News

Sleeping after a trauma

Apr 24 2013...

The individuals who were affected by the Boston Marathon bombing tragedy on April 15 are facing what could be a long, hard road to recovery. This process can involve a struggle to sleep well.

Many people develop what doctors call “acute stress disorder” after a terrifying event. This can occur even in people who only hear about danger or harm that a close friend or relative experienced. READ MORE>>

Increasing physical activity may improve sleep for menopausal women

Mar 27 2013...

Getting a good night's sleep isn't always easy for women at menopause. Exercise may help, but women can have a tough time carving out leisure time for it. The good news from a study published online today in Menopause, the journal of the North American Menopause Society, is that higher levels of routine daily physical activity may be the more important key to a better night's sleep for many women who have hot flashes or night sweats.

Although exercise is known to improve sleep for people in general, studies in menopausal women haven't been conclusive. That's why the researchers at the Pittsburgh site of the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) focused exclusively on women with hot flashes or night sweats and also drew the distinction between leisure time and household activity. READ MORE>>

Sleep disturbance common among gynecological cancer survivors

Mar 14 2013...

A new survey has found that more than half of gynecologic cancer survivors may have trouble sleeping.

"Physicians need to address the presence of sleep disturbance (SD) among their survivors," and modifiable risk factors, e.g., hot flashes, urinary urgency, and bowel complaints, should be addressed, Dr. Shannon Westin from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston told Reuters Health by email. READ MORE>>

Sleep loss precedes symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease

Mar 12 2013...

A new study out of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis finds that sleep is disrupted in people who likely have early Alzheimer's disease but do not yet have the memory loss or other cognitive problems characteristic of full-blown disease.

"This link may provide us with an easily detectable sign of Alzheimer's pathology," says senior author David M. Holtzman, MD, the Andrew B. and Gretchen P. Jones Professor and head of Washington University's Department of Neurology. "As we start to treat people who have markers of early Alzheimer's, changes in sleep in response to treatments may serve as an indicator of whether the new treatments are succeeding." READ MORE>>

Telephone delivered therapy could help treat insomnia

Mar 08 2013...

A new study found that telephone delivered cognitive behavioral therapy for the treatment of chronic insomnia (CBTI) helped improve sleep quality.

“These results are important, because they provide preliminary support for the efficacy and sustainability of telephone-delivered CBTI,” said Dr. J. Todd Arnedt, associate professor of psychiatry and neurology and Director of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine program at the University of Michigan Hospital and Health Systems in Ann Arbor, Mich. and principal investigator and lead author of the study. “If replicated in larger controlled studies, the telephone could be integrated as an effective modality for disseminating CBTI on a broader scale.” READ MORE>>

Sleep deprivation disrupts genes

Mar 01 2013...

A new study found that as little as one week of sleep deprivation is enough to alter the activity of hundreds of human genes.

The study, appearing in the journal PNAS, involved a small group of 26 participants who were exposed to one week of insufficient sleep (5.7 hours) and one week of sufficient sleep (8.5 hours). After each seven day period, the researchers collected and looked at blood samples that included ribonucleic acid (RNA), which transmits genetic information from DNA to proteins produced by cells. READ MORE>>

Adult sleepwalking serious condition that impacts quality of life

Feb 28 2013...

A new study found that adult sleepwalking is a potentially serious condition that may induce violent behaviors and affect health-related quality of life.

“We found a higher frequency of daytime sleepiness, fatigue, insomnia, depressive and anxiety symptoms and altered quality of life in patients with sleepwalking compared to the control group,” said Yves Dauvilliers, MD, PhD, the study’s principal investigator and lead author. Dr. Dauvilliers is professor of physiology and neurology and director of the sleep lab at Gui-de-Chauliac Hospital in Montpellier, France. “What would usually be considered a benign condition, adult sleepwalking is a potentially serious condition and the consequences of sleepwalking episodes should not be ignored.” READ MORE>>

Insomnia, poor sleep common in epileptics

Feb 22 2013...

A new study suggests that insomnia and poor sleep are common in patients with epilepsy and may adversely impact quality of life. Interventions to improve sleep hygiene can be suggested to patients as part of more comprehensive epilepsy education programs.

The study involved 152 patients with epilepsy completing multiple questionnaires. Patients with other known sleep disorders, including obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), were excluded from the study. More than half of the participants (55%) suffered from insomnia and more than 70% were “poor sleepers.” Insomnia and poor sleep quality were significantly related to the number of antiepileptic medications and a large number of depressive symptoms. READ MORE>>

Promoting better sleep can improve mental state in hospitals

Feb 20 2013...

A hospital is not the best place to get a good night's sleep, especially in a noisy intensive care unit. It's a cause for concern because studies have shown that a lack of sleep can cause patients to experience delirium – an altered mental state that may delay their recovery and lead to short and long-term confusion and memory problems.

A team of doctors, nurses, psychologists and pharmacists in the medical intensive care unit (MICU) at The Johns Hopkins Hospital implemented a project to see if by taking simple steps to reduce nighttime noise, light, and staff interruptions, as well as stopping certain medications for insomnia, they could reduce delirium and improve patient perceptions about the quality of their sleep. READ MORE>>

Rate of ADHD diagnosis in children is rising

Jan 22 2013...

A new study reports that the rate of ADHD diagnosis among children has increased over the last decade. The increase may be related to growing awareness of ADHD. Parents also should be aware of the complex link between sleep and ADHD. READ MORE>>