Ear Tubes, Snoring & Sleep Apnea in Children

A recent study examined the risk of sleep-disordered breathing in children who had ear tubes inserted.The study from Israel involved 352 children with ear tubes. Another 105 children were included as controls. Parents were interviewed by phone.Results show that sleep-disordered breathing was common in children who had ear tubes inserted. Twenty-two percent of parents reported that their child

How Common is Restless Legs Syndrome?

A recent study investigated the prevalence of restless legs syndrome.The study involved patients from 312 primary-care practices in Germany. A total of 16,543 people participated.Results show that leg problems were common. About 47 percent of people reported having “unpleasant sensations in the legs.”Nearly 11 percent of participants were diagnosed with RLS. Fifty-three percent of these people

Narcolepsy & “Fainting Spells”

Recently in the New York Times Dr. Lisa Sanders described the mysterious case of a woman’s fainting spells. For several months the 49-year-old nurse had been fainting almost daily.She would feel a “fluttering sensation” in her stomach. Then suddenly she would fall out on the floor.She spent two nights in the hospital undergoing tests. But everything was normal. Her heart rhythms and blood

Twitter: Sleep & Tweets

You can learn a lot about a person in 140 characters or less. You can learn a lot about their sleep too.Twitter let’s you answer the question, “What’s happening?” The Web site at www.sleepingtime.org has responded by asking, “When do they sleep?”


The one-click site simply asks you to provide the username of a person who is on Twitter. Then in a second the site’s algorithm will analyze the

Exploding Head Syndrome: Sounds in Sleep

You’re in bed and feeling drowsy as you begin to fall asleep. Suddenly in your head you have the sensation of a loud, violent explosion.It may seem like a loud bang, a clash of cymbals or a bomb exploding. You also may have the impression that a flash of light occurred. As a result you jolt awake with a sense of fright.This describes a typical episode of a sleep disorder called exploding head

Teen Smoking & Sleep Problems

A new study from Hong Kong examined the relationship between smoking and sleep problems in teens.The study involved 29,397 Chinese students. They were between 12 and 18 years old. The students completed a health survey that included questions about sleep.Results show that current smokers were three times more likely to report snoring than teens who never smoked. They also were three times more

Sleep & IQ: Are Kids Smarter if They Sleep Longer?

A new study from Canada examined the relationship between sleep duration and intelligence in children.The study involved 39 healthy children. They were between 7 and 11 years old. Their sleep was measured at home by actigraphy for four nights. This identified their habitual sleep duration on weeknights.Intelligence was measured using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children — Fourth Edition.

Your Sleep Personality Type

A new study examined how your natural sleep preference may be related to your personality type.The study from Spain involved 862 college students. They were between the ages of 18 and 30.They completed a short version of the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ). It measures your circadian “chronotype” – your preferred sleep schedule.Some people have a circadian clock that makes them “

Sleep Parenting Across Cultures

Last week a Salon article addressed the controversial topic of sleep parenting. Ada Calhoun shared how she and her husband grappled with conflicting advice about what was best for their newborn.“Cry it out” sleep training. Attachment parenting. Baby management. New parents can become overwhelmed by all of the advice offered by parenting books.Now Calhoun is joining the debate with her own book.

Social Networks: Teen Drug Use & Sleep Loss

A new study examined the relationship between sleep loss and marijuana use among teens and their friends.The study used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. The researchers mapped the social networks of 8,349 teens. The students filled out questionnaires. They also named up to five male and five female friends in their social network.Students had an average age of 16

“The Nation of Walking Zombies” – Sleep Deprivation in America

In the first of a four-part series, “The Science of Sleep,” New York 1 reports that sleep deprivation, exhaustion and insomnia are common problems in New York and across America.Many people think that their addiction to caffeine is normal, but if you constantly wake up feeling unrefreshed and are excessively sleepy throughout the day, you are probably not getting the sleep you need.Last month,

Is Acupuncture Safe?

Last year the Sleep Education Blog reported that acupuncture is growing in popularity in the U.S. One reason people receive acupuncture is for help with insomnia.But is acupuncture safe? An editorial published this week in the British Medical Journal expressed concerns.The authors are from the department of microbiology at the University of Hong Kong. They wrote that acupuncture can put patients

FDA Approves Silenor for Insomnia

The makers of sleeping pills such as Ambien, Lunesta and Rozerem will soon have new competition. On March 17 the FDA granted approval to Somaxon Pharmaceuticals for its drug Silenor. Somaxon reports that the insomnia medication should be available in the second half of 2010.But Silenor isn’t for people who have trouble falling asleep. It takes about 3.5 hours for the drug to reach its peak

Sleep Deprivation Impairs the Recognition of Emotions

A new study investigated the impact of sleep deprivation on the ability to recognize the emotional intensity of human facial expressions. The results were published this month in the journal Sleep.The study involved 37 healthy adults between 18 and 25 years of age. Seventeen participants were assigned to the control group. They slept normally at home for a night. The other 20 participants were

Treating REM Sleep Behavior Disorder: Best Practices

People with REM sleep behavior disorder act out vivid, action-packed dreams while remaining asleep. They may shout, punch, kick, run and even jump out a window.RBD was first reported in the journal Sleep in 1986. Sixteen years later a follow-up report was published by the same research team.Recently the AASM reviewed all of the current research and developed a best practice guide for the

Sleep & Parkinson’s Disease

Today the American Academy of Neurology published new guidelines for treating nonmotor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. The section on sleep dysfunction was endorsed by the AASM board of directors.The NINDS reports that Parkinson’s disease is a motor system disorder. These disorders involve problems with muscle control.One of the primary motor symptoms of PD is tremor. This is trembling or

