Snoring Condition Hereditary?

According to research published in the journal “Chest” children with at least one parent who snored are 3 times more likely to snore themselves (compared to children whose parents did not snore). Snoring may be a sign of another problem known as Obstructive Sleep Apnea, or OSA. OSA can cause your breathing to stop during sleep because the air passages are being blocked. Snoring is an audible sign of a difficulty with breathing, but at least it is breathing. OSA can cause the person to stop breathing for more than 10 seconds at a time, leading to them waking up choking and gasping for air. Full Story : Stopsnoringassist.com….

Napping Linked to Better Daytime Functioning in Children

Preschool children who take naps may function better during the day, according to research presented at SLEEP 2009, the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies. The researchers found that, based on actigraphy data, 77 percent were classified as nappers, taking naps on an average of 3.4 days per week. The two groups had similar amounts of total sleep time based on actigraphy. The authors further note that non-napping children, based on caregiver reports, had higher scores on the hyperactivity, anxiety, and depression subscales of the BASC-II. Full Story : Modernmedicine.com….

Sleep Helps Us Let Go Of Negative Emotions

According to new research presented last week at the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Seattle, adequate sleep may underpin our ability to understand complex emotions properly in waking life. According to the research,participants who had reached REM sleep (when dreaming most frequently occurs) during their nap were better able to identify expressions of positive emotions like happiness in other people, compared with participants who did not achieve REM sleep or did not nap at all. Full Story : Tme.com….

Sleep apnea occurring during REM sleep linked to type 2 diabetes

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) episodes occurring during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is significantly associated with type 2 diabetes, according to a new study. Results indicated that the adjusted odds ratio for type 2 diabetes was 2.0 times higher in patients with REM-related OSA, defined as having an REM apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of 10 or more breathing pauses per hour of REM sleep. The study gathered data from 1,008 consecutive patients who were evaluated for OSA. Full Story : Taragana.net…..

Marriage Linked With Better Sleep

Marriage may improve your sleep, and better sleep may improve your marriage, two new studies suggest. Women who are married or who have stable partners appear to sleep better than women who have never married or lost a partner, according to research from an eight-year study presented at the Associated Professional Sleep Societies annual meeting. They also found that marital happiness lowers the risk of sleep problems, while marital strife heightens the risk.

Creative problem solving enhanced by REM sleep

Research led by a leading expert on the positive benefits of napping at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine suggests that Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep enhances creative problem-solving. The findings may have important implications for how sleep, specifically REM sleep, fosters the formation of associative networks in the brain. REM sleep helps achieve such solutions by stimulating associative networks, allowing the brain to make new and useful associations between unrelated ideas. Importantly, the study showed that these improvements are not due to selective memory enhancements. Full Story : Physorg.com….

Study shows sleep extension improves athletic performance and mood

Athletes who extended their nightly sleep and reduced accumulated sleep debt reported improvements in various drills conducted after every regular practice. Results of the study indicated that sleep extension in athletes was associated with a faster sprinting drill (approximately 19.12 seconds at baseline versus 17.56 seconds at end of sleep extension), increased hitting accuracy including valid serves (12.6 serves compared to 15.61 serves), and hitting depth drill (10.85 hits versus 15.45 hits). Full Story : PhysOrg.com….

Race and short sleep duration increase the risk for obesity

According to a research abstract that will be presented on Monday, June 8, at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, race significantly influences the risk of obesity conferred by short sleep duration, with blacks having a greater risk than whites. Results indicate that short sleep was associated with obesity, with the adjusted odds ratios for black Americans (1.78) and white Americans (1.43) showing that blacks had a 35 percent greater risk than whites of obesity associated with short sleep. The prevalence of obesity (body mass index of 30 or higher) was 52 percent for blacks and 38 percent for whites. The prevalence of short sleep (5 hours or less) was 12 percent for blacks and eight percent for whites. Full Story : EurekaAlert.com…

Sleep apnea may be more damaging than originally thought

Sleep apnea, a condition that causes obstructions in the airways of some people that can eventually lead to bouts of breathlessness, may be even more damaging than originally thought according to new research. Australian scientists at the University of New South Wales monitored the brains of men with sleep apnea while they slept to determine what effects the snoring and other symptoms were having on them. Full Story : Drcutler.com….

Waist size and body mass index are risk factors for sleep disordered breathing in children

A study in the June 1 issue of the journal Sleep found that waist circumference and body mass index (BMI) are consistent, independent risk factors for all severity levels of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) in children, suggesting that as with adult SDB, metabolic factors are important risk factors for childhood SDB. The study gathered data from 700 children between the ages of 5 and 12 years who were randomly selected from 18 public elementary schools in Dauphin County, Penn. Fifty-two percent were female, and 23.8 percent of the children were either Black or Hispanic. Full Story : PhysOrg.com…..

Get a Good Night Sleep

Here are few tips for good night sleep and sleep hygiene :

• Go to bed at the same time everyday.
• Set aside enough time to get the 7 hours of sleep.
• Aviod caffeine, heavy and spicy foods, and alcohol 4-6 hours before hitting the bed.
• Block any distracting lights and noises, computers or any other blinking devices.
• Only engage in sleep and sex in bed; don’t watch TV, or read or eat.
• Exercise regularly but not before bed-time.

Reason For Teenage Obesity

Dr. Catherine Berkey and colleagues from Harvard Medical School,  Growing Up Today Study (GUTS), surveyed more than 5000 girls, 14 - 21 years from all 50 states, and  their weekly habits were recorded. The researchers found that more Internet time, more alcohol consumption, and less sleep resulted in extra weight gain. Girls who consumed 2 or more alcoholic beverages a week or slept less than 6 hours at night gained more weight.  Girls who use Internet in addition to alcohol and sleep gain 4 extra pounds a year. Researchers are encouraging adolescent girls to replace recreational Internet time with more sleep, and avoid alcoholic beverage consumption to lose their weight.

Shorter REM And Overweight

A research done by Xianchen Liu, MD, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh, showed the association of short sleep time and overweight in children and adolescents. It’s mostly attributed to reduced REM sleep. When compared with normal-weight children, overweight children slept about 22 minutes less, shorter REM period, and lower REM activity, density and had lower sleep efficiency.

Poor Sleep Leading To Suicidal Behavior

According the study done by a researcher from Sao Paulo University in Brazil, poor sleep cycle was more associated with with pediatric bipolar disorder and pediatric unipolar disorder. There is a significant relation between suicidal behavior and the presence of sleep complaints. Moreover, the suicidal behavior in adults can start in childhood. Therefore, parents please pay close attention to your child’s sleeping cycle.