TV Before Bed May Rob Kids of Sleep

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 ...

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15
JUN
0

Sleep 101

Turn to Exercise as a Treatment for Restless Legs Syndrome

When restless legs syndrome strikes, get moving to find relief. Find out how one man uses regular, moderate exercise to help keep symptoms at bay.

Michael Haltman exercises nearly every day. He has a regular routine of core strengthening work, cardiovascular exercises, and weight lifting that he uses to stay fit and healthy. But that’s not the only reason he does it.

“It seems to help my restless legs syndrome symptoms when I do exercise,” says Haltman, the 53-year-old owner of a ...

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1
JUN
0

Restless Legs Syndrome

Troubled Sleepers at Risk for Soft Arterial Plaque

Frequency of plaques was much higher in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Obstructive sleep apnea has been linked with cardiovascular disease, but it also may be linked with the deadliest type of coronary artery plaque, a small study suggests.

Of patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), 63 percent had noncalcified or mixed plaques compared with 16 percent of those without OSA, according to Sunil Sharma, MD, of East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C., and colleagues.

“The broad confidence interval was most likely due ...

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15
MAY
0

Doctors Orders

Treating Insomnia Could Prevent Suicide

Targeting the feeling of hopelessness about sleep, caused by insomnia, can be an effective method of suicide prevention, according to a study published in the ‘Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine’.

Scientists have long noticed that sleeplessness and suicide are linked. Now, a new Georgia Regents University study suggests why that might be — and how treating the former can potentially prevent the latter.

Insomnia affects about 15 percent of adults, but up to 80 percent of those with depression. Depression, in turn, ...

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1
MAY
0

Insomnia

Traffic May Keep City Dwellers Awake, Harming Health

Sleep disturbance could lead to greater risk for heart attack and high blood pressure, researchers say.

Nighttime noise pollution — in particular the din of traffic — in urban areas puts city residents at risk for disrupted sleep and annoyance, researchers report.

Such chronic sleep disturbance could lead to serious health consequences, including increased risk for heart attack and high blood pressure, according to the new study. In addition, nighttime noise can also lead to poor sleep quality, which can cause morning ...

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15
APR
0

Doctors Orders

Treating Apnea May Help Blood Pressure

Connection discovered between poor sleep habits and increased risk of hypertension.

Treating obstructive sleep apnea in patients who have daytime sleepiness as a symptom may have an additional benefit—a reduction in the risk of high blood pressure.

A pair of studies published in the May 23/30 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association point to a possible link between a reduction in hypertension and the use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), but only one of the studies—an observational one—found ...

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1
APR
0

Sleep Apnea

Too Much Light: Ruining Not Just Your Sleep But Your Health Too

Falling asleep with the TV on or a dim night-light in your room may seem soothing. But these seemingly innocent light sources could also form barriers between you and healthy sleep.

Falling asleep with the TV on may ward off the bogeyman, but research suggests that, over time, too much light at night could interfere with healthy sleep, possibly increasing your risk of sleep disorders and other health problems. According to emerging research, sleep disorders and nighttime lighting may be making ...

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15
MAR
0

Tips and Tricks

Tips to Manage This Weekend’s Time Change

A few minor adjustments can help ‘morning people’ and children.

When the clocks go back an hour this weekend, some people may have trouble adjusting to the time change.

Many welcome the switch from daylight savings time to standard time because it means an extra hour of sleep on Sunday, but some will find it difficult to adapt, according to Girardin Jean-Louis, a sleep specialist and professor of medicine at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn.

Exposure to ...

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1
MAR
0

Tips and Tricks

Tips on Coping With Daylight Saving Time

Tweaking sleeping, eating, drinking and online habits all can help, experts advise.

The loss of an hour of sleep that comes with overnight Saturday’s switch to daylight saving time can be uncomfortable if you don’t take some simple steps to prepare, experts say.

To help you adapt, Dr. Praveen Rudraraju, director of the Center for Sleep Medicine at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, N.Y., offers the following tips:

The bedroom should be used for sleep and sex only, Rudraraju advised in a ...

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15
FEB
0

Tips and Tricks

The Allure of Lucid Dreaming

Sounds like the stuff of movies, but some people can realize they’re in a dream while they’re still having it. Find out about this unusual phenomenon called lucid dreaming.

You’re standing somewhere that you only vaguely recognize. Maybe it’s your second grade classroom or a temple from ancient Greece. All the sudden, five tigers descend directly on you. Fear starts to make your breathing stop and your hand flail. But wait — you try to jump and suddenly you can fly ...

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1
FEB
0

World of Dreams

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