sleep

Sleep helps the mind learn complicated tasks and helps people recover learning they otherwise thought they had forgotten over the course of a day, research at the University of Chicago shows. Using a test that involved learning to play video games, researchers showed for the first time that people who had "forgotten" how to perform a complex task 12 hours after training found Read more...

There is a difference between nodding off due to sleep deprivation and power napping, a U.S. newsletter says. The Harvard Men's Health Watch says people often fall asleep when they least want to -- at their desks or worse, behind the wheel -- when sleep deprived. Sleep deprivation may be caused by not devoting enough time to sleep or by medical conditions such as restless legs syndrome, sleep Read more...

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, Dutch researchers said cognitive deficits were reversed after six weeks of sleep therapy. The study, published in the journal Sleep, found that cognitive processes related to verbal fluency are compromised in people with insomnia despite the absence of a behavioral deficit. However, these specific brain function alterations can be reversed through Read more...

September is "National Menopause Awareness Month" and SleepBetter.org, an educational Web site dedicated to helping people sleep better, is offering the 40 million American women of menopausal age -- and the more than 1 million more joining their ranks annually -- helpful tips for obtaining a more restful night's sleep during this time in their lives. "Sleep difficulties are a Read more...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 3, 2008 (Xinhua) -- Loss of sleep, even for a few short hours during the night, can prompt one's immune system to turn against healthy tissue and organs, according to a recent study. Researchers from the University of California reported on the Sept. 15 issue of Biological Psychiatry that losing sleep for even part of one night can trigger the key cellular pathway that Read more...

"Sleep on it" really is good advice, according to new research showing how memory is boosted by slumber. A good night's sleep has a dramatic impact on the way the brain functions the next day, scientists have discovered. Sleep appears to strengthen connections between communicating nerve cells in the brain -- a process thought to form the basis of learning and memory. Read more...

A good night's sleep isn't a luxury -- it's a necessity for life, sleep experts say. In fact, studies have shown that sleep is as intrinsic to a person's health, well-being and survival as food, water and oxygen. In one study, sleep researchers with the National Institutes of Health found that rats -- scientists say they need about 12.6 hours of sleep a day, more than what the Read more...