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Sleep

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• insomnia / sleep apnea / snoring / restless leg syndrome / narcolepsy

News & Research:

• ad Sleep Cuts Years Off Your Life, but Exercise Can Save You - WebMD, 4/11/23 - "Plenty of research points to sleep and physical activity as crucial factors impacting life expectancy. Regular exercise can lengthen life, while too little or too much sleep may cut it short ... But evidence is growing that exercise may counteract the negative effects of poor sleep"
• Why falling asleep with the lights on is bad for your health - Washington Post, 12/1/22 - "Light is a key regulator of our brain’s biological clock, known as the suprachiasmatic nucleus. “Light is powerful in that it can synchronize rhythms and, at the wrong time, it can desynchronize rhythms,” said Phyllis Zee, neurologist and director of the Center for Circadian and Sleep Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine ... Participants who slept with the lights on reported that they slept fine, but brain recordings showed that they spent less time in slow wave and rapid eye movement sleep, which are more restful stages critical for cognitive functioning ... The effects on their metabolism and heart were even more striking. Blood samples indicated that a single night sleeping under room light increased participants’ insulin resistance, which is important for blood sugar control, the following morning. But most surprising to the researchers was how the light exposure affected heart rate. “It was high the entire night,” Zee said. “That’s what was bizarre.”
• Waking Up at Night Could Be Your Brain Boosting Your Memory - Medscape, 8/3/22 - "Brief awakenings may be a sign you’ve slept well ... The study, done on mice, found that the stress transmitter noradrenaline wakes up the brain many times a night. These "microarousals" were linked to memory consolidation, meaning they help you remember the previous day's events. In fact, the more "awake" you are during a microarousal, the better the memory boost"
• REM Sleep Critical to Emotional Health: Study - WebMD, 7/5/22 - "REM sleep is the darling of the sleep world. Short for “rapid eye movement,” REM fascinates us because it’s when we do most of our dreaming – when, supposedly, all of our inner fears, frustrations, and passions play out"
• Light during sleep in older adults linked to obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure - Science Daily, 6/27/22 - "In a sample of older men and women ages 63 to 84, those who were exposed to any amount of light while sleeping at night were significantly more likely to be obese, and have high blood pressure and diabetes compared to adults who were not exposed to any light during the night"
• Seven hours of sleep is optimal in middle and old age, say researchers - Science Daily, 4/28/22 - "both insufficient and excessive sleep duration were associated with impaired cognitive performance, such as processing speed, visual attention, memory and problem-solving skills. Seven hours of sleep per night was the optimal amount of sleep for cognitive performance, but also for good mental health, with people experiencing more symptoms of anxiety and depression and worse overall wellbeing if they reported sleeping for longer or shorter durations"
• Sleep Deprivation Sends Fat to the Belly - Science Daily, 3/28/22 - "randomized, controlled study of 12 healthy, nonobese people randomized to controlled sleep restriction — 2 weeks of 4 hours of sleep a night — or controlled sleep of 9 hours a night, followed by a 3-day recovery period. The study was conducted in the hospital, monitored participants' caloric intake, and used accelerometry to monitor energy expense. Participants ranged in age from 19 to 39 years ... What we found was that at the end of 2 weeks these people put on just about a pound, 0.5 kg, of extra weight, which was significant but still very modest ... The average person who sleeps 4 hours a night thinks they're doing OK if they only put on a pound ... The problem is ... that when you do a more specific analysis you find that actually with the 1 pound the significant increase of the fat is in the belly area, particularly inside the belly"
• Brain refreshing: Why the dreaming phase matters - Science Daily, 8/25/21 - "rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which is when you tend to dream a lot ... There was a massive flow of red blood cells through the brain capillaries during REM sleep, but no difference between non-REM sleep and the awake state, showing that REM sleep is a unique state ... Given that reduced blood flow in the brain and decreased REM sleep are correlated with the development of Alzheimer's disease, which involves the buildup of waste products in the brain, it may be interesting to address whether increased blood flow in the brain capillaries during REM sleep is important for waste removal from the brain"
• Waking just one hour earlier cuts depression risk by double digits, study finds - Science Daily, 5/28/21 - "This suggests that if someone who normally goes to bed at 1 a.m. goes to bed at midnight instead and sleeps the same duration, they could cut their risk by 23%; if they go to bed at 11 p.m., they could cut it by about 40%" - Note: Here's my sleep formula.  It might be overkill but it works: 1000 mg of l-tryptophan (see tryptophan), 750 mg of GABA (see GABA), 200 mg of l-theanine (see l-theanine), 1 Valerian Nighttime (see valerian), 300 mg of relora (see relora, lowers cortisol), 300 mg of phosphatidyl serine (see phosphatidyl serine, lowers cortisol), 100 mg  of French oak extract (See French oak extract), 1300 mg of ashwaganda (See ashwagandha), 1 Nature's Way Chamomile Extract (see chamomile), tart cherry extract (see cherry extract), 88 mg saffron (see saffron), 25 mg B-6 - increases melatonin absorption, cut in half) (see B-vitamins), Jarrow B12/Folate and 3 mg melatonin (see melatonin).  Also, see my insomnia page.
• Get a Good Night's Sleep Before Your COVID Vaccine - WebMD, 1/20/21 - "As COVID-19 vaccines are being distributed, it is of utmost importance that patients continue to prioritize their sleep to maintain optimal health ... Getting sufficient, high-quality sleep on a regular basis strengthens your body's immune system and optimizes your response to a vaccine ... A good night's sleep before and after vaccination could be very advantageous"
• ‘A Rinsing of the Brain.’ New Research Shows How Sleep Could Ward Off Alzheimer's Disease - Time, 8/6/20 - "Spira studied brain scans of 70 healthy adults with an average age of 76. Indeed, the scans of those who reported less or compromised sleep showed higher levels of amyloid plaques than the scans of those who slept better ... These results very much support the notion that one of the roles of sleep is to actually accelerate the clearance of beta amyloid from the brain ... in healthy adults, during the day when the brain is active, there is less fluid bathing neurons and tissues in the organ. During sleep--and especially during deeper sleep--this solution saturates the brain in a cleansing flood. The finding reinforced Nedergaard's theory that sleeping may help clear the brain of toxic proteins that can eventually cause disease ... She and others don't believe sleep alone can fully prevent Alzheimer's or halt its progression. But together with other therapies that could emerge to treat the disease, sleep may be a powerful way to help people lower their risk even further. It's even possible that sleep could play an important role in keeping our brains healthy in other ways: by controlling metabolism and other cellular functions behind diseases like diabetes, hypertension and even cancer. As the latest research shows, a good night's sleep isn't a luxury--it's critical for keeping the brain healthy."
