Imparied Sleep and Pain Sensitivity
A recent study in PAIN, the official publication of the International Association for the Study of Pain has demonstrated that in people who suffer from both insomnia and chronic pain there is a strong negative effect on pain tolerance and that these individuals may benefit from treatments targeting both conditions. The study included more than […]
Read MoreSleep Apnea Associated With Increased Motor Vehicle Accidents
A new study finds that obstructive sleep apnea is associated with a significantly increased risk of motor vehicle accidents, and this risk is reduced when sleep apnea is treated effectively using continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. [More…]
Read MoreNew Guidelines on Sleep Apnea
The American Thoracic Society (ATS) has released new clinical practice guidelines on sleep apnea, sleepiness, and driving risk on non-commercial drivers. Published in the June, 2013 American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the new guidelines, are an update of a 1994 ATS statement on sleep apnea. It is estimated that up to 20 […]
Read MoreNew NSF Resource Center on Excessive Sleepiness: A Useful Tool in the Quest to Improve Sleep Health
On January 8th the National Sleep Foundation launched a new resource center on its website that focuses on excessive sleepiness (ES), one of the cardinal symptoms indicative of an underlying sleep-wake disorder. Excessive sleepiness is a common complaint of the more than 70 million Americans who have unhealthy sleep, which has significant psychologic, physiologic, safety, […]
Read MoreSchizophrenia and Sleep Problems
The possible link between poor sleep and schizophrenia is being studied by researchers from the University of Bristol. Scientists are exploring the impact of irregular sleep patterns on the brain by recording electrical brain activity in multiple brain regions during sleep. Sleep deprivation can affect mood, concentration and stress levels. In extreme cases, prolonged sleep […]
Read MoreAlice in Wonderland and Sleep Apnea
An interesting review in the Oxford University Press blog by Edward Shorter, MD, Professor in the History of Medicine and Professor of Psychiatry, University of Toronto and Susan Bélanger, Research Coordinator with the History of Medicine Program discusses “Alice in Wonderland in Psychiatry and Medicine.” The authors describe that since Lewis Carroll published Alice’s Adventures […]
Read MoreSleep After Processing New Information is Most Effective
Sleeping after studying is actually a good thing. Researchers from the Department of Psychology at Notre Dame University studied 207 students who habitually slept for at least six hours per night. Participants were randomly assigned to study declarative, semantically related or unrelated word pairs at 9:00 a.m. or 9:00 p.m., and returned for testing […]
Read MoreSleepy Pilots, Train Operators and Drivers
According to the National Sleep Foundation’s (NSF) 2012 Sleep in America® poll, the people we trust to take us or our loved ones from place to place struggle with sleep. It is the first poll to ask transportation professionals, including pilots, train operators,* truck, bus, taxi and limo drivers about their sleep habits and work […]
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