Sleep 101

The number of hours of sleep you need to stay healthy and alert differs according to your age.

Sure, you’re eating your vegetables and fruits and squeezing in exercise at least 20 minutes a day, but are you getting enough sleep, too? The latest sleep recommendations from the National Sleep Foundation may make you want to think twice about skimping on essential shut-eye. Sleep is key to your physical health and emotional vitality, but just how many hours of sleep you ...

Some parents have resorted to turning off the Wi-Fi to help their kids get better rest.

It’s no secret that teenagers like to stay up late and then rush around like mad in the morning to get ready for school. Then, they probably spend a chunk of the weekend catching up on sleep. But what drives these teen sleep habits?

One common explanation is that in our hunter-gatherer days, teenagers took over the night-owl watch period of keeping the group safe, ...

Research suggests there’s a connection between a healthy gut and healthy sleep, but it’s not yet clear whether interventions to improve one can help the other.

The gut microbiome is the community of trillions of bacteria that reside inside every person’s digestive tract. And during the past decade, research into the microbiome and its role in human health has been one of the hottest and most revelatory areas of medical science.

It seems like every week, a new study offers fresh insights ...

A glass of wine may help you relax and nod off, but having it too close to bedtime can lead to poor sleep quality and a groggy, not to mention hangover-plagued, morning after.

When you’re wound up at the end of a long, stressful day, a nightcap may sound like the perfect way to relax before bed. But while a little alcohol may make you feel sleepy, it can set you up for a restless night. Can you unwind with a ...

Segmented sleep was popular with our ancestors, but it may not be healthy for most people today. Find out just how long you should be staying asleep.

Is worry about lack of sleep keeping you up at night? For new parents, shift workers, or people just too busy to get their 8 hours, segmented sleep is a painful reality. Research shows that sleeping in shifts was a common practice by our ancestors. But interrupting your sleep/wake cycle may not be practical ...

Robert Phipps, a British body language expert, says how a person sleeps can reveal key personality traits.

Whether you’re a side sleeper, back snoozer, or a knees-up cuddler, the position you choose while sleeping could reveal something about your personality, according to a British body language expert.

Robert Phipps, a leading body language expert in the United Kingdom, claims that a person’s sleep position can reveal key personality traits, like stubbornness or bossiness, as well as how critical a person is or ...

Looking for the optimal way to wake up in the morning? Key features will help you figure out if a traditional alarm clock or a more contemporary model is the best fit for you.

Should your alarm clock wake you with a jarring screech, upbeat music, or a soothing light that mimics the sunrise? You’ll need to consider your sleep style to figure out the best alarm clock for you, but first, one caveat. Remember that alarm clocks are there to ...

Reducing screen time may be an appropriate intervention for promoting earlier sleep onset in young people.

The more TV children watch before bedtime, the less sleep they get, researchers found.

In a cross-sectional sample of children and teens from New Zealand, roughly 30 minutes of the 90 minutes before participants went to sleep each night were spent in sedentary screen-time (TV, video games, computers), according to Louise Foley, PhD, of the University of Auckland in New Zealand, and colleagues.

Those who spent the ...

If you have trouble falling asleep, are a night shift worker, or just temporarily battling jet lag, melatonin supplements may help you get a better night’s rest.

The numbers are staggering — between 50 to 70 million adults in the United States have sleep or wakefulness disorders. About 2 percent of the population uses melatonin supplements for sleep regulation, yet researchers are still learning about the overall effects of this treatment and how best to use it.

Melatonin is a hormone secreted ...

Getting a good night’s sleep is vital at every stage of life, but expect fluctuation in the needed length of sleep.

Everyone’s sleep pattern changes throughout life: Babies sleep the day away, while seniors often get by on a handful of hours nabbed here and there. Sleep habits also change depending on your age. You might find yourself waking up earlier or staying up later. It may become harder to fall asleep or stay asleep because, as you get older, you’re ...