• Less REM Sleep Tied to Higher Mortality - Medscape, 7/14/20 - "over a 12-year period, each 5% reduction in REM sleep was associated with a 13% increase in mortality rate"
• Acute Sleep Loss Increases Blood Levels of Alzheimer's Biomarker - Medscape, 6/11/19 - "Acute sleep loss results in increased plasma levels of tau, which has been proposed as a biomarker to assess subsequent risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) ... This may be because of "increased neuronal activity that's required to sustain wakefulness during the night ... We noted an evening to morning increase in plasma levels of total tau following the acute sleep loss condition, while levels of total tau decreased in the normal sleep condition, such that there was a significant change in the evening to morning levels between these two conditions"
• Sleeping with artificial light at night associated with weight gain in women - Science Daily, 6/10/19 - "The results varied with the level of artificial light at night exposure. For example, using a small nightlight was not associated with weight gain, whereas women who slept with a light or television on were 17% more likely to have gained 5 kilograms, approximately 11 pounds, or more over the follow-up period. The association with having light coming from outside the room was more modest ... Also, the scientists wondered if not getting enough rest factored into the findings"
• Insomnia Can Kill You - NYT, 6/10/19 - "Chronic insomnia, which affects 5 percent to 10 percent of older adults, is more than just exhausting. It’s also linked to an increased risk of developing hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, heart attack, depression, anxiety and premature death ... the risk of developing hypertension was five times greater among those who slept less than five hours a night and three and a half times greater for those who slept between five and six hours. But there was no increased risk among those who regularly slept six or more hours. Likewise, the risk of developing diabetes was three times greater for the shortest sleepers and twice as great for those who slept between five and six hours ... Underlying many of these problems is how the body reacts to stress. Stress stimulates the release of substances like cortisol that are known to cause arousal and sleeplessness, and healthy middle-aged people are more vulnerable to the sleep-disturbing effects of these stimulating hormones. This may explain why older people are more likely to suffer from insomnia ... Start by practicing good sleep hygiene. Avoid or minimize the use of caffeine, cigarettes, stimulants and especially alcohol ... Exercise regularly, outdoors if possible, but not close to bedtime. Exposure to natural light during the day and early evening can help set your biological clock to foster sleepiness at bedtime. Avoid eating a heavy meal just before bed. If you’re hungry, have a light snack — a banana, a glass of warm milk or some whole-grain crackers can enhance the ability to fall asleep ... the National Sleep Foundation cautions against exposure at bedtime to the blue light of e-readers (such as the Amazon Kindle), smartphones, tablets, computers and even televisions. Blue light can act as a stimulant, suppressing production of the natural sleep hormone melatonin and delaying sleep onset. Instead, read by lamplight or get a device like the Kindle Paperwhite that doesn’t use blue light"
• Commercial Trackers a Good Gauge of Total Sleep Time - Medscape, 6/10/19 - "The study compared the Fitbit Charge HR (worn on the wrist), the Beddit 2 (placed under the bedsheet), and the ResMed S+ (placed on the nightstand) for accuracy in estimating TST against the clinically-validated actigraphy (Philips Actiwatch-L) ... The devices did fairly well in estimating total sleep time when compared to actigraphy but they did worse when compared to sleep diaries — but nobody should rely just on sleep diaries anymore ... The results showed significant differences in estimated TST between the three devices and the sleep diary, with the devices underestimating TST by 25 to 49 minutes on average ... Fitbit Charge HR ... -3.3% ... Beddit 2 ... -6.4% ... Actiwatch-L ... -9.7% ... ResMed S+ ... When compared against actigraphy, average TST estimated by the Fitbit Charge HR and the Beddit 2 did not differ significantly from actigraphy, while the ResMed S+ estimated mean TST was slightly lower than actigraphy (by 12.8 minutes)"
• Study links sleep-disordered breathing to age acceleration - Science Daily, 6/7/19 - "Results show that each standard deviation increase in the apnea-hypopnea index, a measure of sleep-disordered breathing severity, was associated with the equivalent of 215 days of biological age acceleration. Similarly, each standard deviation increase in the arousal index, a measure of sleep disruption, was associated with the equivalent of 321 days of age acceleration ... Sleep-disordered breathing, such as obstructive sleep apnea, is characterized by abnormalities of respiration during sleep. Episodes often result in reductions in blood oxygen saturation and are usually terminated by brief arousals from sleep. Nearly 30 million adults in the U.S. have obstructive sleep apnea. Common warning signs include snoring and excessive daytime sleepiness"
• Sleepless nights linked to high blood pressure - Science Daily, 6/4/19 - "Overall, those who had lower sleep efficiency showed an increase in blood pressure during that restless night. They also had higher systolic blood pressure -- the top number in a patient's blood pressure reading -- the next day ... Blood pressure is one of the best predictors of cardiovascular health"
• Protecting Sleep in the Hospital, for Both Patients and Doctors - NYT, 6/4/19 - "The next morning, the girl’s mother mentioned that it had taken another hour for her to fall asleep again. Was there anything that we could do to allow her to sleep through the night? Wouldn’t a good night’s sleep help with her condition? She had a point ... This is a fundamental question we have to ask about all of our patients, as research now shows that sleep disruption isn’t just inconvenient and doesn’t merely affect our moods or increase risk of disease. Disrupted sleep can in fact drastically affect how well patients heal from the condition that brought them into the hospital in the first place ... “Sleep is one of the most powerful, freely available health care systems you could ever wish for,” Dr. Walker told me. “But the irony is that the one place a patient needs sleep the most is the place they’re least likely to get it: in a hospital bed on the ward.” This year, his research found that a lack of sleep can worsen pain perception" - Note:  I've been pointing that out since Moby Dick was a minnow. I even wrote a scathing letter to the hospital. That and a dollar didn't even get me a cup of coffee at McDonald's.
