Recent Longevity News for the seven days ending 9/5/12.  You should consult your doctor if you are taking any medications.

Even in normal range, high blood sugar linked to brain shrinkage - Science Daily, 9/3/12 - "The study involved 249 people age 60 to 64 who had blood sugar in the normal range as defined by the World Health Organization. The participants had brain scans at the start of the study and again an average of four years later ... Those with higher fasting blood sugar levels within the normal range and below 6.1 mmol/l (or 110 mg/dL) were more likely to have a loss of brain volume in the areas of the hippocampus and the amygdala, areas that are involved in memory and cognitive skills, than those with lower blood sugar levels. A fasting blood sugar level of 10.0 mmol/l (180 mg/dL) or higher was defined as diabetes and a level of 6.1 mmol/l (110 mg/dL) was considered impaired, or prediabetes ... blood sugar on the high end of normal accounted for six to 10 percent of the brain shrinkage"

High doses of vitamin D help tuberculosis patients recover more quickly - Science Daily, 9/3/12 - "high doses of the vitamin Can dampen down the body's inflammatory response to infection, enabling patients to recover faster, with less damage to their lungs ... their results suggest that vitamin D supplementation might help patients recover better from other diseases such as pneumonia ... Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes TB, was cleared from the patients' sputum (the phlegm coughed up from deep in the lungs) faster in those who were taking vitamin D, taking an average of 23 days to become undetectable under the microscope compared to 36 days in the patients who were taking the placebo" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.

Pregnant? Get Your Choline! - U.S. News, 8/31/12 - "The take-home message is best summarized by a review in the Journal of Pediatrics: Choline in the diet of the pregnant mother and the infant is directly related to permanent changes in brain function. Without enough choline during the critical time of brain growth and development, intelligence, memory, and possibly mood regulation will be damaged permanently. We may not be able to measure the exact impact on IQ or other brain functions, but we know enough at this point to start preaching the choline message" - See citicholine at Amazon.com.

Are Mites Causing Your Rosacea? - WebMD, 8/30/12 - "Demodex mites live on the skin of 20% to 80% of adults. The tiny bugs are invisible to the naked eye. Until recently, it was thought that the mites lived harmlessly, feeding off the oily sebum that coats the skin ... people with rosacea have more than 10 times as many Demodex mites on their skin as people without the condition ... Those bacteria trigger an immune reaction that causes redness and inflammation of the skin ... This study contains evidence, but it's not proof"

Why your cellphone has more germs than a toilet - MSNBC, 8/30/12 - "Cellphones carry 10 times more bacteria than most toilet seats" - See BD Alcohol Swabs Thicker, Softer, 100 Individually Foil Wrapped at Amazon.com.

Dieting Monkeys Don't Always Live Longer, Says Study - ABC News, 8/29/12 - "As the latest Nature dispatch found, the NIA monkeys fed a calorie-restricted diet didn't live any longer than monkeys on a higher-calorie diet. No matter what they ate, maximum lifespan seems to hover around 40 years of age. Half the monkeys that began the study as youngsters were still alive, but the researchers say, based on survival patterns, they predict the remaining calorie-restrictors and controls will all live to be about the same age ... These latest findings are at odds with the WNPRC study in which calorie-restricted monkeys have far outlived the controls ... the study design might account for some of the disparities ... For one thing, the Wisconsin monkeys subsisted on a diet that shared many of the same unhealthy aspects of a typical Western diet ... The NIA monkeys were already eating so healthy to begin with, the calorie reduction may not have provided much more of a health advantage"

Chocolate: A sweet method for stroke prevention in men? - Science Daily, 8/29/12 - "While other studies have looked at how chocolate may help cardiovascular health, this is the first of its kind study to find that chocolate ... Those eating the highest amount of chocolate had a 17-percent lower risk of stroke, or 12 fewer strokes per 100,000 person-years compared to those who ate no chocolate ... In a larger analysis of five studies that included 4,260 stroke cases, the risk of stroke for individuals in the highest category of chocolate consumption was 19 percent lower compared to non-chocolate consumers. For every increase in chocolate consumption of 50 grams per week, or about a quarter cup of chocolate chips, the risk of stroke decreased by about 14 percent ... The beneficial effect of chocolate consumption on stroke may be related to the flavonoids in chocolate" - See Garden of Life, Radical Fruits Antioxidant Complex at Amazon.com.  I'm still betting it covers the flavonoids without the calories or the headache I get from chocolate.  For example, one of it's ingredients is blueberry extract.  See:

