sleep – News Stories About sleep - Page 1

Daytime Napping May
Combat Brain Shrinkage

NEW STUDY

Jun 20, 2023 8:39 AM CDT

Daytime Napping May Combat Brain Shrinkage

Those with genetic predisposition to habitual daytime napping found to have larger brain volume

(Newser) - Adults who partake in short daytime naps could be doing more than catching up on sleep. New research suggests they could also be slowing the rate at which the brain shrinks with age. Researchers at University College London and Uruguay's University of the Republic took data from 35,080...

Longing for More Sleep in the Winter? Blame REM

There's a Reason
Why You May Need to
Sleep Longer in Winter

NEW STUDY

Feb 17, 2023 1:48 PM CST

There's a Reason Why You May Need to Sleep Longer in Winter

Scientists say people get more REM sleep in colder months, might need to adjust sleep habits

(Newser) - If you're annoyed at how much sleep you seem to need in the winter, you're not alone—and scientists think they're closer to understanding why. The Guardian cites new research out of a sleep clinic in Berlin, where scientists examined nearly 190 patients who were there for...

What Sleeping With
a Weighted Blanket
Does to Your Brain

What Sleeping With a Weighted Blanket Does to Your Brain

Night use boosts production of melatonin, small study finds

(Newser) - Weighted vests and blankets have been used for decades to induce calm. But how do they work? Researchers may now have part of the answer. Christian Benedict, an associate professor of pharmacology at Sweden's Uppsala University, had heard of "the magic effects of the weighted blanket"—including...

Study: Getting 5 Hours of Sleep or Less Is Bad News

Study Holds Warning
for Those Sleeping
5 Hours a Night

new study

Oct 19, 2022 2:38 PM CDT

Study Holds Warning for Those Sleeping 5 Hours a Night

50-year-olds who did so had 30% greater risk of multimorbidity than those who slept 7

(Newser) - Eight hours of sleep may do you good, but five hours or less could actually do you harm, or so suggests a new study. The PLOS Medicine study of British civil service workers used self-reported sleep duration measurements collected six times between 1985 and 2016; that data was bucketed into...

Researchers Say This Is How
to Get a Crying Baby to Sleep

new study

Sep 14, 2022 11:48 AM CDT

Researchers Say This Is How to Get a Crying Baby to Sleep

Researchers recommend a process that takes 10 to 13 minutes

(Newser) - For any parent who has wished there was a magic solution to get their crying newborn back to sleep, good news: Japanese researchers say they've found it. In a study published Tuesday in Current Biology , researchers sum up the crux of the issue: "Approximately 20%–30% of infants...

You Won't Get Yelled At for Sleeping on This Job

Do You Love to Nap? This
Company Wants to Hire You

Aug 9, 2022 11:31 AM CDT

Do You Love to Nap? This Company Wants to Hire You

If you're hired, mattress company Casper will pay you to sleep

(Newser) - Could a bulldozer ram into your home and you wouldn't wake up from a deep slumber? There might be a gig tailor-made just for you. Although you'd usually get a reprimand or worse for falling asleep at work, online mattress company Casper wants you to do just that,...

The Thing of Your Nightmares
Might Actually Have Dreams

NEW STUDY

Aug 9, 2022 10:20 AM CDT

The Thing of Your Nightmares Might Actually Have Dreams

Spiders seem to experience REM sleep, with twitches suggesting they act out activities

(Newser) - You've probably seen a dog kick its legs mid-dream, as though running. Spiders apparently do much the same thing, according to a new study—the first to indicate that arachnids dream. Daniela Roessler, a postdoctoral fellow at Germany's University of Konstanz, trained infrared cameras on sleeping spiders at...

Sleep Is Better When
a Partner Shares the Bed

new study

Jun 13, 2022 11:39 AM CDT

Sleep Is Better When a Partner Shares the Bed

New study suggests overall better scores from couples than single sleepers

(Newser) - For those trying to get a better night's sleep, a new study suggests one more tip: Share the bed with a romantic partner. Generally speaking, couples get better sleep than singletons, according to the University of Arizona study . Researchers looked at about 1,000 people who self-reported their sleeping...

Climate Change Could
Erode Your Sleep

new study

May 24, 2022 10:00 PM CDT

Climate Change Could Erode Your Sleep

Higher temps could translate into less sleep annually

(Newser) - Add another tally to the "woes of climate change" column. A new study suggests that by the year 2099, people will get as many as 58 fewer hours of sleep annually due to the impacts of heat on slumber. Researchers had 47,000 adults in 68 countries wear sleep-tracking...

This Is the Perfect Amount of
Sleep Once You Hit Middle Age

NEW STUDY

May 3, 2022 8:57 AM CDT

This Is the Perfect Amount of Sleep Once You Hit Middle Age

7 hours per night is the sweet spot for those in middle, old age, per latest research, but with caveats

(Newser) - If you've been skimping a bit on sleep and breaching that long-held "eight hours a night" mantra, you might be OK—as long as it's only by an hour or so, and you're a Gen Xer or boomer. Scientists in the UK and China have found...