• Why lack of sleep is bad for your heart - Science Daily, 5/21/19 - "people who sleep fewer than 7 hours per night have lower blood levels of three physiological regulators, or microRNAs, which influence gene expression and play a key role in maintaining vascular health ... MicroRNAs are small molecules that suppress gene expression of certain proteins in cells. The exact function of circulating microRNAs in the cardiovascular system, and their impact on cardiovascular health is receiving a lot of scientific attention, and drugs are currently in development for a variety of diseases, including cancer, to correct impaired microRNA signatures ... They are like cellular brakes, so if beneficial microRNAs are lacking that can have a big impact on the health of the cell ... people with insufficient sleep had 40 to 60 percent lower circulating levels of miR-125A, miR-126, and miR-146a, (previously shown to suppress inflammatory proteins) than those who slept enough"
• Americans aren't getting enough sleep and it's killing us - The Hill, 3/30/19 - "those who usually slept six or fewer hours increased their risk of death by stroke or heart failure by nearly 10 percent over a 7.8-year period. On the positive side, the study found that among those who under slept, daytime naps may compensate and mitigate these risks"
• An Afternoon Nap May Lower Your Blood Pressure - WebMD, 3/7/19 - "Taking a low-dose blood pressure drug, for example, can lower your level an average of 5 to 7 mm Hg, while a nap can reduce overall blood pressure an average of 5 mm Hg ... These findings are important because a drop in blood pressure as small as 2 mm Hg can reduce the risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack by up to 10 percent"
• Sleep paralysis and hallucinations are prevalent in student athletes - Science Daily, 6/4/18 - "Occasional sleep paralysis was reported by 18 percent of the sample, and 7 percent reported that this happens at least once per week" - Note: The first time I had sleep paralysis was after about three days without sleep because of the workload in Vietnam. It was too hot to sleep and I was laying in my sweat thinking I was awake but I must have been sleeping. Then I thought I heard voices of my mother and grandparents coming to visit me at my hooch. I knew that was impossible. I tried to sit up but I couldn't move for about two minutes. You have no idea how scary that it.  I thought it was schizophrenia so I was afraid to tell anyone. I was also working out a lot which may have contributed to it.  I never realized it was this common.
• Hour Nap May Boost Older Adults' Brain Function - WebMD, 1/6/17 - "Nearly 60 percent of the people regularly napped after lunch. The duration of these naps ranged from about 30 minutes to more than 90 minutes. Most of the participants slept for about an hour ... The people who napped for an hour after lunch performed better on the brain function tests than those who didn't nap at all. Those who slept for an hour also outperformed the people who slept for less than an hour or more than an hour ... The study participants who didn't nap, took short naps or very long naps had declines in their mental abilities that were up to six times greater than those who slept for an hour in the afternoon"
• Sleep paralysis: Fully awake and unable to move - Science Daily, 9/19/16 - "Sleep paralysis is an episode where your brain tells the body that you're still in the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep in which the limbs are temporarily paralyzed (to prevent physically acting out dreams), heart rate and blood pressure rise, and breathing becomes more irregular and shallow. This is the stage of sleep where your most vivid dreams occur, which can explain why some people may hallucinate during sleep paralysis ... Sleep paralysis is a frightening event ... Someone is awake, but they have no control of their body and might possibly even see things that aren't there because their brain still thinks it's in REM sleep" - Note: It says that about 8% of the population have it so someone else reading this probably has it.  I’ve had it happen about a dozen times in my life and it’s scary.  The first time was in Vietnam after going about three days with nearly no sleep because of the work load.  I thought it was some form of schizophrenia so I was afraid to tell anyone.
• Insulin sensitivity: One night of poor sleep could equal six months on a high-fat diet, study in dogs suggests - Science Daily, 11/4/15 - "Prior to the high-fat diet, one night of sleep deprivation reduced insulin sensitivity by 33%; this reduction was similar to the reduction caused by a high-fat diet alone (21%) ... Many patients understand the importance of a balanced diet, but they might not have a clear idea of how critical sleep is to maintaining equilibrium in the body"
• Getting less than 6 hours of sleep makes you 4x more likely to get a cold - Washington Post, 8/31/15 - "lack of sleep was the most important factor in predicting the likelihood of someone catching a cold, more so than age, stress levels and whether someone was a smoker, factors that were previously associated with a cold risk ... Available data suggests insufficient sleep disrupts the immune system and makes it less able to fight off a virus"
• Midday naps associated with reduced blood pressure and fewer medications - Science Daily, 8/30/15 - "midday sleepers had 5% lower average 24 hour ambulatory systolic BP (6 mmHg) compared to patients who did not sleep at all midday. Their average systolic BP readings were 4% lower when they were awake (5 mmHg) and 6% lower while they slept at night (7 mmHg) than non-midday sleepers ... Although the mean BP decrease seems low, it has to be mentioned that reductions as small as 2 mmHg in systolic blood pressure can reduce the risk of cardiovascular events by up to 10% ... midday sleepers pulse wave velocity levels were 11% lower and left atrium diameter was 5% smaller. "These findings suggest that midday sleepers have less damage from high blood pressure in their arteries and heart," ... midday sleep is associated with lower 24 hour blood pressure, an enhanced fall of BP in night, and less damage to the arteries and the heart. The longer the midday sleep, the lower the systolic BP levels and probably fewer drugs needed to lower BP" 
• Sleep loss impedes decision making in crisis, research shows - Science Daily, 5/7/15 - "Our findings tell us that putting sleep-deprived people in perilous environments is an inherently risky business and raises a number of medical, legal and financial implications"
• Expert panel recommends new sleep durations - Science Daily, 2/2/15 - "Younger adults (18-25): Sleep range is 7-9 hours (new age category) ... Adults (26-64): Sleep range did not change and remains 7-9 hours ... Older adults (65+): Sleep range is 7-8 hours (new age category)"
• U-shaped association of sleep duration with metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance in patients with type 2 diabetes: The Fukuoka Diabetes Registry - Metabolism. 2013 Dec 7 - "A total of 4402 Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes aged ≥20years were divided into 5 groups according to self-reported sleep duration: less than 5.5h, 5.5-6.4h, 6.5-7.4h, 7.5-8.4h, and more than 8.5h ... The proportions of patients who had metabolic syndrome increased significantly in both patients with shorter and longer sleep duration compared with those with 6.5-7.4h of sleep"
• Sleep to protect your brain - Science Daily, 12/31/13 - "We observed that a night of total sleep loss was followed by increased blood concentrations of NSE and S-100B. These brain molecules typically rise in blood under conditions of brain damage. Thus, our results indicate that a lack of sleep may promote neurodegenerative processes ... In conclusion, the findings of our trial indicate that a good night's sleep may be critical for maintaining brain health"
• Sleep deprivation linked to aging skin, study suggests - Science Daily, 7/23/13 - "Our study is the first to conclusively demonstrate that inadequate sleep is correlated with reduced skin health and accelerates skin aging. Sleep deprived women show signs of premature skin aging and a decrease in their skin's ability to recover after sun exposure ... The study involved 60 pre-menopausal women between the ages of 30 and 49, with half of participants falling into the poor quality sleep category ... Using the SCINEXA skin aging scoring system, poor quality sleepers showed increased signs of intrinsic skin aging including fine lines, uneven pigmentation and slackening of skin and reduced elasticity. In this system, a higher score means a more aged appearance. The average score in the good quality sleepers was 2.2 versus 4.4 in poor quality sleepers"
