News

Sound stimulation during sleep may enhance memory

Apr 11 2013...

Slow oscillations in brain activity, which occur during so-called slow-wave sleep, are critical for retaining memories. Researchers reporting online April 11 in the journal Neuron have found that playing sounds synchronized to the rhythm of the slow brain oscillations of people who are sleeping enhances these oscillations and boosts their memory. This demonstrates an easy and noninvasive way to influence human brain activity to improve sleep and enhance memory.

"The beauty lies in the simplicity to apply auditory stimulation at low intensities—an approach that is both practical and ethical, if compared for example with electrical stimulation—and therefore portrays a straightforward tool for clinical settings to enhance sleep rhythms," says coauthor Dr. Jan Born, of the University of Tübingen, in Germany. READ MORE>>

Increased sleep could reduce rate of adolescent obesity

Apr 09 2013...

Increasing the number of hours of sleep adolescents get each night may reduce the prevalence of adolescent obesity, according to a new study by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Results of the study show that fewer hours of sleep is associated with greater increases in adolescent body mass index (BMI) for participants between 14 and 18-years-old. The findings suggest that increasing sleep duration to 10 hours per day, especially for those in the upper half of the BMI distribution, could help to reduce the prevalence of adolescent obesity.

Full results of the study are available online in the latest issue of Pediatrics. Previous studies have shown that a correlation exists between short sleep and obesity, but until now few have been able to rule out other variables such as time spent watching television and being physically active. READ MORE>>

Study links diabetes risk to melatonin levels

Apr 03 2013...

Millions of Americans are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, yet the exact causes of diabetes still puzzle scientists. Now, new research from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) finds that the amount of melatonin a person secretes during sleep may predict their risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

"This is the first time that an independent association has been established between nocturnal melatonin secretion and type 2 diabetes risk," said Dr. Ciaran McMullan, a researcher in the Renal Division and Kidney Clinical Research Institute at BWH. "Hopefully this study will prompt future research to examine what influences a person's melatonin secretion and what is melatonin's role in altering a person's glucose metabolism and risk of diabetes." READ MORE>>

Study finds sleep consolidates memories for competing tasks

Mar 20 2013...

Sleep plays an important role in the brain’s ability to consolidate learning when two new potentially competing tasks are learned in the same day, new research at the University of Chicago finds.

Other studies have shown that sleep consolidates learning for a new task. The new study, which measured starlings’ ability to recognize new songs, shows that learning a second task can undermine the performance of a previously learned task. But this study is the first to show that a good night’s sleep helps the brain retain both new memories. 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>>

Sleep reinforces learning, especially in children

Feb 27 2013...

A new study reveals how important it is for children to get enough sleep. Children’s brains transform subconsciously learning material into active knowledge while they sleep – even more effectively than adult brains do, according to the study by Dr. Ines Wilhem of the University of Tübingen’s Institute for Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology.

"In children, much more efficient explicit knowledge is generated during sleep from a previously learned implicit task, says Dr. Wilhelm. And the children's extraordinary ability is linked with the large amount of deep sleep they get at night. "The formation of explicit knowledge appears to be a very specific ability of childhood sleep, since children typically benefit as much or less than adults from sleep when it comes to other types of memory tasks." READ MORE>>

Dietary nutrients associated with certain sleep patterns

Feb 21 2013...

A new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania shows for the first time that certain nutrients may play an underlying role in short and long sleep duration and that people who report eating a large variety of foods – an indicator of an overall healthy diet – had the healthiest sleep patterns. The new research is published online, ahead-of-print in the journal Appetite.

“Although many of us inherently recognize that there is a relationship between what we eat and how we sleep, there have been very few scientific studies that have explored this connection, especially in a real-world situation,” said Michael A. Grandner, PhD, Instructor in Psychiatry and member of the Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology at Penn. “ In general, we know that those who report between 7 - 8 hours of sleep each night are most likely to experience better overall health and well being, so we simply asked the question "Are there differences in the diet of those who report shorter sleep, longer sleep, or standard sleep patterns?” READ MORE>>

Active duty military personnel prone to sleep disorders

Feb 06 2013...

A new study found a high prevalence of sleep disorders and a startlingly high rate of short sleep duration among active duty military personnel. The study suggests the need for a cultural change toward appropriate sleep practices throughout the military.

Results show that the majority of participants (85.1 percent) had a clinically relevant sleep disorder. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was the most frequent diagnosis (51.2 percent), followed by insomnia (24.7 percent). Participants’ mean self-reported home sleep duration was only 5.74 hours per night, and 41.8 percent reported sleeping five hours or less per night. According to the AASM, individual sleep needs vary; however, most adults need about seven to eight hours of nightly sleep to feel alert and well-rested during the day. READ MORE>>

Let’s move – and sleep – to reduce childhood obesity

Jan 23 2013...

The CDC reports that about 17 percent of children and teens in the U.S. are obese. In response to this crisis, many programs are focusing on physical activity. But a new study shows that physical activity alone may not be enough to reduce childhood obesity. Most programs that target obesity focus on activity and nutrition. But these programs may be missing a critical element: sleep. READ MORE>>

Cancer, obesity and sleep

Jan 18 2013...

The American Cancer Society reported yesterday that the death rate from cancer in the U.S. has declined. Most people are aware that smoking causes cancer. But you may not know about the link between cancer and obesity. Sleep also tends to be overlooked as a factor in both the obesity and cancer epidemics. READ MORE>>