Parents take note: even minor sleep problems can lead to cognitive difficulties in children
July 5, 2017 7.12am EDT | TheConversation.com We all know that a good night’s sleep is important, but from snoring to night-time waking, sleepwalking to insomnia, sleep problems in childhood are common. Sleep has many roles, from supporting the development of the brain and strengthening neural pathways to helping the immune system – and disrupted sleep leads to multiple physical and psychological problems. Even in infancy and very early childhood, sleep problems are related to poorer mental and motor development, meaning that by the time children start school those with sleep problems are already falling behind their classmates. Around 20-30% …
How Much Sleep Do Fitbit Users Really Get? A New Study Finds Out
BY DANIELLE KOSECKI | Blog.FitBit.com The launch of Sleep Stages was a huge step forward in sleep research—for Fitbit users and scientists. Available on Fitbit Alta HR, Blaze, and Charge 2, Sleep Stages uses motion detection and heart rate variability to estimate the amount of time users spend awake and in light, deep, and REM sleep each night. The result? Data that empowers Fitbit users to take control of their sleep quality and allows Fitbit scientists to dig deeper into the health effects of sleep. “The ability to easily track your sleep not only helps individuals better understand their own …
Your Sleep Might Start Getting Permanently Worse in Your 30s
Published on May 8, 2017 | NYMag.com I’ve always been a really bad sleeper. But one thing I’ve noticed as I’ve moved into my late early 30s, as I am determined to call my current age, is that my sleep is getting measurably worse. Even just a couple drinks seems to wreck my ability to fall asleep, whereas it used to help me pass out (even if the resultant sleep wasn’t particularly restful). I often wake up an hour before I need to for no reason. And playing video games even hours before bedtime elicits way more Tetris effect than …
Sleep deprivation seen as health threat
By ALYSSA HARVEY aharvey@bgdailynews.com | Jan 17, 2017 | BGDailyNews.com When it comes to sleep, many people aren’t getting enough. The American Sleep Association said 37 percent of 20- to 39-year-olds report short sleep duration. Forty percent of 40- to 59-year-olds report short sleep durations. The ASA reported 35.3 percent of adults report less than seven hours of sleep during a typical 24-hour period. The ASA said 100,000 deaths occur each year in U.S. hospitals because of medical errors, and sleep deprivation has been shown to be a significant contributing factor. There are more than 80 sleep disorders that a …
Is Your Sleep Tracking App Keeping You Up All Night?
MAR 2 2017, 3:36 AM ET | by JOAN RAYMOND | NBCNews.com It’s bad enough that our fitness devices and apps act as biological overlords, making us feel inadequate during the day. But it seems that some of us can’t even catch a break at night. Apparently some of us get so worked up about our sleep apps and devices telling us we’re sleep failures that we wind up anxious and stressed, potentially causing even lousier sleep, according to a new case series published in the current issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. They cite the case of …
Sleep on it
New study links habitual sleep deprivation to dampened immune responses Alan Brazelton | Feb 27, 2017 | DailyUW.com Many college students put off sleeping properly. An average student needs about eight hours of sleep, but most college students really only sleep about six to seven hours on average, including those weekend sleep-ins. Midterms, studying, papers, and hanging out with friends tend to take precedence. However, a new study by UW researchers, “Transcriptional Signatures of Sleep Duration Discordance in Monozygotic Twins,” published in the scientific journal Sleep shows that going without proper levels of sleep for an extended period does more …
What Causes Crime? New Study Links Lack Of Sleep By Teenagers To Criminal Behavior As Adults
BY JULIANA ROSE PIGNATARO | 02/24/17 AT 11:40 AM | IBTimes.com Drowsiness might not just have ill effects on a person’s day— it could also impact life years later. A study published in the journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry found that teenagers who reported feeling tired in the middle of the day were more than four times more likely to commit crimes as adults. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of York in the U.K. collected data from 101 15-year-old boys from schools in England to get the results. “It’s the first study to our knowledge …
One-third of people ‘get less than six hours sleep a night’
Ikea-commissioned survey also reveals that almost half of couples sleep back-to-back Tim O’Brien | Fri, Feb 17, 2017, 17:57| IrishTimes.com One-third of Irish people are getting less than six hours sleep a night, a new survey has revealed. The sleep survey, which was commissioned by Swedish retailer Ikea and designed by paediatric sleep consultant Lucy Wolfe, also found that almost half of couples sleep back-to-back with their partners. Meanwhile, four in 10 respondents claimed they have to use sleeping aids. Blackout blinds were the most widely used (28 per cent of respondents), while just five per cent used ear plugs. …
Sleep deprived suffer performance loss, according to new study
Tracie White on January 26, 2017 | ScopeBlog.Standford.edu More bad news for insomniacs and those of us who struggle to get enough sleep at night. Lack of sleep definitely affects your performance the next day, and probably for a longer period of time than you might expect, according to a new study. Among the findings: Two consecutive nights of less than six hours could leave you sluggish for the following six days. (Surprised? You aren’t alone: This stat sparked a gasp of dismay at my office staff meeting.) Researchers also found that staying up an extra hour, even if followed …
Smart Strategies to Get More Sleep
Do more than just count sheep to pay down your sleep debt. By SANDRA BLOCK, Senior Associate Editor | Kiplinger.com From Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, March 2017 Americans have rung up a massive sleep debt, and the bill is coming due. More than one-third of adults get less than seven hours of sleep on a regular basis, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Lack of sleep affects job performance, relationships and the ability to perform routine tasks. The Rand Corp. estimates that decreased productivity by sleep-deprived workers costs the U.S. economy $411 billion a year, or 2.3% of our gross …