Multiple Factors Hurt Teen Sleep

Only a small percentage of American teens regularly meet their sleep needs. The reason their losing valuable shuteye isn’t quite as simple as sometimes portrayed. A front page article in the Chicago Tribune earlier this week blamed sleep loss on technology such as video games and gadgets. While this is assessment isn’t untrue, it’s just one piece of the puzzle.Teens have a tendency to be night

New York City Launches Offensive on Bed Bug Infestations

Bedbugs are back. Exterminators are responding to 57 percent more bed bug infestations compared to five years ago. The blood feasting bugs are hitching a ride to apartments, houses and hotels now in urban and rural areas.Nowhere are the infestations worse than in New York City, the unofficial capitol of bed bugs. A report released Wednesday by the city’s Bed Bug Advisory Board found more than 6

Ravens Rookie Linebacker Kindle Fractures Skull, Narcolepsy to Blame?

Speculation is rampant after the Baltimore Raven’s first pick in the 2010 NFL draft suffered a bizarre off -field injury earlier this week. Rookie linebacker Sergio Kindle will miss training camp after fracturing his skull by falling down two flights of stairs. Numerous media outlets are linking the fall to narcolepsy. A sleep specialist might respond to these reports with a healthy dose of

Morning Larks Lead Better Careers, Chronotype Expert Claims

The business world wakes up bright and early and the evening types have no choice but to fight their natural inclination to keep up with competition. For this reason it’s the morning types that hold an advantage at the office. The body of research by chronotype expert Christoph Randler suggests people who reach their peak performance in the a.m. hours seem to be better positioned for career

Many Children in Mental Health Treatment Medicated for Insomnia

Parents and their children are both increasingly turning to the medicine cabinet to meet their sleep needs. One specific population of school-aged kids and adolescents seems to be the most medicated for sleep. Nearly a third of children in therapy for psychiatric or behavioral disorders are treated for insomnia using prescription and over-the-counter medications, a new study suggests.Nearly all

Review: "Inception" Limited Science, Spectacular Fiction

If all dreams were like “Inception” I would never sleep. Every dream in the film seems to end unpleasantly. Try going to sleep knowing you’ll likely get mauled by a mob of angry rioters or stabbed in the chest by a beautiful French woman. It doesn’t sound pleasant.Not to give away the film’s convoluted plot, but the dream world is a violent place where everything happens for a reason. In that

New Parents Lose Six Months of Sleep, says Unscientific Survey

Prospective parents usually go into the final months of pregnancy bracing for months of poor sleep. New information about the amount of sleep most lose may surprise even the most experienced mothers and fathers.There’s a report out that parents lose an average of six months of sleep in the first two years of raising a child.There’s good reason to be suspicious about this seemingly inflated

Dr. Oz Wrong on Melatonin Supplements

Dr. Oz is correct when he says melatonin is the most misused sleep aid in America, unfortunately he’s not helping the issue. In his latest sleep issue segment the television host called the hormone supplement “pretty effective” in regulating sleep. In actuality, there are mixed findings that melatonin supplements actually work.Research shows up to 1 mg of melatonin may help certain people with

Father Manages Sleep Apnea on National TV in “Losing It with Jillian” Finale

The final episode of NBC’s “Losing It with Jillian” serves as a warning about the lifestyle factors that can lead to sleep apnea. After years of refusing treatment for severe sleep apnea a family’s 328 pound patriarch decided to clean up his act fearing he could “drop dead at any second.”Enter tough love celebrity trainer Jillian Michaels. The famous taskmaster from “The Biggest Loser” whips a

Sleep Usually Sacrificed in Early Morning Work Schedules

Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise, so starting work at the crack of dawn shouldn’t be that difficult, right? In theory it’s not, but modern lifestyles make the old saying unrealistic. The early risers rarely go to sleep early enough, according to a new survey published in the journal Chronobiology International.More than 1 in 10 people occasionally wake up

Switch to Shift Work Leads to Sleep Struggles

Try going to sleep when the sun is rising and staying asleep through the brightest hours of the day. The odd sleep schedules that come with shift work is never easy. It goes against everything we learned at an early age. Turning your sleep schedule topsy-turvy is a shock to the system that can lead to insomnia and chronic fatigue.Switching from shift work to regular daytime hours has the opposite

Bowler Scores Another Sleep-Deprived Guinness World Record

One famous Guiness World Record holder feared for his life and sanity while trapped in a block of ice. It wasn’t the stunt itself that spooked self-professed street magician David Blaine, it was the sleep deprivation. He described five days without so much as a nap as the most horrific thing humans can experience, in a recent interview for the book “Wide Awake: A Memoire of Insomnia.” The Guiness

Counterpoint: Smartphones Can Help You Sleep

Inexpensive apps designed to help you sleep provide a compelling reason to bring your iPhone or Droid to the bedroom.Previously, The Sleep Education Blog gave a rundown of the reasons why smartphones may keep you awake at night. It turns out there are some pros to go with those cons.Both the App Store and the Android Marketplace are filled with all kinds of sleep-related downloadable programs.