• Blueberries Have More Antioxidants and Flavonoids Than Any Other Fruits and Vegetables - Yahoo, 12/15/12

Your Gym's Dirty Little Secrets - ABC News, 8/18/12 (but it just showed up) - "One study found that three-fourths of weight equipment was contaminated with cold-causing rhinoviruses, and even wiping surfaces down twice didn't completely nix germs ... The sniffles are the least of your worries: MRSA (!) and other types of staph infections can be contracted if a cut or scrape on your skin comes in contact with the bacteria"

Specific Plants Protect Against Specific, Not All, Cancers - Medscape, 8/29/12 - "Plants do not produce chemicals to help us fight cancer; essentially, plants produce an arsenal of toxic chemicals that kill yeast, bacteria, and insects. Out of this huge chemodiversity, research has shown that some of these chemicals have potent anticancer properties ... Probably the best example of a phytochemical that serves as an antiinflammatory is curcumin. "Turmeric is the most potent source of curcumin, and curcumin is the most potent antiinflammatory phytochemical we know,"" - See curcumin products at Amazon.com.

Hypomagnesemia Induced by Proton Pump Inhibition - Medscape, 8/29/12 - "PPI-induced hypomagnesaemia (PPIH) ... Proper identification and treatment of PPIH therefore mainly rests on three pillars: First, serum magnesium monitoring on a regular basis. In event of existing hypomagnesaemia discontinuation of PPIs should result in a rapid normalisation, which may be supported by additional magnesium and calcium supplementation.[60] This step is crucial to exclude other causes of hypomagnesaemia. Second, regular determination of serum magnesium (and concomitant other electrolytes) should be done to monitor the course of recovery. This should be accompanied by urinary magnesium measurements to assure renal magnesium retention. Third, patients with PPIH have the chance to escape hypomagnesaemia by alternative acid suppressants. Therefore, switching to H2RA should be attempted.[45] In cases of insufficient relief from acid related complains under H2RA, tapered or intermittent regimes including PPIs might be helpful. Also here, urinary magnesium monitoring is of benefit as it declines prior to the serum magnesium as an early indication.[61] In most cases reviewed here, supplementation with electrolytes could be stopped after normal serum magnesium was obtained" - See magnesium supplements at Amazon.com.

Aspirin May Help Men With Prostate Cancer Live Longer, Study Suggests - Science Daily, 8/28/12 - "The study looked at almost 6,000 men in the Cancer of the Prostate Strategic Urologic Research Endeavor (CaPSURE) database who had prostate cancer treated with surgery or radiotherapy ... The findings demonstrated that 10-year mortality from prostate cancer was significantly lower in the group taking anticoagulants, compared to the non-anticoagulant group -- 3 percent versus 8 percent, respectively. The risks of cancer recurrence and bone metastasis also were significantly lower. Further analysis suggested that this benefit was primarily derived from taking aspirin, as opposed to other types of anticoagulants"

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):

Maternal use of Folic Acid and Other Supplements and Risk of Childhood Brain Tumors - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2012 Aug 31 - "childhood brain tumors (CBT) ... The odds ratios (ORs) for any maternal use of folic acid, use of folic acid without iron or vitamins B6, B12, C or A, and any vitamin use before pregnancy, were: 0.68 (95% CI 0.46, 1.00), 0.55 (95% CI 0.32, 0.93) and 0.68 (95% CI 0.46, 1.01) respectively ... These results suggest that folic acid supplements before and possibly during pregnancy may protect against CBT. Such associations are biologically plausible through established mechanisms. Impact This study provides evidence of a specific protective effect of prenatal folic acid supplementation against the risk of CBT that is not attributable to the actions of the other micronutrients investigated" - See folic acid products at Amazon.com.