Teens & Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder

Some people have a circadian clock that makes them “evening types.” These “owls” have a natural tendency to stay up late at night and sleep late in the morning.Children tend to become night owls as teens because of a shift in the timing of their circadian clocks. This change causes them to feel sleepy later at night. As a result they also prefer to wake up later in the morning.But as CNN

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow Wakes Up to the Importance of Sleep

According to the Huffington Post, Gwyneth Paltrow is spreading an important message to friends, family and fans: We need to get more sleep!In her GOOP newsletter, Paltrow touches on the negative cumulative effects of sleep deprivation. They range from issues with performance and memory to association with other medical conditions like diabetes and heart disease.How do you know if you are sleep

Daylight Saving Time: Spring Forward Tonight

Remember to turn your clocks ahead one hour tonight. For most of the U.S. daylight saving time officially begins late tonight at 2 a.m.The AASM recommends that you set your clocks ahead one hour in the early evening. Then go to sleep at your normal bedtime. This will help prevent the loss of an hour of sleep.Why did we ever implement daylight saving time in the first place? Last year author David

New PTSD Sleep Clinic Opens in New Mexico

A new PTSD Sleep Clinic is opening today in Albuquerque, N.M. The clinic will target the sleep problems that plague people who have post-traumatic stress disorder.The clinic is directed by AASM member Dr. Barry Krakow. He is the founder of the Maimonides International Nightmare Treatment Center.Krakow notes that antidepressant medications may not be the best option for people who have PTSD. And

World Kidney Day: Sleep & Kidney Disease

Today is World Kidney Day to focus attention on chronic kidney disease.The NIDDK reports that chronic kidney disease affects about 23 million adults in the U.S. Damaged kidneys fail to properly remove waste and extra water from the blood. The most advanced stage of the disease is kidney failure. This also is called end-stage renal disease.Diabetes is the leading cause of chronic kidney disease

Daylight Saving Time: Spring Forward Before March 14

It may not feel like spring is on the way. Much of the South is still shivering after one of the coldest months in recorded history.And people in the Northeast are recovering from winter storms that battered them with record snowfall. In fact Hawaii was the only state in the U.S. that had no trace of snow Feb. 13.But the March 14 change to daylight saving time is almost here. It’s an early sign

Dr. Oz: One Minute of Sleep Apnea Advice

Dr. Oz recently gave advice for obstructive sleep apnea in a segment called “1 Minute to Better Health.”First he outlined some of the ways that OSA can have a negative effect on your health and performance. It can cause daytime fatigue, poor mood, memory loss, heart disease, stroke and even death.Then he described who is most likely to have sleep apnea. It often occurs when extra fatty tissue

Sleep & Race in America

Author Studs Terkel called race “the American obsession.” In the U.S. race colors almost everything we do – even sleep.Today the National Sleep Foundation released the results of the 2010 Sleep in America Poll. It focused on the relationship between sleep and race.Telephone interviews were conducted with 1,007 adults between the ages of 25 and 60. The sample was equally divided among four groups:

Sleep Disorder Symptoms for National Sleep Awareness Week

The annual National Sleep Awareness Week begins today. It ends next weekend when we set our clocks ahead one hour for daylight saving time.You’re probably aware of common sleep problems such as insomnia, nightmares and snoring. But there are many other sleep disorders that can affect your sleep and your health.Here are some of the symptoms of other sleep disorders:Loud snoring, silent pauses &

Dr. Oz: Rejuvenate While you Sleep

According to Dr. Oz, making small changes to your bedtime routine can help you maintain or restore your youth while you sleep.Dr. Oz notes that everyone has some sort of bedtime routine they follow each night. By adding some of the steps below, you might be able to slow or even reverse the effects of aging.1. Wash your face with gentle soap that hydrates and exfoliates. 2. Use a moisturizer that

Getting Your Child to Sleep…Alone

Earlier this week on ABC, “Good Morning America” offered advice for parents whose children don’t like to sleep alone.GMA correspondent Cameron Mathison went on a special assignment to tackle the issue. The location? His own house.He and his wife Vanessa had been struggling to keep their two kids from sleeping in Mom and Dad’s bed. These co-sleeping parents would prefer to be sleeping solo. So

Narcolepsy: Waking Up with a Nicotine Patch

Doctors at the AASM-accredited Vanderbilt Sleep Disorders Center recently described how they used a nicotine patch to help a teen who has narcolepsy. Their case report appeared last month in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.A 17-year-old student with narcolepsy was struggling to make it to school on time. He was often late even though his school allowed him to report at 10 a.m. As a result

Sleep Loss & Weight Gain: Genetic or Behavioral?

There is growing evidence linking chronic sleep loss with an increased risk of obesity. Short sleep durations are associated with higher body mass index (BMI) scores.What is the nature of this relationship? Is it genetic? Environmental? Behavioral?A new study provides some intriguing insight. The results were published last month in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.The study surveyed 612

Frequent Naps & Type 2 Diabetes in Older Adults

A new study examined the relationship between napping and type 2 diabetes in older Chinese adults. The results were published yesterday in the journal Sleep.The study involved 19,567 people in China between the ages of 50 and 93 years. About 71 percent of participants were women.They received a physical exam. They also answered questions about their lifestyle and medical history. This included

Sleep, Weight & Abdominal Fat

A new study examined the relationship between sleep duration and abdominal fat in a group of Hispanic and African-American young adults. The results were published today in the journal Sleep.The study involved 1,107 adults between 18 and 81 years of age. Data were collected from 332 African-Americans and 775 Hispanics. Sixty-two percent of participants were female.Body mass index (BMI) and