How Narcolepsy Blurs the Line Between Awake and Asleep
It’s all in the brain chemistry. By Jacqueline Ronson on May 29, 2017 | Inverse.com Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder that can cause a variety of strange and often terrifying symptoms, including sleep attacks and temporary paralysis. It’s a neurological disorder that has to do with how our bodies regulate the boundary between being awake and being asleep, and while not every narcoleptic person has the same symptoms, scientists have a pretty good idea of how the disease works. Unfortunately, they’re still figuring out how to fix it. In 1999 researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine identified hypocretin, …
Tips and Tricks to Resolve Common Sleep Problems
June 01, 2017 | By Dr. Mercola | Mercola.com The importance of sleep is widely ignored and the cost rarely considered, even though it includes everything from reduced work productivity and increased risk of serious accidents to psychological deterioration and physiological dysfunction. The proof is quite clear: You destroy your health if you regularly ignore your body’s need for sleep to repair and recharge. Even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned that lack of sleep is a public health epidemic, noting that insufficient sleep has been linked to a wide variety of health problems. Skyrocketing rates of …
The Science of Adolescent Sleep
MAY 22, 2017 | By PERRI KLASS, M.D. | NYTimes.com Why do children wake up early when they are young but want to stay in bed till noon as teenagers? Experts say it’s biology. Adolescents’ bodies want to stay up late and sleep late, putting them out of sync with what their school schedules demand of them. So kids have trouble waking up, and they often find themselves feeling drowsy in morning algebra class. But that chronic sleepiness can affect their health and well-being, their behavior, and even their safety; it becomes genuinely dangerous when sleepy teenagers get behind the …
SLEEP DEPRIVATION CAN LEAD TO THE BRAIN ‘EATING ITSELF’, SAYS STUDY
Must get more sleep. OLIVIA BLAIR | Thursday 25 May 2017 08:28 BST | Independent.co.uk When you feel particularly exhausted, it can definitely feel like you are also lacking in brain capacity. Now, a new study has suggested this could be because chronic sleep deprivation can actually cause the brain to eat itself. New research, conducted by Michele Bellesi of the Marche Polytechnic University in Italy and published in the Journal of Neuroscience, analysed the brains of mice who had regular sleep, spontaneous wake, sleep deprivation and chronic sleep deprivation. Using block-face scanning software, the scientists measured the synapses and …
Obstructive sleep apnea might lead to irregular heartbeat
Written by Honor Whiteman | Published: Tuesday 23 May 2017 | MedicalNewsToday.com Patients with obstructive sleep apnea may be at greater risk of developing atrial fibrillation, or irregular heartbeat, new research finds. Lead author Dr. Tetyana Kendzerska, Ph.D., of the University of Ottawa in Canada, and colleagues came to their findings by analyzing the medical records of more than 8,000 adults. The results were recently presented at the American Thoracic Society Conference 2017, held in Washington, D.C. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a condition characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep, due to a partial or complete blockage of the …
Sleep-bragging is the preserve of the ultra–powerful
By Suzanne Moore | Published: 16:40 May 12, 2017 | GulfNews.com Come sleep with me and my machine. We will do it all night long. Every breath, every movement will be tracked. Every position noted. In the morning, we can compare notes on our performance and vow to do better. Who slept best? Who achieved the right number of cycles? Who woke at precisely the right moment? Who is the most rested? Who really is superior in bed? It’s not me, for sure. Women of my vintage are in some deja vu tiredness competition with mothers of new babies. We …
If your baby snores regularly it could indicate serious health problems – here’s why
If your little one snores at least four nights a week, then you need to read this BY ZAHRA MULROY | 16:18, 12 MAY 2017 | UPDATED13:07, 16 MAY 2017 | Mirror.co.uk Unlike with adults, because they’re tiny and adorable your baby’s snores may seem completely innocuous and, most importantly, harmless. Certainly, if your baby is sick or has a cold, is exceptionally tired or is not a regular snorer, there are no serious health issues indicated by their snoring. If they are, however, a habitual snorer – i.e. for four or more nights a week – there may be …
There’s a strong link between anxiety and depression, and sleep problems, and it goes both way
May 11, 2017 3.21pm EDT | Henri Bergius/Flickr, CC BY | TheConversation.com Good sleep is essential for our mental well-being. Just one night of disturbed sleep can leave us feeling cranky, flat, worried, or sad the next day. So it’s no surprise sleeping problems, like difficulty falling asleep, not getting enough sleep, or regularly disrupted sleep patterns, are associated with anxiety and depression. Anxiety and depression, which can range from persistent worry and sadness to a diagnosed mental illness, are common and harmful. Understanding the many interacting factors likely to cause and maintain these experiences is important, especially for developing …
Apple’s sleep czar explains why he left to lead a startup called SleepScore Labs
Roy Raymann worked on Apple’s health team for more than three years. During his tenure at Apple, he helped develop features like Night Shift and Bedtime. Now, he’s left the company to join a startup called SleepScore Labs. Christina Farr | @chrissyfarr | Thursday, 11 May 2017 | 10:39 AM ET | CNBC.com The man behind some of your favorite sleep features on Apple devices has left the company to focus on a new start-up focused on tracking sleep. In 2014, sleep researcher Roy Raymann joined Apple’s growing health team from Philips Research to focus on using mobile technology to …