Losartan improves erectile dysfunction in diabetic patients: a clinical trial - Int J Impot Res. 2012 Aug 30 - "A total of 124 diabetic patients with ED were included in this study and treated with losartan or tadalafil or losartan plus tadalafil or watch for waiting as control for 12 weeks ... Losartan or tadalafil or losartan plus tadalafil significantly improved the mean IIEF-5 scores ... The combination of losartan and tadalafil is more effective than the single-use of losartan or tadalafil" - See losartan and tadalafil at OffshoreRx1.com.

Silymarin Decreases Connective Tissue Growth Factor to Improve Liver Fibrosis in Rats Treated with Carbon Tetrachloride - Phytother Res. 2012 Aug 30 - "connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) ... The results suggest that oral administration of silymarin protects against CCl(4) -induced hepatic fibrosis in rats, likely due to the decrease in fibrotic parameters such as CTGF" - See silymarin at Amazon.com.

Neural effects of green tea extract on dorsolateral prefrontal cortex - Eur J Clin Nutr. 2012 Aug 29 - "Green tea is being recognized as a beverage with potential benefits for human health and cognitive functions. In vivo studies provide preliminary evidence that green tea intake may have a positive role in improving effects on cognitive functions ... priori-defined region of interest (ROI) analysis of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) ... These data suggest that green tea extract may modulate brain activity in the DLPFC, a key area that mediates working memory processing in the human brain. Moreover, this is the first neuroimaging study implicating that functional neuroimaging methods provide a means of examining how green tea extract acts on the brain" - [Nutra USA] - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.

Higher TSH level is a risk factor for differentiated thyroid cancer - Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2012 Aug 27 - "Higher TSH levels are associated with differentiated thyroid cancers (DTC). To validate this association, we compared TSH levels obtained from euthyroid patients with DTC with TSH levels from controls in the general population ... The mean TSH level of the case group was significantly higher than the mean TSH level of the control group (1.95 +/- 0.9 mIU/L vs. 1.62 +/- 0.8 mIU/L, p < 0.001), and was associated with DTC risk. Multiple logistic regression, after controlling for age, sex, and the presence of a family history of thyroid cancer, showed that the odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the second, third, and fourth quartiles of TSH levels were 1.27 (1.03-1.57), 1.55 (1.25-1.92) and 2.21 (1.78-2.74), respectively"

Tocopherols and tocotrienols plasma levels are associated with cognitive impairment - Neurobiol Aging. 2012 Oct;33(10):2282-90 - "Vitamin E includes 8 natural compounds (4 tocopherols, 4 tocotrienols) with potential neuroprotective activity. α-Tocopherol has mainly been investigated in relation to cognitive impairment ... Low plasma tocopherols and tocotrienols levels are associated with increased odds of MCI and AD" - [Nutra USA] - See Jarrow FamilE (contains all eight members of the vitamin E family, includes Tocomin) at Amazon.com.

Health Focus (Insomnia):

Related Topics:

• sleep / sleep apnea / depression

Popular Medications:

• Sonata (zaleplon) / Ambien (zolpidem) / Estorra (eszopiclone/investigational) / Rozerem (ramelteon) / Remeron (mirtazapine) / trazodone

Popular Supplements:

• melatonin / 5-HTP / St. John's wort / valerian / lemon balm / chamomile / hops / passion flower / lavender / kava / Alluna sleep store at drugstore.com / Sleep support formulas at iHerb / Seditol at iHerb

Alternative News:

