Futurity.org » sleep

Naps help toddlers ‘face’ the day

Jim Scott CU-Boulder — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:59:29 +0000

U. COLORADO-BOULDER (US) — A new study could be a wake-up call for parents of toddlers: Naps may be more important than you think.

The study shows toddlers between two and a half and three years old who miss only a single daily nap show more anxiety, less joy and interest, and a poorer understanding of how to solve problems, says Monique LeBourgeois, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Dream sleep soothes painful memories

Yasmin Anwar-UC Berkeley — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:12:25 +0000

UC BERKELEY (US) — During the dream phase of sleep, the body’s stress chemistry shuts down, taking the edge off difficult memories. The finding may help explain why people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) suffer reoccurring nightmares.

“The dream stage of sleep, based on its unique neurochemical composition, provides us with a form of overnight therapy, a soothing balm that removes the sharp edges from the prior day’s emotional experiences,” says Matthew Walker, associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley.

Sleep paralysis more common in students

A'ndrea Elyse Messer-Penn State — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 15:11:21 +0000

PENN STATE (US) — Students and psychiatric patients are more likely than others to experience sleep paralysis, a rare condition that can include hallucinations about alien abductions and demons.

Sleep paralysis, a condition that affects less the 8 percent of the general population, is defined as “a discrete period of time during which voluntary muscle movement is inhibited, yet ocular and respiratory movements are intact,” according to a new study in the current issue of Sleep Medicine Reviews.

Brain learns while body snoozes

Andy Henion-Michigan State — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 14:06:51 +0000

MICHIGAN STATE (US) — An unconscious form of memory may keep people learning even while they sleep.

A new study finds people derive vastly different effects from this sleep memory ability, with some memories improving dramatically and others not at all.

5 reasons freshmen are sleep deprived

David Orenstein-Brown — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:08:29 +0000

BROWN (US) — Sleep often suffers during the freshman year of college, but a new study finds young students may think their sleep quality is better than it really is.

For a long list of reasons, college freshmen are often subpar sleepers. Researchers say the most common hindrances are:

Dorm noise
Roommate (both for positive/social reasons and negative reasons)
Schoolwork
Having a room atmosphere not conducive to sleep
Personal health issues

Work by Kathryn Orzech, a postdoctoral fellow in sleep research at Brown University, and student health officials at the University of Arizona–Tucson, illuminates some of the factors undermining sleep. The research, published in the current issue of the Journal of American College Health, found that a campuswide media intervention costing less than $2,500 was able to help nearly 10 percent of students find ways to sleep better.

Squabbling parents affect babies’ sleep

A'ndrea Elyse Messer-Penn State — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 12:55:45 +0000

PENN STATE (US) — Parents who argue in the first months of their baby’s life may be setting their infant up for a lifetime of sleep problems.

Sleep is often cited as being the most problematic of a child’s behavior, but poor sleep patterns in children from ages 9 to 18 months are most likely influenced by conflict in their parents’ marriage, according to a new study in the journal Child Development.

Teen brain keeps change in high gear

David Orenstein-Stanford — Tue, 10 May 2011 18:40:33 +0000

BROWN (US) — Changes to the teenage brain are still going strong long after physical growth spurts have petered out.

During the teen years, the brain develops new connections but spends more time pruning away those that are no longer needed. New research, published in the journal Sleep, finds that reduction keeps the pace even as the teens approach adulthood.

It’s true: Babies wake up taller

Robin Tricoles-Emory — Thu, 05 May 2011 15:24:40 +0000

EMORY (US) — Grandma got it right. A new study confirms the old adage that infants wake up taller right after they sleep.

Findings from the first study of its kind measuring the link between daily growth and sleep show the two are inextricably linked. Details are reported in the journal Sleep.

Infant cry-sleep linked to later behavior

Peter Dunn-Warwick — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 20:24:00 +0000

U. WARWICK (UK) — Infants who have problems with persistent crying or with sleeping and/or feeding are far more likely to become children with significant behavioral problems, including ADHD.

Around 20 percent of all infants show symptoms of crying-sleep-feeding issues—known as regulatory problems—in their first year of life. Previous research has suggested these regulatory problems can have an adverse effect on behavioral or cognitive development later in childhood, but findings have been inconclusive.

Sleepless fish tell genetic bedtime story

James Devitt-NYU — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 01:06:23 +0000

NYU (US) — Cave fish need much less sleep than their surface counterparts. Figuring out the genetic reason why could shed light on variations—and disruptions—in human sleep.

Researchers from New York University examined surface fish in the species Astyanax mexicanus and three cave fish populations, Pachón, Tinaja and Molino, all of which inhabit northeast Mexico. Their findings are reported in the journal Current Biology.