Tag: Insomnia Research

Biomedical engineers at The University of Texas at Austin may have found a way for people to get better shuteye. Systematic review protocols — a method used to search for and analyze relevant data — allowed researchers to analyze thousands of studies linking water-based passive body heating, or bathing and showering with warm/hot water, with

A new study has found that variability in night-to-night sleep time and reduced sleep quality adversely affect the ability of older adults to recall information about past events. The study also found unexpected racial differences in the type of sleep patterns tied to lower memory performance across both younger and older African American research participants.

Can your liver sense when you’re staring at a television screen or cellphone late at night? Apparently so, and when such activity is detected, the organ can throw your circadian rhythms out of whack, leaving you more susceptible to health problems. That’s one of the takeaways from two new studies by University of California, Irvine

What makes a biological clock tick? According to a new study from U of T Mississauga, the surprising answer lies with a gene typically associated with stem and cancer cells. In the first study of its kind for the field of circadian biology, UTM researchers used RNA sequencing to observe the expression of genes in

Drinking a casein shake just before overnight sleep increases gains in muscle mass and strength in response to resistance exercise. But to date, no study has directly addressed whether this effect is due to increased total protein intake only, or if a bedtime beverage is better. According to a review published in Frontiers in Nutrition,

People who sleep less than six hours a night may be at increased risk of cardiovascular disease compared with those who sleep between seven and eight hours, suggests a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Poor quality sleep increases the risk of atherosclerosis — plaque buildup in the arteries

In the hours and days following a spinal cord injury, the gears that control the body’s internal clocks fall profoundly out of sync, impacting body temperature, hormone fluctuation, immunity and the timing of a host of other bodily processes, according to new University of Colorado Boulder research. The study, funded by the U.S. Department of

Repetition is the best method for memorization, for neurons themselves. This is the principle behind what neurobiologists call sequence reactivations: during sleep, neurons in the hippocampus related to a task activate very quickly in turn in a precise order, which consolidates the memory of this task. Sequence reactivations are fundamental for long-term memorization and for

An international research team led by the University of California, Irvine has identified a system of communication networks that exists among organs and tissues that regulate metabolism. Findings from their study provide, for the first time, a detailed “atlas” illustrating how the body creates and uses energy, and how imbalances in the networks may impact

Poor sleep can literally kill your social life. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have found that sleep-deprived people feel lonelier and less inclined to engage with others, avoiding close contact in much the same way as people with social anxiety. Worse still, that alienating vibe makes sleep-deprived individuals more socially unattractive to others.

New research in humans demonstrates the potential to improve memory with a non-invasive brain stimulation technique delivered during sleep. The results, published in JNeurosci, come from a project funded by the United States Department of Defense that aims to better understand the process of memory consolidation, which could translate into improved memory function in both

Poor sleep quality appears to be an important risk factor for atrial fibrillation, report scientists in the first study of its kind to demonstrate a relationship between poor sleep quality independent of sleep apnea and a higher risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). Their findings are published in HeartRhythm. AF is an irregular, rapid heart rate

We’ve all experienced going to bed tired and waking up refreshed, yet how that happens at the molecular level remains a mystery. An international study published today in Nature sheds new light on the biochemistry of sleep need in the brain. According to the American Sleep Association, 50 million to 70 million U.S. adults have

Middle-to-older aged women who are naturally early to bed and early to rise are significantly less likely to develop depression, according to a new study by researchers at University of Colorado Boulder and the Channing Division of Network Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. The study of more than 32,000 female nurses, published

A team of researchers at VIB and KU Leuven has uncovered why people with a hereditary form of Parkinson’s disease suffer from sleep disturbances. The molecular mechanisms uncovered in fruit flies and human stem cells also point to candidate targets for the development of new treatments. Sleep and Parkinson’s Parkinson’s disease affects 5 million people

A tailored lighting intervention in nursing homes can positively impact sleep, mood and behavior for patients with Alzheimer’s disease, according to preliminary findings from a new study. People with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias may experience sleep problems, wandering, and associated daytime irritability. This study tested whether a tailored daytime lighting intervention could improve sleep

Preliminary results from a new study show that excess heart age (EHA) appeared to be lowest among adults who reported sleeping seven hours per 24-hour period. Results show that mean adjusted EHA was lowest among adults who reported sleeping seven hours per 24-hour period. Sleeping times less than or greater than seven hours were associated

Pilot data from a recent study suggest that sleep paralysis and dream-like hallucinations as you are falling asleep or waking up are widespread in student athletes and are independently associated with symptoms of depression. This study is the first to examine the relationship between these sleep symptoms and mental health in student athletes, independent of

The internal clock controls all vital functions in the body. Body temperature as well as blood pressure or the release of certain enzymes are subject to oscillations throughout the day, the so-called circadian rhythm. For the first time, a team around Professor Oliver Söhnlein has now shown the influence of circadian rhythms on atherosclerosis —

Just as we abide by an external time schedule to eat, sleep, and go to work, our body is similarly dictated by internal clocks. Known as circadian rhythms, these daily cycles keep us on a regular 24-hour day and are involved in numerous aspects of our well-being. When these biological clocks fail to work as