• Light from self-luminous tablet computers can affect evening melatonin, delaying sleep - Science Daily, 8/27/12 - "To produce white light, these electronic devices must emit light at short wavelengths, which makes them potential sources for suppressing or delaying the onset of melatonin in the evening, reducing sleep duration and disrupting sleep. This is particularly worrisome in populations such as young adults and adolescents, who already tend to be night owls ... Melatonin suppression after a one-hour exposure to the tablet was not significantly affected. However, after a two-hour exposure there was significant suppression" - See melatonin at Amazon.com.
• Valerian may ease menopausal sleep woes - msnbc.com, 8/30/11 - "For the new study, researchers in Iran randomly assigned 100 postmenopausal women with insomnia to take either two valerian capsules or inactive placebo capsules every day for a month ... Overall, the study found, 30 percent of the women assigned to valerian reported an improvement in their sleep quality -- which includes factors like how long it takes to fall asleep at night and how often a person wakes up overnight ... In contrast, only four percent of women taking the placebo reported better sleep ... Women in this study reported no side effects ... Women in the current study took two valerian capsules a day, each containing 530 milligrams of valerian root extract. Both the valerian and placebo capsules they used were made specifically for the study ... A recent report by ConsumerLab.com, an independent testing company, found that of nine valerian supplements sold in the U.S., five had lower amounts of the herb than indicated on the packaging. That included one product with no valerian in it at all" - See valerian root at Amazon.com.
• Effect of valerian on sleep quality in postmenopausal women: a randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial - Menopause. 2011 Jul 14 - "About 50% of postmenopausal women experience sleep disturbances such as insomnia ... A randomized, triple-blind, controlled trial design was used for this study. Participants consisted of 100 postmenopausal women aged 50 to 60 years who were experiencing insomnia. A demographic data form and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were used to collect data. The women were randomly divided into two groups. Each group received either 530 mg of concentrated valerian extract or a placebo twice a day for 4 weeks. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data ... A statistically significant change was reported in the quality of sleep of the intervention group in comparison with the placebo group (P < 0.001). Also, 30% of the participants in the intervention group and 4% in the placebo group showed an improvement in the quality of sleep" - Note:  My sleep combo is two Nature's Way, Valerian Nighttime, Odor Free, 100 Tablets, one Jarrow Formulas, Theanine 200, 200 mg, 60 Capsules and three Source Naturals, Melatonin, Peppermint Flavored Sublingual, 1 mg, 300 Tablets.
• Passion flower may boost sleep quality: Study - Nutra USA, 2/17/11 - "sleep quality showed a significantly better rating for the passion flower compared to the placebo, with an increase of over five percent in sleep quality reported" - [Abstract] - See Passion flower products at iHerb.  Also see valerian, lemon balm, theanine and melatonin.
• A Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Investigation of the Effects of Passiflora incarnata (Passionflower) Herbal Tea on Subjective Sleep Quality - Phytother Res. 2011 Feb 3 - "Passiflora incarnata is a traditional herbal sedative, anxiolytic and a popular sleep aid used for the treatment of sleep disturbance ... Forty-one participants (18-35 years) were exposed to each treatment for a week, whereby they consumed a cup of the tea and filled out a sleep diary for 7 days, and completed Spielberger's state-trait anxiety inventory on the seventh morning. Ten participants also underwent overnight PSG on the last night of each treatment period. Of six sleep-diary measures analysed, sleep quality showed a significantly better rating for passionflower compared with placebo (t(40) = 2.70, p < 0.01). These initial findings suggest that the consumption of a low dose of Passiflora incarnata, in the form of tea, yields short-term subjective sleep benefits for healthy adults with mild fluctuations in sleep quality" - See Passion flower products at iHerb.  Also see valerian, lemon balm, theanine and melatonin.