• Getting enough sleep could help prevent type 2 diabetes - Science Daily, 5/18/13 - "studied 19 non-diabetic men, with an average age of 28.6 years, who for six months or longer (average, 5.1 years) self-reported inadequate sleep during the workweek. On average, the men received only 6.2 hours of sleep each work night. But they regularly caught up on their sleep on the weekends, sleeping an extra 37.4 percent, or 2.3 hours, per night ... When the men slept 10 hours a night on each of three nights of catch-up sleep, their insulin sensitivity was much better than when they had persistent sleep restriction, the scientists found. Their insulin resistance test score also improved (decreased) with sleep extension"
• Active duty military personnel prone to sleep disorders and short sleep duration - Science Daily, 1/31/13 - "the majority of participants (85.1 percent) had a clinically relevant sleep disorder. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was the most frequent diagnosis (51.2 percent), followed by insomnia (24.7 percent). Participants' mean self-reported home sleep duration was only 5.74 hours per night, and 41.8 percent reported sleeping five hours or less per night. According to the AASM, individual sleep needs vary; however, most adults need about seven to eight hours of nightly sleep to feel alert and well-rested during the day"
• Why being tired makes us look ugly - nbcnews.com, 12/19/12 - "Stress causes a drop in the skin’s ability to protect itself ... And stress can also lead to less melanin, causing that jaundiced, haggard look. Melanin pigments the skin, giving humans their complexion ... Not sleeping causes us to accumulate water under our eyes, giving us that extra "baggage" ... What you get from stress is the wrinkles of aging .. Stress causes you to age ... stress not only causes wrinkles on the face but wrinkles in your arteries, as well, which can cause serious problems at an earlier age ... Your cells are biologically 10 to 15 years older … if you are chronically stressed ... If you are 45, the cells signal as if they are 60 years old"
• Lack of sleep affects bone health and bone marrow activity - Science Daily, 9/18/12 - "Drs. Everson and Toth, together with Anne Folley present exciting results indicating that sleep deprivation in rats arrests new bone formation, decreases fat within the red marrow and increases platelet levels. If true in humans, and I expect that it may be, this work will have great impact on our understanding of the impact of sleep deprivation on osteoporosis and inability to repair bone damage as we age"
• Sleep Quality Now May Affect Cognition Later - Medscape, 7/17/12 - "The first, which examined data from more than 15,000 participants in the Nurses' Health Study, showed that women who regularly slept 5 hours or less a night or 9 hours or more a night had an increased risk for cognitive decline compared with the women who regularly slept for the common goal of 7 hours per night ... A second study ... showed that a significantly increased risk for MCI/dementia at the 5-year study point was found for the women with sleep disordered breathing at baseline compared with those who did not have the condition (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.33; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.28 - 4.25)"
• Obesity, depression found to be root causes of daytime sleepiness - Science Daily, 6/13/12 - "Three studies being presented June 13 at sleep 2012 conclude that obesity and depression are the two main culprits making us excessively sleepy while awake ... Insufficient sleep and obstructive sleep apnea also play a role; both have been linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, depression, diabetes, obesity and accidents"
• Top risk of stroke for normal-weight adults: Getting under 6 hours of sleep - Science Daily, 6/11/12 - "Habitually sleeping less than six hours a night significantly increases the risk of stroke symptoms among middle-age to older adults who are of normal weight and at low risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) ... After adjusting for body-mass index (BMI), they found a strong association with daily sleep periods of less than six hours and a greater incidence of stroke symptoms for middle-age to older adults, even beyond other risk factors"
• Lack of sleep makes your brain hungry - Science Daily, 1/18/12 - "a specific brain region that contributes to a person's appetite sensation is more activated in response to food images after one night of sleep loss than after one night of normal sleep. Poor sleep habits can therefore affect people's risk of becoming overweight in the long run"
• Short Sleep Duration and Poor Sleep Quality Increase the Risk of Diabetes in Japanese Workers With No Family History of Diabetes - Diabetes Care. 2011 Dec 30 - "family history of diabetes (FHD) ... Having diabetes was defined as taking medication for diabetes or a fasting plasma glucose level of ≥126 mg/dL at follow-up (2007-2008) ... after adjustment for potential confounding factors, the odds ratio (95% CI) for developing diabetes was 5.37 (1.38-20.91) in those with a sleep duration of ≤5 h compared with those with a sleep duration of >7 h. Other risk factors were awakening during the night (5.03 [1.43-17.64]), self-perceived insufficient sleep duration (6.76 [2.09-21.87]), and unsatisfactory overall quality of sleep (3.71 [1.37-10.07]). In subjects with an FHD, these associations were either absent or weaker"
• People learn while they sleep, study suggests - Science Daily, 9/27/11
• Primary schoolchildren that sleep less than 9 hours do not perform as well academically, study suggests - Science Daily, 9/13/11 - "sleeping less than nine hours, going to bed late and no bedtime routine generally affects children's academic skills ... the lacking hours of sleep distorts children's performance in linguistic knowledge, grammar and spelling rules, and key aspects in the organisation and comprehension of texts, to name a few examples. They are basic skills, meaning that if the pupil, due to a lack of sleep, develops problems in this area, it could have a repercussion on all subjects"
• Poor sleep quality increases risk of high blood pressure - Science Daily, 8/29/11 - "SWS, one of the deeper stages of sleep, is characterized by non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) from which it's difficult to awaken ... people with the lowest level of SWS had an 80 percent increased risk of developing high blood pressure ... Good quality sleep is the third pillar of health ... People should recognize that sleep, diet and physical activity are critical to health, including heart health and optimal blood pressure control"
• Alcohol interferes with the restorative functions of sleep - Science Daily, 8/15/11 - "alcohol interferes with the restorative functions of sleep ... alcohol suppresses the high-frequency power during sleep in a dosage-dependent manner ... Although the first half of sleep after alcohol intake looks good on the EEG, the result of the assessment regarding the autonomic nerve system shows that drinking leads to insomnia rather than good sleep ... More specifically, as alcohol consumption increased, the heart rate increased and the spectral power of HRV measured at each frequency range decreased. Also, the low-frequency/high-frequency ratio that is considered an index of the balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems was increased"
• The good life: Good sleepers have better quality of life and less depression - Science Daily, 6/14/11 - "people with a "normal" sleep duration of six to nine hours per night had higher self-reported scores for quality of life and lower scores for depression severity compared to short and long sleepers ... It was surprising to see that sleeping less than six hours and more than nine hours is associated with a similar decrease in quality of life and increase in depressive symptoms" - Note:  After reading the below study on lithium I decided to try it.  It seems to give the sleep quality I had when I was a kid plus your more alert the next day.  It also give a heck of a buzz the next day.  However if I take more than half a tablet per day it actually makes me feel worse.
