Institutions launch campaigns to teach skeptical students the virtues of sleep
Boston Globe Sep 30, 08 2:26 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
New research on the connection between sleep and performance has colleges scrambling to get their students to bed, the Boston Globe reports. According to a university doctor, “pulling an all-nighter is the equivalent of driving drunk and is detrimental to reaction time and memory.” But some habits are hard to break, and information campaigns appear to be falling on tired ears.
More »
8 hours of shut-eye helps brain function the next day, study suggests
BBC Jul 14, 08 5:00 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
Nothing improves memory like a little shut-eye, a new study suggests. Researchers taught new information and skills to two groups of patients, and allowed one to sleep normally while giving the other none or only a nap. The sleepers tested better the next day–and scans revealed enhanced brain activity to match that performance.
More »
Short, long hours of shuteye increase odds of smoking, obesity
Associated Press May 7, 08 4:54 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
Irregular sleep habits increase the likelihood of obesity and smoking, the AP reports. The CDC surveyed 87,000 Americans over 2 years and found that individuals who sleep fewer than 6 hours a night or more than 9 were 5% to 10% more likely to smoke and 4% to 11% more likely to be obese than those who slept 6 to 9 hours.
More »
Also tied to behavioral problems
Boston Globe Apr 8, 08 7:56 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
Babies who get less than 12 hours of shut-eye a day double their risk of being overweight by the time they're 3 years old, a new study finds. The risk is even higher for little ones who watch two hours of TV a day, the Daily Telegraph reports. If habits aren't changed, more than 25% of all children are expected to be obese by 2050, experts warn.
More »
Sleep disturbance is hard on love, researches say
Times (UK) Mar 24, 08 7:50 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
Looking for lengthy love? It may be time to sleep single. More couples are opting for separate beds, and 60% of custom-built homes in the UK will have dual master bedrooms by 2015, the London Times reports. Many in modern times consider separate beds the end of love, but in fact sleep disturbance is what creates friction, researchers say.
More »
Surveys differ on whether Americans get enough sleep
Washington Post Mar 12, 08 9:00 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
Americans slept more in 2005 than in 2000, according to a new study that counters claims of widespread sleep-deprivation. Yanks averaged 59 weekly hours of sleep in 2005, up from 56 hours in 2000, say University of Maryland researchers using Census data that account for every minute of the day. But a National Sleep Foundation survey counted just 48 hours.
More »
'Torture awareness' manual for diplomats includes US, Syria, Israel, Iran
BBC Jan 18, 08 6:40 AM CST
(Newser)
-
The US, along with China, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, and Israel, is listed in an official Canadian foreign ministry document of countries where prisoners are at risk of torture, the BBC reports. The "torture awareness" training manual classifies as torture some US interrogation techniques, including forced nudity, isolation, and sleep deprivation.
More »
24/7 campaigns have made for a raft of fatigue-induced gaffes
New York Times Jan 3, 08 11:15 AM CST
(Newser)
-
Fatigue has officially taken hold in Iowa, and not just for voters. “I won’t remember Iowans,” a sleep-deprived Mitt Romney said recently (he meant “I’ll never forget”), while Mike Huckabee offered “apologies” over Benazir Bhutto’s death (he’s not a suspect), and Hillary Clinton trumpeted supporters "literally freezing to death" (no fatalities reported). “When a person is fatigued, they will make a mistake,” reasons John McCain.
More »
Tired bodies have trouble regulating blood sugar, research shows
ABC News Jan 1, 08 11:10 AM CST
(Newser)
-
Poor sleep may lead to weight gain and diabetes, according to new research. After only 3 nights of light sleep, healthy people lost their ability to process sugar by 23%, perhaps explaining why many diabetics also have sleep disorders, ABC News reports. Although the survey sample was small, it casts doubt on previous assumptions that diabetes caused sleep problems.
More »
In tests, hormone erases effects of
too little shut-eye
Wired Dec 29, 07 2:22 PM CST
(Newser)
-
Help may be on the way for tired Americans in the form of a nasal spray that eliminates sleepiness without apparent side effects, reports Wired . UCLA scientists testing the naturally occurring brain hormone orexin A found that when used as a spray, it allowed sleep-deprived monkeys to perform as well as rested monkeys.
More »
2004 incident comes to light during Congressional hearing
Rocky Mountain News Nov 2, 07 4:40 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
Two commercial pilots—one of whom had flown three straights nights—fell asleep on a red-eye flight from Baltimore to Denver in 2004 but woke up just in time to land safely, the Rocky Mountain News reports. The plane was coming in much too fast and high, but the captain roused himself at the last minute to correct the aircraft's course.
More »
Researchers suspect link between blood pressure, fewer Zs
Reuters Sep 24, 07 4:57 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
Getting 7 hours of sleep a night is best, and people who consistently sleep less are risking their lives, a new study says. Researchers followed 10,000 civil servants for 17 years and found that those who reduced their sleep from 7 hours a night to 5 or less doubled their risk of dying from heart disease, Reuters reports.
More »
Study also finds preschoolers with less sleep are more hyperactive
Time Sep 4, 07 3:25 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
Cell phones and long work hours are the biggest thieves of sleep, according to new studies in the journal Sleep . People who slept 4.5 hours or less per night worked about 1.5 hours more per weekday and nearly two hours more on weekends, researchers found. Almost two-thirds of teens who reported using their cell phones after bedtime were more tired than their peers.
More »
Heavy users say they get fewer z's, even
when they don't, survey finds
Reuters Aug 24, 07 5:07 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
Watching TV or surfing the web before bed can reduce the quality of sleep, a Japanese study has found. Reuters reports that people who unglue themselves from the screen before hitting the sheets reported less sleep, even though they sleep as much as the less addicted.
More »
Group votes to list interrogation techniques it won't help with
San Francisco Chronicle Aug 20, 07 8:38 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
The American Psychological Association has voted not to ban members from assisting with interrogations at Guantanamo and other military prisons, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Instead, the group approved a measure listing specific procedures members won't help with, including sleep deprivation and water-boarding. "If we remove psychologists from these facilities, people are going to die," said an Army psychologist.
More »