• Isoflavones May Reduce Insomnia Symptoms in Postmenopausal Women - Medscape, 2/9/11 - "For the isoflavone group vs the placebo group, sleep efficiency measured by polysomnography increased significantly (from 77.9% to 83.9% vs from 77.6% to 81.2%). In addition, frequency of insomnia was reduced more readily in the isoflavone group. At the beginning of the study, 94.7% of women in the placebo group had moderate or intense insomnia compared with 63.2% at the end of the study; whereas in the isoflavone group these percentages were 89.5% and 36.9%, respectively ... Isoflavones were also effective in reducing the number of hot flashes in postmenopausal women with insomnia compared with the placebo group (P = .001). This trend became apparent after 2 months of treatment, but the results became significant only after the fourth month of treatment. The intensity of hot flashes was significantly lower in the isoflavone group than in the placebo group at both evaluation points (months 2 and 4 of treatment; 1.6 vs 5.8 and 0.5 vs 3.8; P < .001)" - See soy isoflavones at Amazon.com.
• Progesterone Prevents Sleep Disturbances and Modulates GH, TSH, and Melatonin Secretion in Postmenopausal Women - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011 Feb 2 - "Progesterone had no effect on undisturbed sleep but restored normal sleep when sleep was disturbed (while currently available hypnotics tend to inhibit deep sleep), acting as a "physiologic" regulator rather than as a hypnotic drug. Use of progesterone might provide novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of sleep disturbances, in particular in aging where sleep is fragmented and of lower quality" - See progesterone products at iHerb.
• Room light before bedtime may impact sleep quality, blood pressure and diabetes risk - Science Daily, 1/13/11 - "exposure to electrical light between dusk and bedtime strongly suppresses melatonin levels and may impact physiologic processes regulated by melatonin signaling, such as sleepiness, thermoregulation, blood pressure and glucose homeostasis ... researchers evaluated 116 healthy volunteers aged 18-30 years who were exposed to room light or dim light in the eight hours preceding bedtime for five consecutive days. An intravenous catheter was inserted into the forearms of study participants for continuous collection of blood plasma every 30-60 minutes for melatonin measurements. Results showed exposure to room light before bedtime shortened melatonin duration by about 90 minutes when compared to dim light exposure. Furthermore, exposure to room light during the usual hours of sleep suppressed melatonin by greater than 50 percent" - See melatonin at Amazon.com.
• Aerobic exercise relieves insomnia - Science Daily, 9/15/10 - "Exercise improved the participants' self-reported sleep quality, elevating them from a diagnosis of poor sleeper to good sleeper. They also reported fewer depressive symptoms, more vitality and less daytime sleepiness"
• Isoflavones decrease insomnia in postmenopause - Menopause. 2010 Aug 19 - "Polysomnography revealed a significant increase in sleep efficiency in the isoflavone group (from 77.9% to 83.9%) when compared with the placebo group (from 77.6% to 81.2%). Isoflavones induced a decrease in the intensity and number of hot flashes and the frequency of insomnia: among the women in the placebo group, 94.7% had moderate or intense insomnia at the beginning of the study, compared with 63.2% at the end, whereas in the isoflavone group, these percentages were 89.5% and 36.9%, respectively" - See soy isoflavones at Amazon.com.
• Insomnia Is Bad For The Heart; Increases Blood Pressure - Science Daily, 9/4/09 - "A new study published in the journal Sleep has found that people who suffer from insomnia have heightened nighttime blood pressure, which can lead to cardiac problems"
• Does valerian improve sleepiness and symptom severity in people with restless legs syndrome? - Altern Ther Health Med. 2009 Mar-Apr;15(2):22-8 - "The results of this study suggest that the use of 800 mg of valerian for 8 weeks improves symptoms of RLS and decreases daytime sleepiness in patients that report an Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score of 10 or greater. Valerian may be an alternative treatment for the symptom management ofRLS with positive health outcomes and improved quality of life" - See valerian root at Amazon.com.
• Efficacy of prolonged release melatonin in insomnia patients aged 55-80 years: quality of sleep and next-day alertness outcomes - Curr Med Res Opin. 2007 Sep 14 - "PR-melatonin results in significant and clinically meaningful improvements in sleep quality, morning alertness, sleep onset latency and quality of life in primary insomnia patients aged 55 years and over" - See melatonin at Amazon.com.
