated with a significant reduction in the recurrence of atrial fibrillation in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to an analysis of data from past research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Clinical Electrophysiology. Researchers from the New York University Langone Medical Center in New York City performed a meta-analysis of seven studies including 1,087 patients to determine if CPAP reduced the recurrence of atrial fibrillation in patients with OSA. The analysis found that CPAP use was associated with a 42% relative risk reduction in atrial fibrillation …
Where and what is happening in your brain when you sleep?
Sleep has profound importance in our lives, such that we spend a considerable proportion of our time engaging in it. Sleep enables the body, including the brain, to recover metabolically, but contemporary research has been moving to focus on the active rather than recuperative role that sleep has on our brain and behaviour. Sleep is composed of several distinct stages. Two of these, slow-wave (or deep) and REM sleep, reflect very different patterns of brain activity, and have been related to different cognitive processes. Slow-wave sleep is characterised by synchronised activity of neurons in the neo-cortex firing at a slow …
Can Orange Glasses Help You Sleep Better?
By KATE GALBRAITH / APRIL 6, 2015 Most evenings, before watching late-night comedy or reading emails on his phone, Matt Nicoletti puts on a pair of orange-colored glasses that he bought for $8 off the Internet. “My girlfriend thinks I look ridiculous in them,” he said. But Mr. Nicoletti, a 30-year-old hospitality consultant in Denver, insists that the glasses, which can block certain wavelengths of light emitted by electronic screens, make it easier to sleep. Studies have shown that such light, especially from the blue part of the spectrum, inhibits the body’s production of melatonin, a hormone that helps people fall asleep. Options …
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