  • Fountain of youth from the tap? Environmental lithium uptake promotes longevity, scientists demonstrate in worms - Science Daily, 2/18/11 - "A regular uptake of the trace element lithium can considerably promote longevity ... even a low concentration of lithium leads to an increased life expectancy in humans as well as in a model organism, the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans ... the Jena scientists analyzed the mortality rate in 18 adjacent Japanese municipalities in relation to the amount of lithium contained in tap water from the respective regions. "We found that the mortality rate was considerably lower in those municipalities with more lithium in the drinking water," Ristow explains the key finding. In a second experiment, the Jena scientists examined exactly this range of concentration in the model organism C. elegans. The result was confirmed: "The average longevity of the worms is higher after they have been treated with lithium at this dosage," ... we know already that a higher uptake of lithium through drinking water is associated with an improvement of psychological well-being and with decreased suicide rates" - See lithium products at iHerb.
• ‘Sleep on it’ is sound, science-based advice, study suggests - Science Daily, 6/7/11 - "Subjects who got to sleep between the game's brief introduction and the longer play session showed both superior behavioral outcome, that is, more advantageous draws, and superior rule understanding when asked to explain them at the end, than those who did not sleep between sessions"
• Too much or too little sleep may accelerate cognitive aging, study shows - Science Daily, 5/1/11 - "women and men who begin sleeping more or less than 6 to 8 hours per night are subject to an accelerated cognitive decline that is equivalent to four to seven years of aging ... The researchers also found that, in women, sleep duration of 7 hours of sleep per night was associated with the highest score for every cognitive measure, followed closely by 6 hours of nightly sleep. Among men, cognitive function was similar for those who reported sleeping 6, 7 or 8 hours; only short and long sleep durations of less than 6 hours or more than 8 hours appeared to be associated with lower scores"
• Sleep duration is significantly associated with carotid artery atherosclerosis incidence in a Japanese population - Atherosclerosis. 2011 Feb 24 - "Sleep duration ≥7h correlated significantly with the incidence of IMT≥1.2mm when compared with a sleep duration of 6h (multivariate-adjusted odds ratio, 1.263; 95% confidence interval, 1.031-1.546, P=0.024). Shorter sleep duration ≤5h did not correlate significantly with the risk compared with a sleep duration of 6h"
• Apnea may be cause for awakening and voiding for those with enlarged prostates - Science Daily, 3/15/11 - "more than half (57.8 percent) of patients with enlarged prostates may in fact have the sleep disorder, and that the awakenings that patients ascribed to their need to urinate at night may be actually caused by their sleep disorders"
• Effects of a Month-Long Napping Regimen in Older Individuals - Medscape, 3/3/11 - "Napping had no negative effect on subsequent nighttime sleep quality or duration, resulting in a significant increase in 24-hour sleep amounts. Such increased sleep was associated with enhanced cognitive performance but had no effect on simple reaction time. Participants were generally able to adhere better to the 45-minute than the 2-hour nap regimen"
• Napping may help with blood pressure management - Science Daily, 2/28/11 - "those participants who slept for at least 45 minutes during the day had lower average blood pressure after psychological stress than those who did not sleep ... The average sleep duration is now almost 2 hours shorter per night than it was 50 years ago. And this could be impacting our long-term health. For example, sleeping less has been linked to an increased risk of hypertension and cardiovascular problems generally ... One group was allotted a 60-minute interval during the day when they had the opportunity to sleep; the other group did not sleep during the day ... daytime sleep seemed to have a restorative effect with students in the sleep condition reporting lower scores of sleepiness than those who did not sleep. Although blood pressure and pulse rates rose in both groups between baseline and the stress phase, during the recovery phase, those who had napped had significantly lower average blood pressure readings than those who had not slept"
• U-Shaped Curve for Sleep Duration and Cardiovascular Disease - Medscape, 2/10/11 - "They list causative mechanisms relating short duration of sleep to adverse health outcomes as including changes in circulating levels of leptin and ghrelin, which in turn would increase appetite, caloric intake, reduce energy expenditure, and facilitate the development of obesity and impaired glycemic control, with increased cardiovascular risk. Increased cortisol secretion and altered growth hormone metabolism have also been implicated. Low-grade inflammation is also activated during short sleep, with possible implications not only for cardiovascular disease but also for other chronic conditions, including cancer ... people reporting consistently sleeping five hours or less per night should be regarded as a higher-risk group for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. And that sleeping nine hours or more per night may represent a useful diagnostic tool for detecting subclinical or undiagnosed comorbidity"
• Sleep duration predicts cardiovascular outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies - Eur Heart J. 2011 Feb 7 - "Short duration of sleep was associated with a greater risk of developing or dying of CHD (RR 1.48, 95% CI 1.22-1.80, P < 0.0001), stroke (1.15, 1.00-1.31, P = 0.047), but not total CVD (1.03, 0.93-1.15, P = 0.52) with no evidence of publication bias (P = 0.95, P = 0.30, and P = 0.46, respectively). Long duration of sleep was also associated with a greater risk of CHD (1.38, 1.15-1.66, P = 0.0005), stroke (1.65, 1.45-1.87, P < 0.0001), and total CVD (1.41, 1.19-1.68, P < 0.0001) with no evidence of publication bias (P = 0.92, P = 0.96, and P = 0.79, respectively). Conclusion Both short and long duration of sleep are predictors, or markers, of cardiovascular outcomes"
• Lack of sleep found to be a new risk factor for colon cancer - Science Daily, 2/8/11 - "individuals who averaged less than six hours of sleep at night had an almost 50 percent increase in the risk of colorectal adenomas compared with individuals sleeping at least seven hours per night. Adenomas are a precursor to cancer tumors, and left untreated, they can turn malignant"
