Sleep Books for Children

A new book helps children learn about snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.Botts' Dots and the Rumble Line: How They Saved the Trees in Snordom was written by dentist Dr. Michael Simmons. He is a member of both the AASM and the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine.The book involves a group of civilized boars who are planting trees in the town of Snordom. But all the trees keep falling down

Weight Loss, Sleep Apnea & Diabetes

A new study shows that weight loss may reduce the severity of obstructive sleep apnea in some people who also have type 2 diabetes.The study involved 264 diabetic adults. They had an average age of 61 years; their mean weight was 226 pounds. They had an average body mass index of 36.7; a BMI of 30 or higher is considered “obese.”They also had an average apnea-hypopnea index of 23.2. This means

Biggest Loser: Weight Loss, CPAP & Sleep Apnea

Season eight of the hit TV show “The Biggest Loser” has begun. Once again contestants are being screened and treated for obstructive sleep apnea.“I have put in place a new policy that all contestants need to undergo a sleep study in future seasons,” the show’s medical expert Dr. Rob Huizenga said in a Philips Respironics statement. “The results have been astonishing after two seasons of testing.”

Bedtime Battles: Helping Children Get Good Sleep

It is 9 p.m.; you are ready for your kids to go to sleep, but are they?As the school year begins, parents may find themselves struggling to defeat the technological temptations that keep children awake late at night. Research shows that children who don’t get enough sleep are at higher risk for emotional and behavioral problems. Distractions like computers, T.V. and video games can keep children

William Wordsworth’s Sleepless Nights

It seems that William Wordsworth was well acquainted with insomnia. His poem “To Sleep” describes how he wrestled sleep – and lost – across three restless nights.Poet Christopher Nield recently wrote an essay about the poem for the Epoch Times. It’s the latest in his series on “Classic Poetry for Modern Life.”In the opening lines of the poem Wordsworth describes the futility of his attempts to

Sleep Loss & Alzheimer’s Disease

A new study provides some of the first indications that chronic sleep loss could play a role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.The researchers analyzed the levels of “amyloid beta” in the brains of mice. Amyloid beta is a protein fragment.The study reports that the accumulation of amyloid beta in the brain is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease; the mice in the study were genetically

Insomnia, Sleep Loss & Diabetes Risk

A new study suggests that people suffering from chronic insomnia and sleep loss may be at risk for type 2 diabetes.The study involved 1,741 men and women from central Pennsylvania. They were randomly selected for the study. Their sleep was monitored by overnight sleep study in a sleep lab.Results show that having chronic insomnia for a year or longer was associated with a higher risk for diabetes

Couples & Sleep: Separated by Snoring?

On Sunday the Sleep Education blog reported that one sleep researcher recommends separate sleep arrangements for some couples.What about women who sleep with a snoring bed partner? Will they sleep better by sleeping alone?A new study from France provides mixed results. It involved 23 women who complained that they were having sleep problems because of their bed partner’s snoring.Each woman’s

Women & Sleep Apnea Risk

A new study estimated the risk for obstructive sleep apnea among women in the U.S.The study involved telephone survey responses from 1,254 women; OSA risk was estimated using the Berlin Questionnaire.Results indicate that one in four women in America is at high risk of having OSA. Habitual snoring was reported by 61 percent of women with a high risk; 24 percent reported daytime sleepiness.

Analyzing the Sleep of Women

A new study sought to define normal values for the sleep of women. It also looked at the factors that are most likely to reduce the quality of a woman’s sleep.The study involved 400 Swedish women; they were between 20 and 70 years of age. Their sleep was monitored by home sleep testing.Results show that they slept for only about 6.5 hours per night. It took the women an average of 22 minutes to

Couples & Sleep: Together or Apart?

Many couples may enjoy cuddling before falling asleep; but researcher Dr. Neil Stanley suggests that sharing a bed can lead to poor sleep and hurt your relationship.Stanley told attendees of the British Science Festival that couples should consider sleeping apart, reports the Press Association. He said there is a 50-percent chance that your bed partner’s movements

Ballet Dancers: So You Think You Can Sleep

The hit TV show “So You Think You Can Dance” confirms that some amateur dancers have all the right moves. But for pros who already know they can dance, the question is: Can they sleep?The authors of a new study report that professional ballet dancers undergo a rigorous training regimen during rehearsal. The work can involve extreme physical and mental stress; long days and irregular schedules are

Sleep Reduces False Memories

A new study shows that sleep may improve the accuracy of your memory. Lead author Kimberly Fenn said that this is the first study to examine sleep and memory errors.The research involved college students who studied lists of words; 12 hours later they were tested. From a list with new words mixed in, they had to identify words that they had studied 12 hours earlier.Some students studied the

Sleep & Long-Term Memory: A “Sharp” Discovery

Researchers report that they have discovered how sleep plays a role in memory consolidation.The process involves “sharp wave ripples.” These are short, intense, compressed oscillations in the brain; they occur during the sleep stage of slow-wave sleep.The research team suggests that these events are responsible for consolidating memory. The sharp wave ripples transfer learned information to the

Children & Sleep: Fragile Bedtimes

A new study examined the bedtimes of young children in “fragile families.” It presents the latest findings from the ongoing Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study.What is a fragile family? The researchers use this term for unmarried parents and their children; these families are at greater risk of breaking up and living in poverty than more traditional families.The study involved 3,217

