Napping Neurons Impair Performance in the Sleep-Deprived

A new study explains why sleep deprivation makes us irritable and impairs our ability to think clearly and make decisions. A team of sleep researchers in Wisconsin and Italy have discovered that parts of your brain may be nodding off while you remain awake. The study was conducted on lab rats, but the findings likely apply to humans. An EEG was used to measure the brain waves of rats as they were

Early School Start Times Endanger Teen Drivers, Study Finds

Teens as a group are notoriously bad drivers, with the highest annual accident and traffic violation rate of any age group in the United States. Parents have good reason to fear for the worst every time their child gets behind the wheel: auto accidents are the leading cause of death for America’s teens.A recent study in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine is directing some of the blame on

Air Traffic Controller Crackdown Misguided, Potentially Ineffective

Safety concerns persist as federal regulators continue to discipline air traffic controllers for dozing off on the job. Since March, at least five air traffic controllers have been caught napping while monitoring overnight flights.With all the recent media coverage, you might think this is a new national emergency - it’s not. Midnight-shift air traffic controllers have always had a grueling

Sleepy VP Biden Dozes During Obama Speech

Barak H. Obama became the 44th President of the United States thanks in part to his oratory gifts. On the 2008 campaign trail, he drew comparisons to some of the greatest speakers to grace the oval office. After two years in office, some supporters wonder whether he can once again inspire a nation.On Wednesday, President Obama laid out his plans to cut the national deficit, in a

Sleep Apnea and Sleepiness Raises Older Adults’ Death Risk

A study in the latest issue of the journal SLEEP provides further evidence that sleep apnea should never be left untreated. Older adults have twice the death risk when excessive daytime sleepiness is paired with obstructive sleep apnea.The study involved 289 participants at least 65 years old and with no clear signs of dementia or depression. The average age at the start of the study was about

Second Air Traffic Controller Sleeps through Midnight Shift

For the second time in two months, an air traffic controller was caught sleeping on the job. A Federal Aviation Administration report says the unnamed controller didn’t accidently doze off - he intentionally slept for five hours.The incident happened at McGee Tyson Airport in Knoxville, Tenn. on February 19 – more than a month before a supervisor working alone at Washington’s Reagan National

Online Toolset Helps Young Children and Their Parents Find Sleep

Sleep-deprived new parents may want to put down the baby books and turn to the internet for help. A new study in the April issue of the journal SLEEP shows internet-based interventions work wonders reducing infant and toddler sleep disturbances. Mothers in the study used Johnson & Johnson’s Customized Sleep Profile, an online program that compares a child’s sleep to other children of the same age