• The key to being attractive (and looking healthy)? A good night's sleep - Science Daily, 12/14/10 - "The observers judged the faces of sleep-deprived participants as less healthy, less attractive and more tired ... The authors conclude that the facial signals of sleep deprived people affect facial appearance and judgments of attractiveness, health and tiredness"
• Poor sleep quality increases inflammation, community study finds - Science Daily, 11/14/10
• Older people advised that taking an afternoon nap can lead to more active lives - Science Daily, 10/26/10
• Sleep loss limits fat loss - Science Daily, 10/4/10 - "When dieters got adequate sleep, however, more than half of the weight they lost was fat. When they cut back on their sleep, only one-fourth of their weight loss came from fat"
• Women's study finds longevity means getting just enough sleep - Science Daily, 9/30/10 - "the secret to a long life may come with just enough sleep. Less than five hours a night is probably not enough; eight hours is probably too much ... sleeping 6.5 to 7.5 hours per night was associated with best survival ... when sleep was measured objectively, the best survival was observed among women who slept 5 to 6.5 hours ... Women who slept less than five hours a night or more than 6.5 hours were less likely to be alive at the 14-year follow-up"
• Short sleepers at higher risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease, study finds - Science Daily, 9/7/10
• Short and long sleep durations are independent risk factors for cardiovascular disease, study suggests - Science Daily, 8/1/10
• Getting extra sleep improves the athletic performance of collegiate football players - Science Daily, 6/8/10 - "football players' sprint times improved significantly after seven to eight weeks of sleep extension. Average sprint time in the 20-yard shuttle improved from 4.71 seconds to 4.61 seconds, and the average 40-yard dash time decreased from 4.99 seconds to 4.89 seconds. Daytime sleepiness and fatigue also decreased significantly, while vigor scores significantly improved"
• Long sleep duration linked to an increased risk of metabolic syndrome in older adults - Science Daily, 6/8/10 - "participants who reported a habitual daily sleep duration of eight hours or more including naps were 15 percent more likely to have metabolic syndrome"
• Middle-aged men: Could dwindling testosterone levels decrease sleep? - Science Daily, 5/14/10 - "In young men, deep sleep represents 10 to 20 percent of total sleep. By age 50, it decreases to five to seven percent. For men over 60, it can disappear altogether ... Because deep sleep requires great synchronization ... Low levels of testosterone intensify the lack of synchronization and can explain 20 percent of men's inability to experience deep sleep ... Sekerovic suggests dwindling testosterone levels are what impact sleep, not vice-versa, as other studies have suggested ... If Sekerovic is right, his findings could re-ignite the hormone therapy debate. "The loss of deep sleep is a serious problem that could be treated with testosterone. That would be tremendous progress,""
• To learn better, take a nap (and don't forget to dream) - Science Daily, 4/22/10 - "What's got us really excited, is that after nearly 100 years of debate about the function of dreams, this study tells us that dreams are the brain's way of processing, integrating and really understanding new information ... Dreams are a clear indication that the sleeping brain is working on memories at multiple levels, including ways that will directly improve performance"
• Can a Mid-Day Nap Make You Smarter? - WebMD, 2/22/10 - "People in the group which didn't nap had a slight reduction of about 10% in their learning capacity during the day ... ''whereas the people who had a nap in between the first time they tried to learn relative to the second time they tried to learn actually improved their ability to learn by 10% ... The total time the participants slept during the 90-minute window didn't matter much in their later performance, Walker found. But the greater the amount of stage 2 non-REM sleep, a lighter form of non-dreaming sleep, the better their performance"
• Naps help babies learn and retain new information - Science Daily, 2/21/10
• Less Sleep Normal Part of Aging? - WebMD, 2/1/10
• Sleep Loss Linked To Increase In Alzheimer's Plaques - Science Daily, 9/24/09 - "Chronic sleep deprivation in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease makes Alzheimer's brain plaques appear earlier and more often"
• Sleep Helps Reduce Errors In Memory, Research Suggests - Science Daily, 9/10/09
• Why Sleep? Snoozing May Be Strategy To Increase Efficiency, Minimize Risk - Science Daily, 8/23/09
• Less Sleep Associated With High, Worsening Blood Pressure In Middle Age - Science Daily, 6/11/09 - "After excluding patients taking medication for high blood pressure and controlling for age, race and sex, the researchers found that individuals who slept fewer hours were significantly more likely to have higher systolic (top number) and diastolic (bottom number) blood pressure ... Each hour of reduction in sleep duration was associated with a 37 percent increase in the odds of developing high blood pressure"
• Link Found Between Poor Sleep Quality And Increased Risk Of Death - Science Daily, 6/10/09
• Poor Sleep Is Associated With Lower Relationship Satisfaction In Both Women And Men - Science Daily, 6/10/09
• Too little sleep may raise blood pressure - MSNBC, 6/9/09 - "The study ... found missing an average one hour of sleep over five years raised the risk of developing high blood pressure by 37 percent"
• Long And Short Sleep Durations Are Associated With Increased Risk For Diabetes - Science Daily, 6/8/09 - "the adjusted odds ratio was 1.24 for diabetes associated with short sleep (five hours per night or less) and 1.48 for diabetes associated with long sleep (nine or more hours per night)"
• Sleep Restriction Results In Weight Gain Despite Decreases In Appetite And Consumption - Science Daily, 6/8/09 - "in the presence of free access to food, sleep restricted subjects reported decrease in appetite, food cravings and food consumption; however, they gained weight over the course of the study. Thus, the finding suggests that energy intake exceeded energy expenditure during the sleep restriction ... Results indicate that people whose sleep was restricted experienced an average weight gain of 1.31 kilograms over the 11 days of the study"
• Lose Weight With a Good Night's Sleep? - WebMD, 5/16/09 - "The average BMI for short sleepers was 28.3. That compares to an average BMI of 24.5 for long sleepers. The BMI range for normal weight is considered to be 18.5-24.9 and for overweight 25.0-29.9. BMI is calculated from a person's weight and height and is an indicator of body fat"