• Carbs May Help You Fall Asleep Faster - WebMD, 2/14/07 - "Carbs which quickly raise blood sugar (those with a high glycemic index) may hasten sleep, especially when eaten four hours before bedtime ... The men fell asleep fastest after eating the jasmine rice meal four hours before bedtime. It took them nine minutes, on average, to fall asleep that night ... They were slowest to fall asleep after eating the long-grain rice meal four hours before bedtime, taking nearly 18 minutes, on average, to fall asleep"
• Seditol helps sleepless in Cincinnati - Nutra USA, 6/15/06 - "Ninety-two percent of the subjects reported Seditol helped them relax and 89 percent reported it helped reduce fatigue due to lack of sleep" - See Seditol at iHerb.
• Stopping Jet Lag Before It Starts - WebMD, 11/2/05 - "The body clocks of those who took melatonin adapted better to the new schedule. The higher dose of melatonin fared best in that regard, but not by much. Plus, people who took the higher dose were sleepier in the evenings after taking the pill"
• Melatonin to Fight Insomnia: Timing Is Key - WebMD, 10/25/05 - "melatonin was most effective in resetting the body's internal, or circadian, clock when it was timed to the individual's sleep patterns ... If you only want to induce sleep you can take it about two hours before you want to go to sleep"
• Melatonin for Jet Lag and Sleep Disorders - Clinical Psychiatry News, 10/04 - "Those given melatonin reported improved sleep latency and morning “restedness,” and had higher scores on the California Verbal Learning Test" - See iHerb melatonin products.
• Short Insomnia Therapy Beats Sleeping Pills - WebMD, 9/27/04
• Sleep easy with green tea - Nutra USA, 3/16/04 - "200mg of L-theanine or a placebo ... all subjects reported a significant absence of feeling exhausted and a reduced need for sleep when administered with the L-theanine, compared to the placebo"
• Morning Exercise May Help You Sleep - WebMD, 11/4/03
• Sleep Problems, Anxiety May Be Connected - WebMD, 9/12/03 - "both sleep and mood problems may result from a lack of the same brain chemical ... The brain chemical -- gamma-aminobutryric acid, or GABA -- is involved in regulating brain activity ... Specifically, GABA deficiencies interfere with the most important stage of sleep -- the "deep" delta sleep" - See iHerb GABA products.
• Nighttime Computer Users May Lose Sleep - WebMD, 6/20/03 - "the bright light of a computer screen may alter the body's biological clock and suppress the natural production of melatonin that's critical to the normal sleep-wake cycle" - See iHerb melatonin products.
• Herbal With Valerian Helps Treat Sleep-Onset Insomnia - Clinical Psychiatry News, 5/03 - "Those who took the supplement experienced a significant decrease in subjective sleep latency from baseline of 12.61 minutes, according to daily sleep diaries. Patients taking the placebo experienced an average increase of 7.98 minutes in subjective sleep latency ... Blissful Sleep contains 160 mg of valerian and smaller amounts of Rosa centifolia, Nardostachys jatamansi, Tinospora cordifolia, Withania somnifera, Piper nigrum, Alpinia galangal, Convolvulus pluricalis, and Glycyrrhiza glabra" - See iHerb valerian products.  My favorite is Valerian Nighttime at iHerb.
• Melatonin Appears Safe for Child Insomniacs - Clinical Psychiatry News, 3/03 - "Melatonin appears to be a safe and effective treatment for children with insomnia ... The average age of the patients was 9.6 years ... Dr. Ivanenko, who is a child psychiatrist at the University of Louisville (Ky.), said she typically starts children at 1-5 mg of melatonin and titrates up to as much as 8-10 mg in adolescents" - See iHerb melatonin products.
• Is it is okay to take L-trypotophan that is a veterinary supplement? - Dr. Weil, 8/8/02
• 12 Tips for Better Sleep in Bad Times - WebMD, 10/4/01
• Valerian-Lemon Balm An Effective Combo - Nutrition Science News, 6/01
• Can't Sleep? Through Therapy, Insomnia Habits Can Be Broken - WebMD, 4/10/01
• Retiming Meals Could Help Reset Body Clock, Study Suggests - Intelihealth, 1/19/01
• When You Eat May Affect Your Biological Clock, New Research May Help Alleviate Jet Lag, Night-Shift Woes - WebMD, 1/18/01
• Setting the Body Clock in the Dark - WebMD, 10/12/00
• Some Herbs Work for Treating Sleep Problems; Others Don't - WebMD, 7/13/00
• Melatonin helps kids with sleep-onset insomnia - Doctor's Guide, 5/2/00
• Valerian Root Is a Safe Sedative - Nutrition Science News, 11/00
• Herbs Make It Easy to Catch Some Zs" - Nutrition Science News, 11/99