Light at Night Harms Health,
Even While You're Fast Sleep

new study

Apr 3, 2022 9:50 AM CDT

Light at Night Harms Health, Even While You're Fast Sleep

For your brain, the lights don't go out just because you close your eyes

(Newser) - If you tend to fall asleep with the TV or a bedside light on, add it to the list of ways you are probably harming your health without even trying. In fact, per CNN —citing a recent study led by Dr. Phyllis Zee, chief of sleep medicine at Northwestern—...

'Vicious Cycle' Involves
Napping, Alzheimer's

NEW STUDY

Mar 17, 2022 12:23 PM CDT

'Vicious Cycle' Involves Napping, Alzheimer's

Study suggests excessive daytime napping is associated with greater risk for the disease among older adults

(Newser) - Older adults who suddenly find themselves napping longer and more frequently during the day might want to have their brains checked. That's according to researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital who explored a link between excessive daytime napping and Alzheimer's disease. They analyzed the duration and frequency...

Centuries Ago, We Slept
Much Differently

longform

Jan 22, 2022 7:45 AM CST

Centuries Ago, We Slept Much Differently

People often went to sleep for a few hours, got up, then returned for a second shift

(Newser) - Got any big plans after "first sleep" tonight? This question might have actually made sense centuries ago, when human sleeping patterns appeared to be much different from those of today. As Zaria Gorvett explains at the BBC , people in the Middle Ages—and perhaps for long before that—commonly...

Top Snooker Player
Takes Ill-Timed Nap

Nov 30, 2021 11:10 AM CST

Top Snooker Player Takes Ill-Timed Nap

Mark Williams nods off during UK Championship, goes on to lose

(Newser) - Still feeling the effects of the coronavirus, a top snooker player fell asleep in the middle of his match in one of the most prestigious events in the sport, per the AP . "My head went down and I woke up and I didn't have a clue where I...

Experts Wary as
Date Rape Drug
Wins New Approval

Aug 14, 2021 12:12 PM CDT

Experts Wary as Date Rape Drug Wins New Approval

GHB will be used for a rare sleep disroder

(Newser) - Imagine how cranky and tired you'd feel after a bad night's sleep. Now imagine that's your daily reality. For the estimated 37,000 Americans diagnosed with idiopathic hypersomnia , who never feel fully rested even after a long night's sleep, it is, per Reuters . But according to...

Here's One Doctor's 6-Step
Routine for an Awesome Day

Jul 18, 2021 10:25 AM CDT

Here's One Doctor's 6-Step Routine for an Awesome Day

Hint: It has to do with getting a good night's sleep

(Newser) - Ali Abdaal is a junior doctor in the UK who shares tips and life hacks on YouTube and his podcast , and in one recent video with more than half a million views, he explains why he's "never tired." The secret, per Esquire , is a six-step routine meant...

Dementia Researchers Warn
Against Too Little Sleep

new study

Apr 20, 2021 1:50 PM CDT

Dementia Researchers Warn Against Too Little Sleep

Middle-age people who get 6 hours or less per night might have a higher risk

(Newser) - A 25-year study out of Britain comes with a clear takeaway for those in or entering middle age: Don't scrimp on sleep. Researchers followed 8,000 people and found that 50-year-olds who got by on six hours of sleep or less per night had a 22% higher risk of...

Researchers Skeptical
About White-Noise Sleep Apps

new study

Oct 19, 2020 10:40 AM CDT

Researchers Skeptical About White-Noise Sleep Apps

They might actually make things worse, concludes a new study

(Newser) - Apps or devices that simulate white noise to help people sleep are popular these days, but a new study raises doubts about their effectiveness. In fact, they might even degrade the quality of sleep, warns one of the researchers from the University of Pennsylvania. "I would just be careful,...

Sleep Experts Take a Stand
on Daylight Saving Time

Sleep Experts Take a Stand on Daylight Saving Time

Let's do away with it, says the American Academy of Sleep Medicine

(Newser) - Most Americans will turn the clocks back in November to mark the end of daylight saving time, and with that tradition comes another: all the griping from people who think it's a dumb, antiquated practice that should end. For the first time, however, a major panel of sleep experts...

Aim of New State Law
Is to Let Kids Sleep

Oct 14, 2019 8:07 AM CDT

Aim of New State Law Is to Let Kids Sleep

California says public schools can't start before 8am; for high schools, it's 8:30

(Newser) - Students in California's public schools will be able to sleep in a little later on school days under a controversial new state law. By the start of the 2022 school year, public middle schools can begin no earlier than 8am and high schools no earlier than 8:30am, reports...