Why iPhone and Droid Aren't Smart for the Bedroom

Smartphones more than ever are capturing the hearts of American consumers. Look at most tech blogs these days and you’ll find a vast number of articles are about Apple’s iPhone 4 or Google's latest Android phone. It’s not hard to see why. The modern “super phone” does it all; it’s a phone, a computer and an entertainment system rolled into a handheld device.Just don’t bring these devices into the

The Dream Team: Nolan’s “Inception” getting high praise

From the art house to the megaplex, we’ve seen countless attempts at recreating dreams for the big screen. Dream depictions date back to the beginning of film, and the success stories are limited. Most of the time dreams in film are hackneyed plot devices or lazy attempts at character development.The few exceptions are artsy surrealist films. Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali best portrayed the

Tart Cherry Juice Won’t Cure Insomnia

Drink tart cherry juice every morning and evening and at best you may see slight improvements in your sleep. A small pilot study shows the healthy beverage can help fight sleeplessness for certain people, but it’s no replacement for front line insomnia treatments. Tart cherry juice may be useful as a supplement to sleep hygiene and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Tart cherries contain melatonin, a

FDA Warns Against Nighttime Cramp Cure

A medication sometimes used to treat painful nighttime leg cramps may have some severe side effects including death. The FDA is advising you to stop using the Quinine, a drug sold under the brand name Qualaquin, unless otherwise directed.Quinine is primarily a malaria drug, but has a long history of off-label use to prevent leg cramps. An FDA study shows the prescription drug reduces the

The Facts on Lavender Soap for Restless Leg Syndrome

Television host Dr. Mehmet Oz recently recommended an unusual herbal remedy for restless leg syndrome. He claims placing a bar of lavender soap beneath the bed sheets has relaxing effects that alleviate the syndrome’s symptoms and encourage better sleep.See the clip below: It’s debatable whether lavender soap actually works as Dr. Oz claims. While you can find testimonials from patients and

Make Plans and Sleep on Them for Memory Boost

If you want to check off more items on that to-do list, your best bet may be to think it over and then get some rest.A new Washington University study found people are more likely follow through with their plans if they memorize them before bedtime. Study participants who tried to carry out their intentions before sleep had less success.The memory boost is a sort of “trigger effect.” A situation,

Sleep-Deprived Parents May Find Answers in Infant Study

New parents go to bed knowing its coming and its going to ruin their sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night, maybe around 3 or 4 a.m., they’ll waken to the sound of their infant child crying.Everyone seems to take a different approach to getting their baby to sleep again. Do you leave the child alone, or do you rock the baby to sleep? Do you bring your baby to your bed with you? Right now

Learning from Lindsay Lohan, Follow Doctors' Orders for Sleeping Pills

Former teen starlet turned jailbird Lindsay Lohan reportedly was asking for trouble by combining Ambien and several other drugs. A report by the tabloid TMZ claims the troubled actress’s medicine cabinet contained Zolpidem, Adderall and Dilaudid, a potentially dangerous combination. Although CBS News was unable to verify it, the Lohan’s story is an opportunity to talk about responsible use of

Middle-aged Sleep Loss Linked to Weight Gain for Women

It’s a troubling scenario for women as they get older: lose sleep and gain weight. New findings suggest middle-aged women with insomnia will likely pack on pounds.A Finnish study published in the International Journal of Obesity followed more than 7,300 middle-aged men and women for seven years. About a third of the women who reported having difficulty sleeping posted a double-digit weight

Students See Improvements With Later School Start Times

A slight change to high school start times may make a big impact on wakefulness and academic performance. A study published in the July issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine is the latest to show why starting school near dawn may not be in the students’ best interest.Improvements were across the board when a boarding school in Rhode Island pushed start times forward from 8 a.m. to

Learn About Sleep Apnea Treatments in 2 Minutes

Last week, Stanford University Hospitals and Clinics posted this educational video explaining sleep apnea. In the online video, AASM Past President Clete Kushida explains the top three treatment options:The three main treatments options are Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) , surgery and oral appliance therapy.If you think you may have sleep apnea book an appointment at your nearest

Don’t Let Bed Bugs Take a Bite Out of Holiday Travel

Last year, the Sleep Education Blog reported on the resurgence of bed bugs in North America, primarily on the both coasts. Infestations of the miniscule creepy crawlers can be difficult to clear once they get inside your home. And bed bugs find their way there by hitching a ride on your clothes or belongings.Americans hitting the highways for the holiday weekend should beware of these

Sleep Isn't Easy for Newly Divorced Women

40 percent of marriages in America end in divorce. Those who have seen their marriage crumble rarely describe the process in a positive light. The litigation, the loss of income, and the sudden social adjustments can be as emotionally difficult as the death of a child or loved one.Sleepless nights caused by anxiety and depression can be expected, especially for women. A study published in the