Other News:

• 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"
• How Does the New Sleeping Pill, Intermezzo, Fare? - ABC News, 4/4/12 - This is a video.
• 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"
• 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"
• Insomnia linked to high insulin resistance in diabetics - Science Daily, 5/2/11 - "Among the diabetics, poor sleepers had 23% higher blood glucose levels in the morning, and 48% higher blood insulin levels. Using these numbers to estimate a person's insulin resistance, the researchers found that poor sleepers with diabetes had 82% higher insulin resistance than normal sleepers with diabetes"
• 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"
• 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"
• Effects of sildenafil and vardenafil treatments on sleep quality and depression in hemodialysis patients with erectile dysfunction - Int J Impot Res. 2011 Jan 6 - "Sleep quality and depression were evaluated via post-sleep inventory (PSI) and Beck's depression inventory (BDI), respectively, at baseline and at the end of the treatment. Sildenafil and vardenafil both improved PSI and BDI scores significantly compared with pretreatment values. However, there was no difference between sildenafil and vardenafil with respect to these parameters"
• Loud snoring and insomnia symptoms predict the development of the metabolic syndrome -Science Daily, 12/1/10
• Insomnia after myocardial infarction: Heart and brain appear to be closely connected - Science Daily, 12/1/10
• Poor sleep quality increases inflammation, community study finds - Science Daily, 11/14/10
• Insomniacs have different brains, researcher says - Science Daily, 6/15/10
• 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,""
• Cognitive Behavior Therapy Appears Beneficial For Long-term Treatment Of Insomnia - Science Daily, 5/19/09
• 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"
• 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"
• Societal, Economic Burden Of Insomnia Is High - Science Daily, 1/1/09
• Worst Menopause Symptom? Lack of Sleep - WebMD, 4/22/08
• Altered Sex Hormone Levels, Higher Body Temp Affects Sleep Quality In Postmenopausal Women - Science Daily, 12/1/07 - "lower estradiol (E2) and higher luteinizing hormone (LH) levels were significantly correlated with indices of poor sleep quality, with relationships between LH and quality of sleep being stronger than those for E2"
• Cholesterol-lowering Drug Linked To Sleep Disruptions - Science Daily, 11/7/07 - "The results showed that simvastain use was associated with significantly worse sleep quality. A significantly greater number of individuals taking simvastatin reported sleep problems than those taking either pravastain or the placebo"
• Cholesterol Drug May Affect Sleep - WebMD, 11/7/07
• Sleep Drugs Found Only Mildly Effective, but Wildly Popular - New York Times, 10/23/07
• Chronic Insomnia May Predict Anxiety Disorders - WebMD, 7/5/07 - "People with chronic insomnia were more likely to have current anxiety or depression than people without insomnia"
• Long-term Pharmacologic Management of Insomnia - Medscape, 9/7/06
• New Sleep Medication Shows Less Potential to Foster Abuse and Dependence - Doctor's Guide, 6/6/06
• Sleep Drugs: None Stands Out as Best - WebMD, 12/9/05
• Treating Nighttime Heartburn Improves Sleep and Boosts Quality Of Life - Doctor's Guide, 9/2/05
• Poor Sleep Not A Normal Part Of Aging - Science Daily, 7/15/05
• Insomnia May Precede And Prolong Major Depression - Doctor's Guide, 6/22/05 - "depressed patients with insomnia were nearly 11 times more likely to still be depressed at six months than those sleeping well, and 17 times more likely to remain ill after a year ... they suggest that targeted treatment for insomnia will increase the likelihood and speed of recovery from depression"
• Good Night's Sleep Eludes Most Americans - WebMD, 3/29/05
• New Insights on Anxiety, Sleep Disorders - WebMD, 8/18/04
• The Evaluation and Management of the Anxious Insomniac - Medscape, 3/2/04
• Nightcaps May Disrupt Sleep - WebMD, 8/15/03
• New Insomnia Treatments Found Effective - WebMD, 6/10/03 - "Two new drugs have been found effective in treating insomnia with few or no side effects ... The first treatment, an experimental drug called TAK-375 ... [Estorra] demonstrated sustained therapeutic effect for the full twelve months of this study"
• New Drugs for Chronic Insomnia - Medscape, 5/27/03 - "Eszopiclone has beneficial effects on falling asleep, staying asleep, and quality of sleep"
