Research on the sleeping brain has revealed some fascinating stage-dependent interactions between areas involved in formation and storage of long term memories. The study may also provide a framework for further understanding the role of sleep in memory.
Mammalian sleep occurs in two discrete stages, slow wave sleep and rapid eye movement sleep. One of the many ways in which SWS and REM sleep differ is in the level of synchronous firing in the hippocampus.
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When the U.S. Congress decided to change the start of Daylight Saving Time (DST) in 2005, that one decision brought about a lot of headaches to the world, including for computer manufacturers. The biggest headache, though, will be for people, especially for those who have calendars that were printed in bulk two or three years ago, shipped to a warehouse, and then distributed. This year clocks in most of the United States are moved ahead at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 8.
According to Jodi Mindell, PhD, a nationally recognized expert in pediatric sleep, “It’s not uncommon for children to experience sleep disruptions with the return of Daylight Saving Time.”
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For many animals, sleep is a risk: foraging for food, mingling with mates, and guarding against predators just aren’t tasks possible while snoozing.
Scientists are wondering how, then, has this seemingly life-threatening behavior remained constant among various species of animals?
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Scientists have known for a long time now that messing with the 24-hour circadian rhythm plays havoc with the lives and health of medical, military and airline personnel, factory employees, and travelers.
A new paper by University of Notre Dame biologist Giles Duffield and a team of researchers sheds new light on circadian timing systems and focuses on a key gene that seems to regulate the response of the circadian clock to light signals.
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ResMed launched its latest heated humidifier, the H4i, which is the latest technology in heated humidification, according to the company. The humidifier integrates with the S8 Series II CPAP and bi-level devices.
Using the latest technology in airflow dynamics and heating technology helps the H4i heated humidifier delivers the most humidity output of any integrated device with pressure relief.
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Did you ever argue with your mother when she told you to get some sleep instead of pulling an all-nighter to study for a major exam? If you did, you should apologize to her, even now — years later — because she was right!. Scientists are just now beginning to understand why.
Research findings published by Marcos Frank, Ph.D., an assistant professor of Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, describe how cellular changes in the sleseping brain promote the formation of memories.
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A video imaging technique demonstrates that the soft palate, the tissue at the back of the roof of the mouth, is more elongated and angled in patients with obstructive sleep apnea both when they sleep and when they are awake, according to a recently published report.
“Obstructive sleep apnea is a common form of sleep-breathing disorder characterized by repetitive episodes of partial or complete upper airway obstruction,” the authors wrote in the article. The condition usually causes breaks in sleeping, reduced blood oxygen levels and daytime sleepiness, and may contribute to cognitive (thinking, learning and memory) difficulties, psychosocial impairments, trouble driving, heart disease and death.
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Not only is obstructive sleep apnea linked to insulin resistance and liver disease independent of obesity, but at least one risk factor is also common to obesity and obstructive sleep apnea: prolonged daytime sitting or standing. Even when the sedentary lifestyle does not lead to obesity, it may still lead to obstructive sleep apnea and its concomitant health risks, according to a research article in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
“Overnight fluid displacement from legs, related to prolonged sitting, may play a previously unrecognized role in the pathogenesis of obstructive sleep apnea,” wrote principle investigator, T. Douglass Bradley, M.D., professor of medicine and director of the Centre for Sleep Medicine and Circadian Biology at the University of Toronto.
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Researchers from Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center Bariatric Surgery Clinic have found that the chronic intermittent hypoxia that often characterizes obstructive sleep apnea, a common form of sleep-disordered breathing, is independently linked to the progression of liver disease.
In this study, researchers recruited 90 severely obese patients presenting for bariatric surgery at without known diagnoses of obstructive sleep apnea. Each patient underwent a sleep study and blood tests for markers of liver function, insulin resistance, and systemic inflammation.
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