Sleep 101

Small changes to your habits and lifestyle can have a big effect on sleep.

You might have heard some women talk about their biological clocks in regards to fertility; all living creatures have another type of internal clock, called the circadian rhythm. It refers to the 24-hour cycle of activity and sleep affected by the change from light to dark. A part of the brain called the hypothalamus manages the circadian rhythm, or pattern, by processing information (like when your eyes ...

Caffeine and nicotine side effects can include insomnia. Cutting back on coffee and smoking will ultimately help, but be prepared for withdrawal symptoms that may temporarily affect sleep.

As we pack more and more into our busy schedules, something’s gotta give. More often than not, that something is sleep.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 50 to 70 million Americans are chronically sleep-deprived. The reasons are just what you would expect — too many responsibilities at work, ...

Most of us are born tending to be larks or night owls. However, adhering to a strict sleep schedule and seeking professional help when necessary can help adjust your sleeping times if work or other factors dictate a change.

We’d like to think we control our bodies, choosing when to go to sleep and when to wake up. However, research shows we’ve got it wrong.

For example, it’s more than personal preference if you’re a night owl who’s awake in the ...

Traveling west to east? Blame your brain for the added disruption.

The way the human circadian clock sets itself may explain why jet lag tends to affect people more severely when they’re flying west to east compared to the other direction, a new animal study indicates.

The circadian clock, which regulates many body processes, has to make regular adjustments to stay synchronized with the light-dark cycle of where a person is and does this by delaying or advancing its time in response ...

Men and women who get just six hours of sleep each night during the workweek will need more than the weekend to recover from the cumulative effects of this mild sleep deprivation, a new study revealed.

Researchers also found that women are better able to cope with and recover from this kind of sleep loss than men.

“The usual practice of extending sleep during the weekend after a busy workweek associated with mild sleep loss is not adequate in reversing the cumulative ...

When wives can’t fall asleep, that tends to trigger marital tensions the next day, a new study suggests, whereas the sleep issues of husbands barely impact spousal relationships.

Researchers tested the sleep patterns of 35 young and healthy married couples for 10 nights using noninvasive sensors that monitored rest and activity cycles. Wives with sleeping difficulties sparked significantly more negative marital interactions the next day, according to the research, which is to be presented Monday in Minneapolis at the annual meeting ...

Waking up dripping with sweat and wrapped up in soaked sheets can be worrisome, but it’s not always serious. Here are 10 night sweats causes, and tips to help you enjoy cooler sleep.

As you drift off to sleep, you look forward to sleeping soundly through the night. But you awaken a few hours later, with your hair soaked, sheets drenched, and sweat pouring off of you. Who turned up the thermostat?

It’s your body’s own thermostat going haywire and causing these ...

People with delayed sleep phase syndrome have trouble getting up in the morning and going to bed at the right time. The body’s internal clock can be reset, however, with the help of a few sleep strategies.

Who doesn’t know at least one night owl who stays up until 1 or 2 a.m. every night, only to struggle to get out of bed the next morning to make it to school or work on time? To those on the outside, these ...

Cut down caffeine consumption, ease caffeine withdrawal, and get more restful sleep.

We all know the feeling — waking up groggy after not enough sleep or poor-quality sleep, only to be slammed with a full day of obligations. It’s only natural to reach for that cup of coffee as a pick-me-up. In fact, according to the National Sleep Foundation’s Sleep in America poll, 43 percent of Americans are “very likely” to consume caffeine to stay alert during the day.

And new research ...