• What You Can Do to Avoid Sleep Problems in Hard Times - WebMD, 4/3/03
• Don't Fear Benzodiazepines for Sleep Problems - Clinical Psychiatry News, 4/03 - "There is not one shred of evidence that Benadryl is an effective sleep-inducing agent ... It makes people feel sleepy, but it has no effect on sleep. And the reason we prescribe it is because we are afraid of using the medications that do work"
• Sleep Problems Don't Discriminate by Age - WebMD, 3/31/03 - "Sleep disorders were reported by: ... 82% of those with depression"
• Insomnia Often Associated With Objective Daytime Changes - Doctor's Guide, 2/14/03
• Residual effects of middle-of-the-night administration of zaleplon and zolpidem on driving ability, memory functions, and psychomotor performance - J Clin Psychopharmacol 2002 Dec;22(6):576-83 - "Zaleplon 10 and 20 mg did not significantly impair driving ability 4 hours after middle-of-the-night administration. Relative to placebo, after zolpidem 10 mg, SDLP was significantly elevated, but the magnitude of the difference was small and not likely to be of clinical importance. Memory and psychomotor test performance was unaffected after both doses of zaleplon and zolpidem 10 mg. In contrast, zolpidem 20 mg significantly increased SDLP and speed variability. Further, zolpidem 20 mg significantly impaired performance on all psychomotor and memory tests ... The results show that zaleplon (10 and 20 mg) is a safe hypnotic devoid of next-morning residual impairment when used in the middle of the night"
• Physicians, Elderly Patients View Long-Term Benzodiazepine Use Differently - Doctor's Guide, 6/7/02
• "As Needed" Zolpidem and Behavioral Therapy Safely Treats Chronic Insomnia - Doctor's Guide, 5/6/02
• Behavior Management Programs Help Seniors With Chronic Illnesses Sleep Better - Doctor's Guide, 4/4/02
• Sleep experts put readers' questions, fears to rest - USA Today, 4/3/02
• Simple Steps Can Combat Sleep Problems in Elderly - WebMD, 1/2/02
• Recent Events May Affect Sleep, Tips to Fight Insomnia, Nightmares in Children - WebMD, 9/19/01
• Mirtazapine Regulates Stress Hormones, Improves Sleep In Depressed Patients - Doctor's Guide, 8/8/01
• Gaboxadol Improves Sleep in Elderly - Doctor's Guide, 6/11/01
• Sleep Disorder Diagnosis Can Be Done Effectively at Home - Doctor's Guide, 6/11/01
• “Nightcap” Device Provides Simple, Home-based Assessment of Insomnia - Doctor's Guide, 6/8/01
• New Guidelines Issued For Improvement Of Insomnia Diagnosis, Treatment - Doctor's Guide, 3/6/01
• Insomnia Underdiagnosed And Undertreated - Doctor's Guide, 2/23/01
• Micro Form Of Progestogen Replacement May Improve Sleep Symptoms - Doctor's Guide, 2/14/01 - "Women who take a combined form of hormone replacement therapy with a new kind of progestogen sleep more soundly"
• Low-Dose Sedating Antidepressant Or Hypnotic May Improve Insomnia Management In Depressed Patients - Doctor's Guide, 6/19/00
• Sleep Disturbances Found In Patients Taking Common Hepatitis C Treatment - Doctor's Guide, 6/19/00
• Benefits Of Zaleplon For Primary Insomnia Maintained Over Time - Doctor's Guide, 6/19/00
• New medications relieve insomnia without the hangover - Intelihealth, 5/31/00
• New Insomnia Drug, NBI-34060, Shows Positive Results For Sleep Induction - Doctor's Guide, 11/30/99
• Zaleplon Safe And Well Tolerated For Long-Term Insomnia Treatment - Doctor's Guide, 9/29/99
• New Sleeping Pill Hailed As Businessman’s Friend - Doctor's Guide, 9/23/99
• Zaleplon Safe And Tolerable For Long-Term Treatment Of Insomnia - Doctor's Guide, 9/21/99
• Majority Of Patients With Insomnia Diagnosed With Mental Disorder - Doctor's Guide, 9/14/99 - "A new study by Washington State University researchers reveals that among patients seeking medical care for insomnia more than half were diagnosed with a mental disorder. The most common diagnosis was depression"
• Strategies Improve Quality Of Life In People With Insomnia - Doctor's Guide, 9/8/99
• FDA Approves Sonata For Treatment Of Insomnia - Doctor's Guide, 8/16/99
• Sleepless in America - CNN, 6/1/99
• Zaleplon Effective Against Insomnia Without Residual Effects - Doctor's Guide, 5/17/99
• Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy And Drug Treatments Effective In Treating Late-Life Insomnia - Doctor's Guide, 3/16/99
• Most MDs Overprescribe Sleep Medications, Says Expert - Doctor's Guide, 10/7/97
• Importance of Proper Diagnosis Of Chronic Insomnia Stressed - Doctor's Guide, 1/29/97