Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 4/13/11.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Moderate exercise dramatically improves brain blood flow in elderly women - Science Daily, 4/12/11 - "it's never too late for women to reap the benefits of moderate aerobic exercise. In a 3-month study of 16 women age 60 and older, brisk walking for 30-50 minutes three or four times per week improved blood flow through to the brain as much as 15% ... At study's end, the team measured blood flow in the women's carotid arteries again and found that cerebral blood flow increased an average of 15% and 11% in the women's left and right internal carotid arteries, respectively. The women's VO2 max increased roughly 13%, their blood pressure dropped an average of 4%, and their heart rates decreased approximately 5% ... A steady, healthy flow of blood to the brain achieves two things. First, the blood brings oxygen, glucose and other nutrients to the brain, which are vital for the brain's health. Second, the blood washes away brain metabolic wastes such as amyloid-beta protein released into the brain's blood vessels. Amyloid-beta protein has been implicated in the development of Alzheimer's disease"

Omega-3 consumed during pregnancy curbs risk for postpartum depression symptoms - Science Daily, 4/12/11 - "maternal consumption of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; a prominent omega-3 fatty acid) during pregnancy gives infants a developmental advantage even 9 months after they are born. These findings prompted her to consider the benefits that DHA could holistically have on the maternal-infant dyad ... randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled dietary intervention trial in which 52 pregnant women took either a placebo (corn oil) or a fish oil capsule containing 300 milligrams of DHA 5 days each week from 24-40 weeks of pregnancy ... Although the study did not have enough women to investigate if fish oil consumption resulted in a lower incidence of diagnosable postpartum depression, women in the treatment group had significantly lower total Postpartum Depression Screening Scale scores, with significantly fewer symptoms common to postpartum depression" - See Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Vitamin D Protects Against Age-Related Vision Loss in Women - ABC News, 4/12/11 - "women who consume high levels of vitamin D through certain fish, dairy, eggs, and leafy greens could lower the risk of macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss in later life, by 59 percent" - [Nutra USA] - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Bacteria supplements may affect weight gain: Rat study extends microflora-obesity link - Nutra USA, 4/12/11 - "Early exposure to bacterial strains during pregnancy, breast feeding, and early life has a profound impact on weight gain in the offspring, says a new study with rats ... supplementation of a high-energy-dense diet with the bacterial strain Lactobacillus plantarum resulted in less weight gain, compared to rats fed only the high energy diet ... animals fed the high energy diet and supplemented with less friendly Escherichia coli bacteria experienced significantly higher levels of body fat, compared to the control animals ... the L. plantarum supplemented animals had significantly lower weight gain than both the control and E. coli-supplemented groups. This difference was observed at birth (indicating a potential influence of the mother’s diet) with the L. plantarum pups having an average birth weight of 7.5 grams, compared with 8.2 and 9.6 grams for the control and E.coli animals, respectively ... After six months, a similar trend was observed, with L. plantarum animals having an average weight of 304 grams, compared with 340 and 352 grams for the control and E.coli animals, respectively" - [Abstract] - See probiotics at Amazon.com.

Blueberries may inhibit development of fat cells - Science Daily, 4/10/11 - "The benefits of blueberry consumption have been demonstrated in several nutrition studies, more specifically the cardio-protective benefits derived from their high polyphenol content. Blueberries have shown potential to have a positive effect on everything from aging to metabolic syndrome ... The study was performed in tissue cultures taken from mice. The polyphenols showed a dose-dependent suppression of adipocyte differentiation. The lipid content in the control group was significantly higher than the content of the tissue given three doses of blueberry polyphenols. The highest dose of blueberry polyphenols yielded a 73% decrease in lipids; the lowest dose showed a 27% decrease" - See blueberry extract at Amazon.com.