• Inadequate Sleep Leads To Behavioral Problems, Study Finds - Science Daily, 4/27/09
• Too Much Or Too Little Sleep Increases Risk Of Diabetes - Science Daily, 4/21/09 - "The risk is 2½ times higher for people who sleep less than 7 hours or more than 8 hours a night"
• Chronic Insomnia With Short Sleep Duration Is Significant Risk Factor For Hypertension - Science Daily, 4/9/09 - "participants with insomnia and an objectively measured, severely short sleep duration of less than five hours had a risk for hypertension that was 500 percent higher than participants without insomnia who slept more than six hours. People with insomnia and a moderately short sleep duration of five to six hours had a risk for hypertension that was 350 percent higher than normal sleepers"
• Sleep May Help Clear Brain For New Learning - Science Daily, 4/2/09
• Sleep: Spring Cleaning For The Brain? - Science Daily, 4/2/09
• Chronic Insomnia With Short Sleep Duration Is Significant Risk Factor For Hypertension - Science Daily, 4/1/09 - "A study in the April 1 issue of the journal SLEEP is the first to demonstrate that chronic insomnia with objectively measured short sleep time is an independent and clinically significant risk factor for hypertension"
• Late Bedtimes Linked to Heart Disease - WebMD, 3/30/09 - "The fewer hours a man slept each night, the higher his BMI, blood pressure, and triglyceride levels"
• Consuming A Little Less Salt Could Mean Fewer Deaths - Science Daily, 3/11/09 - "Participants who slept on average less than six hours a night during the work week, when followed over six years, were 4.56 times more likely than those getting six to eight hours of sleep to convert from normal blood sugar levels to impaired fasting glucose"
• Inflammation May Be Link Between Extreme Sleep Durations And Poor Health - Science Daily, 2/7/09
• What Happens When We Sleep - Science Daily, 1/28/09
• Go ahead, sleep in — it’s good for the heart - msnbc.com, 12/23/08 - "About 12 percent of the people in the study developed artery calcification during the five-year study period. Among those who had slept less than five hours a night, 27 percent had developed artery calcification ... That dropped to 11 percent among those who slept five to seven hours, and to 6 percent among those who slept more than seven hours a night"
• Poor Sleep Quality Linked To Postpartum Depression - Science Daily, 12/10/08
• Physical Activity, Sleep May Cut Cancer Risk - WebMD, 11/17/08 - "Among the most physically active women younger than 65 -- women who reported getting about an hour a day of moderate physical activity -- cancer was 47% rarer for those who got at least seven hours of nightly sleep. Those findings held regardless of other cancer risk factors"
• Loss Of Sleep, Even For A Single Night, Increases Inflammation In The Body - Science Daily, 9/2/08 - "losing sleep for even part of one night can trigger the key cellular pathway that produces tissue-damaging inflammation. The findings suggest a good night’s sleep can ease the risk of both heart disease and autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis"
• Less REM Sleep Associated With Being Overweight Among Children And Teens - Science Daily, 8/4/08
• Extra Sleep Improves Athletic Performance - Science Daily, 6/9/08 - "Getting extra sleep over an extended period of time improves athletic performance, mood and alertness ... The athletes then extended their sleep to 10 hours per day for six to seven weeks ... After obtaining extra sleep, athletes swam a 15-meter meter sprint 0.51 seconds faster, reacted 0.15 seconds quicker off the blocks, improved turn time by 0.10 seconds and increased kick strokes by 5.0 kicks"
• Smoking May Wreak Havoc on Sleep - WebMD, 2/4/08
• Lack Of Deep Sleep May Increase Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes - Science Daily, 1/1/08 - "They found that when slow-wave sleep was suppressed for only three nights, young healthy subjects became about 25 percent less sensitive to insulin"
• Insufficient Sleep Raises Risk Of Diabetes, Study Suggests - Science Daily, 12/1/07 - "subjects who reported sleeping five or fewer hours and subjects who reported sleeping nine or more hours were significantly more likely to have incident diabetes over the follow-up period than were subjects who reported sleeping seven hours"
• Sleep a Speedy Time for Memory Making - WebMD, 11/15/07
• Kids: Less Sleep May Lead to Overweight - WebMD, 11/5/07
• Lack Of Sleep Doubles Risk Of Death... But So Can Too Much Sleep - Science Daily, 9/24/07 - "Those who had cut their sleeping from 7h to 5 hours or less faced a 1.7 fold increased risk in mortality from all causes, and twice the increased risk of death from a cardiovascular problem in particular ... those individuals who showed an increase in sleep duration to 8 hours or more a night were more than twice as likely to die as those who had not changed their habit, however, predominantly from non-cardiovascular diseases"
• Extra Sleep Boosts Athletic Performance - WebMD, 6/13/07
• Sleep Strengthens Your Memory - Science Daily, 4/24/07
• Sleep Deprivation Blurs Moral Judgment - WebMD, 3/2/07
• How much sleep do I really need? - Dr. Murray
• Some Respect, Please, for the Afternoon Nap - New York Times, 2/25/07
• Sleep Deprivation May Impair Memory - WebMD, 2/12/07
• Take a Nap, Protect Your Heart? - WebMD, 2/12/07 - "A total of 23,681 residents of Greece with no history of heart disease, stroke, or cancer at enrollment were followed an average of 6.3 years ... people who took naps at least three times a week for an average of at least 30 minutes were 37% less likely to die of heart disease than people who did not take regular naps"
• On-the-job naps might cut risk for heart problems - USA Today, 2/12/07 - "In the largest study to date on the health effects of napping, researchers tracked 23,681 healthy Greek adults for an average of about six years. Those who napped at least three times weekly for about half an hour had a 37% lower risk of dying from heart attacks or other heart problems than those who did not nap"
• Less Sleep, More Pounds - WebMD, 5/23/06
• Skimpy Sleep May Up Blood Pressure - WebMD, 4/3/06 - "Among people aged 32-59, those who reported getting less than six hours of nightly sleep in the original survey were twice as likely to have been diagnosed with high blood pressure"
• Study Shows How Sleep Improves Memory - Science Daily, 6/29/05
• Sleep Helps the Brain Learn - WebMD, 6/14/05
• How Sleep, or Lack of, Affects Teen Athletes - WebMD, 5/13/05