Lucid Dreaming: A Sleep-Wake Hybrid

A new study in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal Sleep investigated lucid dreaming. What is lucid dreaming? It involves the conscious awareness of dreaming while you are still asleep.Lucid dreaming combines aspects of waking and dreaming. You have hallucinatory dream activity along with reflective awareness; you realize that you are not awake and are dreaming. In contrast, during non-lucid dreams

Groaning During Sleep

A new study evaluated five men and three women who have sleep related groaning.They were monitored during an overnight sleep study. The number of groaning episodes during the night ranged from 40 to 182; the duration of these episodes lasted from two seconds to 46 seconds.Almost 77 percent of the groaning episodes occurred during the sleep stage of rapid eye movement sleep – or REM sleep. About

Sleep, Hot Flashes & Menopause

A new study shows that the drug gabapentin can improve sleep quality in menopausal women with hot flashes.“It has minimal side effects and it is a generic drug,” lead author Dr. Michael E. Yurcheshen said in a prepared statement. “That makes it a very attractive treatment for these problems.”The study involved 59 postmenopausal women; they experienced seven to 20 hot flashes daily. The women

Is Ambien a Miracle Cure for Severe Brain Damage?

Most people who take zolpidem – the generic name for Ambien – have insomnia and want to fall asleep. But can the drug help some people wake from an unconscious state?For years ReGen Therapeutics in London has been working on a “zolpidem project.” It is developing new, low-dose, non-sedating formulations of zolpidem; the goal is to use zolpidem to reverse “brain dormancy.”Now the Moss

Dreams, Nightmares and 9/11

Today marks the eighth anniversary of the terrorist attacks against the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001.“Nearly 3,000 days have passed -- almost one for each of those taken from us,” President Obama said at a wreath-laying ceremony at the Pentagon. “But no turning of the seasons can diminish the pain and the loss of that day.”Did that pain and loss affect our dreams in the days and weeks after 9/11? A

Aromatherapy & Insomnia: The Good, the Bad and the Smelly

Yesterday the Sleep Education Blog reported that smells can affect the emotional content of dreams. What about insomnia – can smells improve the quality of your sleep?Aromatherapy is one form of complimentary and alternative medicine - or CAM. It involves the use of fragrant, essential oils from plants. Most often the essential oils are inhaled or applied to the skin; they may be added to

The Smell of Sleep & Dreams

A new study examined how your sense of smell may affect your dreams.The small study from Germany involved 15 volunteers. They were studied using sensory stimulation during the sleep stage of rapid eye movement sleep – or REM sleep.The study compared two smells with a control condition. One smell involved hydrogen sulphide – the smell of rotten eggs. The other smell involved phenyl ethyl alcohol –

Work & Sleep: A Hard Day’s Night

A new study shows that your job may be affecting how you sleep.The Dutch study involved 1,163 employees. Sleep quality and fatigue were measured across a one-year time lag.Results show that exposure to a high-strain work environment was associated with elevated levels of sleep complaints. In contrast, people with a low-strain job had the highest sleep quality; they also had the lowest level of

Sleep is for the Dogs

It’s Labor Day, so it’s a good time to catch up on some sleep. Maybe you can find an unoccupied room where you can sneak away for a nap.If you need inspiration, you can check out the photos of these dogs. Visitors to LATimes.com caught their dogs napping everywhere from the shower stall to the flower pot.Does your dog have a serious case of daytime sleepiness? If so, maybe it’s because of your

Sleep & Weight Gain: Watch When You Eat

A new study of mice provides the first causal evidence that links meal timing and increased weight gain, reports Northwestern University. The study suggests that eating when you should be sleeping may lead to weight gain.It might seem easy to eliminate a late-night snack; but meal timing can be a problem for shift workers."One of our research interests is shift workers, who tend to be overweight,

Violent Dreams: RBD May Intensify Over Time

A small study in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal Sleep involved the long-term follow-up of 11 people with REM sleep behavior disorder – or RBD.What is RBD? It is a sleep disorder that causes you to act out vivid dreams as you sleep. Normally your brain paralyzes most muscles during the sleep stage of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. RBD occurs when the brain fails to keep the muscles still.Does

Sleep Apnea, CPAP & Brain Activity

A study in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal Sleep examined the brain activity of people with obstructive sleep apnea.The study from Italy involved 17 men with OSA who had never been treated. They had an average age of 44 years.At the start of the study the men underwent a neuropsychological evaluation. They were tested in areas such as learning, recall, attention and vigilance. They also

Civilian Life is Interrupted by PTSD and Sleep Disorders for Many Soldiers Returning from Iraq

A new study finds high rates of disturbed sleep among current and former military personnel who served in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom or Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.Sleep problems were considerably more common and severe among those with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), reports Military.com. PTSD is an

Chemotherapy Causes Sleep Problems in Breast Cancer Patients

A study published this week in the journal Sleep shows that chemotherapy for Breast Cancer, a disease with which approximately 210,000 women are diagnosed each year, impairs sleep-wake cycles in patients. Sleep disturbances can negatively affect treatment and increase risks for other health and mental problems.Results indicate that chemotherapy patients switched from low to high activity about 30

Unexpected Workplace Hazard: Bullying is Associated with Sleep Disturbances

A study published today in the journal Sleep shows that workplace bullying, one of the leading job stressors and major causes of suicide, is also related to sleep disturbances. Findings of the study are important, as people who do not get enough sleep are at a higher risk for developing health and psychological problems.The study, performed in 2004 in southeast