Vehicle pollution significantly damages mouse brain - Science Daily, 4/7/11 - "after short-term exposure to vehicle pollution, mice showed significant brain damage -- including signs associated with memory loss and Alzheimer's disease ... The mind-numbing toxin is not an exhaust gas, but a mix of tiny particles from burning of fossil fuel and weathering of car parts and pavement ... The freeway particles measured between a few dozen to 200 nanometers -- roughly one-thousandth the width ... You can't see them, but they are inhaled and have an effect on brain neurons that raises the possibility of long-term brain health consequences of freeway air ... Even an all-electric car culture would not solve the problem on its own ... It would certainly sharply decrease the local concentration of nanoparticles, but then at present electrical generation still depends upon other combustion processes -- coal -- that in a larger environment contribute nanoparticles anyway"

Political views are reflected in brain structure - Science Daily, 4/7/11 - "Individuals who call themselves liberal tend to have larger anterior cingulate cortexes, while those who call themselves conservative have larger amygdalas. Based on what is known about the functions of those two brain regions, the structural differences are consistent with reports showing a greater ability of liberals to cope with conflicting information and a greater ability of conservatives to recognize a threat"

Amazing acai alleviates atherosclerosis: Study - Nutra USA, 4/6/11 - "The study, published in Atherosclerosis , presents evidence to suggest that the athero-protective effect of the açaí juice is in part due to reduced break down of lipids (lipid peroxidation) – which may be due to increasing the levels and activity of two antioxidant enzymes ... Markers of oxidative stress were found to be significantly lower in the serum and liver of açaí juice fed animals ... Results from analysis of 17 genes related to oxidation/antioxidant enzymes also showed that expression of two antioxidant enzyme genes glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and glutathione reductase (GSR) – considered important antioxidant enzymes in vascular systems – were significantly up-regulated in the aorta of açaí juice fed mice ... The activities of GSR in serum and liver and GPX in serum were also reported to increase in açaí juice fed mice ... Hence, these two antioxidant enzymes may act synergistically to reduce lipid peroxidation ... In further experiments, mice fed açaí juice for 5 weeks were reported to have significantly lower serum levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNF-α" -[Abstract] - See acai berry products at iHerb.

DSM builds olive extract IP with energy & exercise performance patent - Nutra USA, 4/7/11 - "According to European Patent EP2009/063492, the invention refers to hydroxytyrosol in combination with at least one other ingredient, including the likes of CoQ10, resveratrol, B vitamins, and EGCG from green tea ... Hydroxytyrosol is thought to be the main antioxidant compound in olives, and believed to play a significant role in the many health benefits attributed to olive oil. Previous research has linked the compound to cardiovascular benefits, with reductions in LDL or 'bad' cholesterol. Data has also suggested the compound may boost eye health and reduce the risk of against macular degeneration ... Hydroxytyrosol significantly increased the running distance to exhaustion in mice and so improved endurance in prolonged exercise ... hydroxytyrosol promotes mitochondrial activity and mitochondrial biogenesis leading to an enhancement of mitochondrial function and cellular defense system" - See olive leaf extract at Amazon.com.  As far as the synergy, I would think that most would be already taking the CoQ-10, resveratrol, B-vitamins and green tea.

Curcumin-soy formulation may boost absorption 60-fold: Indena study - Nutra USA, 4/6/11 - "Curcumin has been a sort of ‘forbidden fruit’ for biomedical research, since its poor oral bioavailability has substantially hampered clinical development, despite the very promising indications of the preclinical research ... The volunteers received five (low-dose - 209 mg total curcuminoids) or nine (high-dose - 376 mg total curcuminoids) hard-shell capsules of either the soybean-based phospholipid-curcumin formulation (Meriva) or five capsules of a non-formulated curcuminoid mixture containing 1799 mg of curcuminoids ... Total curcuminoid absorption was about 29-fold higher for Meriva than for its corresponding unformulated curcuminoid mixture, but only phase-2 metabolites could be detected, and plasma concentrations were still significantly lower than those required for the inhibition of most anti-inflammatory targets of curcumin ... the major plasma curcuminoid after administration of Meriva was not curcumin, but demethoxycurcumin, a more potent analogue in many in vitro anti-inflammatory assays" - [Abstract]