• Long or Short Sleep Time May Be Associated With Diabetes - Medscape, 4/26/05 - "Sleep duration of six hours or less or nine hours or more is associated with increased prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT)"
• Less Sleep Could Mean More Weight - WebMD, 1/10/05 - "Total sleep times tended to decrease as body weight increased ... The difference in total sleep time between patients who were normal weight and those who weren't was only 16 minutes per day"
• The New Science of Sleep - Time Magazine Cover Story (paid prescription), 12/20/04
• Sleep Loss Feeds Appetite - WebMD, 12/7/04
• Sleep More and You May Control Eating More - WebMD, 11/9/04
• Sleep Disorders Often Indicate Multiple Health Conditions - Science Daily, 11/5/04
• Deep Sleep Cements Learning - WebMD, 10/27/04
• Zzzzzzzz! How much sleep is enough? - MSNBC, 6/21/04
• Too Much Sleep Just as Bad as Too Little? - WebMD, 3/23/04
• Rx for Teen Moodiness: Sleep - WebMD, 2/9/04
• Sleep on It, Really It Helps - WebMD, 1/21/04
• Sleep A Must For Creative Thinking - CBS News, 1/21/04
• Chronic Low-Back Pain and Related Disability Improved With Medium-Firm Mattress Use - Doctor's Guide, 11/16/03
• Losing Sleep Impairs Frontal Cortex Function - Doctor's Guide, 11/14/03
• Sleep Boosts Memory in Different Ways - WebMD, 10/8/03
• Sleep Disorders Tied to Poor Brain Chemistry - Physician's Weekly, 8/4/03
• A Good Nap May Help You Learn - WebMD, 6/27/03
• Men Handle Sleep Deprivation Worse than Women - WebMD, 6/13/03
• Neuroactive Steroid Concentrations Unaffected By Sleep Deprivation During Major Depression - Doctor's Guide, 3/21/03
• Sustained Reduced Sleep Can Have Serious Consequences - Doctor's Guide, 3/13/03 - "subjects who slept four to six hours a night for fourteen consecutive nights showed significant deficits in cognitive performance equivalent to going without sleep for up to three days in a row. Yet these subjects reported feeling only slightly sleepy and were unaware of how impaired they were"
• Worry, inactivity impede sleep's health benefits - USA Today, 3/9/03
• Sleep Disorders Mimic ADHD Symptoms - WebMD, 3/3/03
• Bad Sleep Leads to Early Death in Elderly - WebMD, 2/5/03
• You Can't Fight Biological Clock - WebMD, 1/30/03
• Minimal Mesopontine Neuronal Loss In Disordered Rapid-Eye-Movement Sleep - Doctor's Guide, 1/27/03
• Sleep, Less and More, Linked to Heart Disease - WebMD, 1/24/03
• Unattended Somnography Reliably Estimates Sleep Quality, Disturbed Breathing - Doctor's Guide, 1/17/03
• Study Follows Sleeping Patterns Of Women From Age 38 Onward - Doctor's Guide, 1/10/03
• Too Much Sleep May Be as Bad As Too Little - Clinical Psychiatry News, 1/03
• Rhythms Of The Night: Sleep Patterns May Sound A Wake-Up Call For Modern Medicine - Intelihealth, 12/16/02
• Sleep Said To Help Motor Skills - Intelihealth, 8/13/02
• Sleep on It: You'll Do Better - WebMD, 7/2/02
• 6 Hours of Sleep May Be Inadequate - WebMD, 6/25/02
• One week of 2-Hour Sleep Deprivation Associated with Reduced Psychomotor Ability, Rise in IL-6, TNF-a - Doctor's Guide, 6/24/02
• Body Temperature Changes May Affect Sleep Promotional Effects Of Sedative-Hypnotics - Doctor's Guide, 5/23/02
• Counting The Healthcare Costs of Chronic Sleep Deprivation - Doctor's Guide, 5/15/02
• Sleep-Disordered Breathing Largely Undiagnosed - Doctor's Guide, 4/22/02
• New Test Spots Sleep Disorders - WebMD, 4/3/02
• Simplified Tool Effectively Screens for Sleep Disorders - Doctor's Guide, 4/3/02
• Asleep on the Job? Take a Nap - WebMD, 4/2/02
• Late to bed, early to rise complaining - USA Today, 4/2/02
• Sleep and Behavioral Problems Linked - WebMD, 3/4/02
• If You're Dog Tired, Your Dog May Be Guilty - WebMD, 2/21/02
• Study Suggests Less Sleep Is OK - Intelihealth, 2/15/02
• Mortality Associated With Sleep Duration and Insomnia - Archives of General Psychiatry, 2/02 - "The best survival was found among those who slept 7 hours per night. Participants who reported sleeping 8 hours or more experienced significantly increased mortality hazard, as did those who slept 6 hours or less. The increased risk exceeded 15% for those reporting more than 8.5 hours sleep or less than 3.5 or 4.5 hours. In contrast, reports of "insomnia" were not associated with excess mortality hazard. As previously described, prescription sleeping pill use was associated with significantly increased mortality after control for reported sleep durations and insomnia"
• Are You Sleeping Enough -- or Too Much? - WebMD, 2/14/02
• Experts challenge study linking sleep, life span - CNN, 2/14/02 - "The data can't be used to establish a cause and affect relationship because there are flaws in the study ... You can't tell how people rated their own sleep quality and looked back at their sleep, which is a subjective reaction to how much sleep they were getting"
• Researchers Debate Exactly How Sleep Aids Memory, Learning - WebMD, 11/1/01
• NIH To Encourage Kids To Get Sleep - Intelihealth, 11/2/01 - "Hunt said research shows that children who regularly get nine hours of sleep perform better in school, experience better moods, suffer fewer accidents and are less likely to become obese"
• Sleep on This: Lack of Shut-Eye Ups Diabetes Risk - WebMD, 6/25/01 - "People who don't get adequate rest may increase their risk for type 2 diabetes ... "short-sleepers," or those who slept less than 6.5 hours per night, were about 40% less insulin-sensitive than normal sleepers, those who logged about 7.5 to 8.5 hours a night"
• Get Your ZZZs, Your Tummy Will Thank You, Natural Stomach Protein Repairs Damage, Protects Against Ulcers While You Sleep - WebMD, 5/9/01 - "late hours, too much alcohol, and other lifestyle factors that prevent a good night's sleep, disrupt the stomach's natural repair cycle and may lead to ulcers, or tearing of the stomach lining"
• Natural Stomach Protein Repairs Damage, Protects Against Ulcers While You Sleep - WebMD, 4/12/01
• Body Clock: How Do We Keep Time? Clock Genes in Skin Cells Might Help Diagnose Sleep Problems - WebMD, 4/12/01
• Health Officials Want Kids to Sleep at Least Nine Hours a Night - WebMD, 2/28/01
• The Big Sleep, Nodding Off - CNN, 12/5/00 - "the nappers turned in a 34-percent higher performance level and scored 100 percent better in terms of alertness, he says."
• Working Night Shift Affects More Than Your Social Life - WebMD,  10/16/00
• Poor Sleep Erodes Middle-Aged Men - Intelihealth, 8/16/00
• Thanks for the Memories? Sleep May Deserve Some Credit - WebMD, 7/18/00
• Sleep May Help Keep Metabolic Process Young - WebMD, 7/13/00
• Lack Of Sleep Alters Hormones, Metabolism - Doctor's Guide, 10/22/99
• Sleep's healing properties - CNN, 8/25/99
• Catching Forty Winks Can Be Risky - Dr. Dean, 7/27/99
• On-the-job naps could be pause that refreshes - CNN, 3/26/98