Some diabetes drugs are better than others, according to new study - Science Daily, 4/6/11 - "compared to metformin treatment, monotherapy with most ISs, including glimepiride, glibenclamide, glipizide and tolbutamide, was associated with a greater risk of death from any cause, and a greater risk of heart attacks, stroke or death from cardiovascular diseases. This was the case both for patients who had already suffered a heart attack and for patients who had not. Two other ISs, gliclazide and repaglinide, showed no significant difference to metformin in their effectiveness in patients with and without a history of heart attacks ...Patients taking metformin had the best outcomes, supporting prior evidence of metformin benefit and making it the first-line drug recommended for almost all patients with type 2 diabetes. Compared against this beneficial drug, most of the ISs were associated with worse outcomes, but they would almost certainly be similar to, or better, had the comparison been made against placebo treatment, with the added benefit on kidney, eye, and nerve disease of the glucose control they yield" - Note:  Why would they have a study like that and not include the #2 diabetes drug a thiazolidinedione, Actos (pioglitazone).  Makes you question their motives.  See http://www.pharmacytimes.com/media/pdf/PHTM_36.pdf.

Fatty liver: How a serious problem arises - Science Daily, 4/6/11 - "Up to 80 percent of obese people develop fatty liver disease, which is regarded a typical characteristic of the dangerous metabolic syndrome. Deposition of fat in the liver may lead to chronic liver inflammation and even to liver cancer. In addition, fatty liver is considered to be an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis"

Older age memory loss tied to stress hormone receptor in brain - Science Daily, 4/6/11 - "one receptor was activated by low levels of cortisol, which helped memory. However, once levels of this stress hormone were too high they spilled over onto a second receptor. This activates brain processes that contribute to memory impairment ... high levels of the stress hormone in aged mice made them less able to remember how to navigate a maze. The memory recall problem was reversed when the receptor linked to poor memory was blocked ... lowering the levels of these stress hormones will prevent them from activating a receptor in the brain that is bad for memory ... The researchers are currently investigating a new chemical compound which blocks an enzyme -- 11beta-HSD1 -- that is involved in producing stress hormones within cells"

Fish oil boosts responses to breast cancer drug tamoxifen, researchers find - Science Daily, 4/6/11 - "omega-3 fatty acids -- abundant in fish -- could be a safe and beneficial booster for tamoxifen therapy ... [in rats] Omega-3 fatty acids produced a greater expression of genes related to cellular specialization, or differentiation -- a sign of lower cancer severity -- compared to corn oil. The combination of fish oil and tamoxifen reduced the expression of genes linked to tumor growth and spreading ... If a tumor was being treated with tamoxifen, the addition of an omega-3 fatty acid diet seemed to make the tumor, at least at the molecular level, more benign and less aggressive and responsive to tamoxifen" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.

Strawberries may slow precancerous growth in the esophagus, study suggests - Science Daily, 4/6/11 - "freeze-dried strawberries significantly inhibited tumor development in the esophagus of rats ... daily consumption of strawberries suppressed various biomarkers involved in esophageal carcinogenesis, including cell proliferation, inflammation and gene transcription ... Each of the 36 study participants ate 60 grams (about two ounces) of freeze-dried strawberries daily for six months. The researchers obtained biopsy specimens before and after the strawberry consumption. The results showed that 29 out of 36 participants experienced a decrease in histological grade of the precancerous lesions during the study ... The survival rate of this type of esophageal cancer is very low, with only 10 percent of patients living 5 years after diagnosis"

Abstracts from this week's Doctor's Guide Nutrition/Dietetics plus abstracts from my RSS feeds (Click here for the journals, the PubMed ones at the top):

Biology of gait control: Vitamin D involvement - Neurology. 2011 Apr 6 - "Adverse neuromuscular events have been described in case of low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) concentrations, suggesting that vitamin D may be involved in gait stability. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to examine the association between stride-to-stride variability of stride time (STV) and serum 25OHD concentration in adults aged 65 years and older ... A total of 16.6% (n = 68) of subjects had severe 25OHD insufficiency, 70.3% (n = 289) moderate insufficiency, and 13.1% (n = 54) normal concentrations. In the full adjusted and the stepwise backward linear regression models, high STV (worse performance) was associated with severe 25OHD insufficiency (p = 0.028 and p = 0.044, respectively), high CoM motion (p = 0.031 and p = 0.014, respectively), and low lower limb proprioception score (p = 0.017 and p = 0.008, respectively). The stepwise backward regression model also showed that high STV was associated with female gender (p = 0.041) ... Low serum 25OHD concentrations were associated with high STV reflecting a disturbed gait control. This association could be explained by a possible action of vitamin D on different components involved in gait control" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

The Association of Telomere Length and Cancer: A Meta-Analysis - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2011 Apr 5 - "Short telomeres in surrogate tissues (e.g., blood cells) are associated with increased cancer risk in several case-control studies, but findings are inconsistent in prospective studies ... Studies on bladder, esophageal, gastric, head and neck, ovarian, renal, and overall incident cancer found associations between short telomeres and these cancers. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, breast, lung and colorectal cancer reports were inconsistent. Single studies on endometrial, prostate, and skin cancers were null. In a random effects meta-analysis, short TL was significantly associated with cancer in retrospective studies (pooled OR for the shortest TL quartile compared with the longest: 2.9, 95%CI 1.73 - 4.8, P<0.0001). The pooled OR for prospective studies was 1.16 (95%CI 0.87 - 1.54, P=0.32). All studies combined yielded a pooled OR of 1.96 (95%CI 1.37 - 2.81, P=0.0001) for the association of short TL and cancer.Conclusion and Impact: There is suggestive evidence that short surrogate tissue TL is associated with cancer; the strongest evidence exists for bladder, esophageal, gastric, and renal cancers"

Value of Angiotensin receptor blocker therapy in diabetes - J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2011 Apr;13(4):290-5 - "There are more clinical trials investigating angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) in diabetes than any other drug class, ranging from early "prevention" trials to the treatment of individuals with advanced organ damage. In its earliest manifestations, visceral adiposity predisposes to hypertension and hyperglycemia (metabolic syndrome). In these individuals, ARB therapy delays the progression to chronic hypertension and may also delay the progression to overt diabetes. Based on the increased cardiovascular disease risk of the metabolic syndrome, which is similar to stage 1 hypertension, both lifestyle modification and ARB therapy are justifiable. ARB therapy has also been found to delay the onset of microalbuminuria and retinopathy. In established diabetic nephropathy, ARB therapy is recommended as a standard alternative to angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition to reduce macroalbuminuria and delay the progression to end-stage disease. Finally, large trials in ischemic heart disease, heart failure, and stroke have demonstrated clear benefits of ARB therapy. Because ARBs have side effect rates equal to placebo and far lower than any other antihypertensive drug class, the benefit/risk ratio is highly favorable across the entire spectrum of diabetic disease. Thus, ARB therapy is a highly attractive alternative for individuals at any stage of diabetes and with any pattern of complications" - See telmisartan at OffshoreRx1.com.

Açaí juice attenuates atherosclerosis in ApoE deficient mice through antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities - Atherosclerosis. 2011 Feb 24 - "ApoE(-/-) mice were fed AIN-93G diet (CD) or CD formulated to contain 5% freeze-dried açaí juice powder (AJ) for 20 weeks. The mean lesion areas in the aorta for apoE(-/-) mice fed AJ were 58% less (P<0.001) compared to that for CD fed mice. HDL-cholesterol was higher in AJ fed mice. Biomarkers of lipid peroxidation, including F(2)-isoprostanes and isomers of hydroxyoctadecadienoic acids and hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids were significantly lower in serum and in liver of AJ fed mice. Expression of the two antioxidant enzyme genes, Gpx3 and Gsr, were significantly up-regulated in the aorta from AJ fed mice. The activity of GPX, GSR and PON1 increased in serum and/or liver of mice fed AJ. In the second experiment, ApoE(-/-) mice were fed CD or AJ for 5 weeks. Serum levels, gene expression and protein levels of the two proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-6 in the resident macrophages with or without LPS stimulation were lower in mice fed AJ. SEAP reporter assay determined that AJ reduced NF-κB activation" - See acai berry products at iHerb.

Neat Tech Stuff / "How To's":

• YouTube - Cliks by Daltile: Introduction: What is Cliks?
• Cliks™ by Daltile - Save Money. Save Time. Just Click.
• Click tile at Home Depot
• Daltile Valais™ ColorBody Porcelain Tile

Health Focus (Sleep):

Related Topics:

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

News & Research:

• 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

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