Sleep

Sleep is a physiological behavior that is common in all animal species. It forms around one third of a human life. It is not known clearly the exact functions of sleep but it seems to be essential for survival as prolonged sleep deprivation leads to severe physical impairment followed by cognitive loss and eventually death.

What is Sleep?

Types of Sleep Disorders

How Can Mindfulness Meditation Improve Sleep?

Promoting Sounder Sleep in Older Adults

Sleep Deprivation - Inadequate Quantity of Sleep

Causes of Sleep Deprivation

Effect of Sleep on Your Emotions

How Long Should My Teenager Sleep For?

Management of Sleep Deprivation

REM Sleep Activity

Brain Activity During Sleep

Stages of Sleep

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Regulation of Sleep

Function of Sleep

Nutritional Effects on Sleep

Effects of Sleep Deprivation

Neuroscience of Sleep

Stimulants and Sleep

Hypnotics and Sleep

Shift Work Sleep Disorder

What is Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder (DSPD)?

Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder (DSPD) Management

What is the Circadian Rhythm?

Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorders

What Does Polysomnography Involve?

How Long should my Child Sleep for?

Health Effects of Poor Sleep - Quantity and Quality

How to Catch up on Lost Sleep

Why Do We Sleep?

Sleep Hygiene

Ghrelin and Sleep

Spoon Test for Sleep Deprivation

Can too much sleep be dangerous?

Causes of Nocturnal Awakenings

History of Sleep

Is Daytime Napping in Adults Good or Bad?

Tips on Getting to Sleep

The DEC2 Gene and Sleep

Importance of Sleep

Difference Between Nightmares and Night Terrors

How Does Sleep Affect Your Immunity?

How Does Pain Affect Your Sleep?

Why Do We Dream?

The Health Risks of Oversleeping

A Guide to Managing Sleep Disorders

The Importance of Having a Good Night’s Sleep

Sleep and Yoga

A Guide to Healthy Sleep Positions

How Can Sleep Affect Men's Health?

How Much Sleep do People Need?

Sleep and Hormones

Role of Sleep in Memory Consolidation

What is Sleep Regression?

Does Your Alarm Sound Affect Your Mood?

Could Humans Ever Hibernate?

Sleep Onset Mechanics: Understanding the Transition from Wakefulness to Slumber

What is the Role of Melatonin in Sleep Regulation?

Latest Sleep News and Research

Macular thickness could predict postoperative delirium in older patients

Thickening of the macular layer of the eye's retina is associated with a greater risk of postoperative delirium for older patients undergoing surgery under general anaesthetic, reveals a study published online in the open access journal General Psychiatry.

2 Apr 2025

Blood pressure trajectories during early pregnancy can stratify future hypertension risk

NIH-supported study reveals new risk group for future high blood pressure, heart disease.

2 Apr 2025

Nighttime screen use linked to poorer sleep quality and shorter duration

Researchers examine how electronic screen use before bed affects sleep among adults.

2 Apr 2025

New study explores link between gut microbiome and autism spectrum disorder

Researchers evaluate the relationship between the gut microbiome and autism spectrum disorder.

2 Apr 2025

Rural communities face higher rates of heart disease and risk factors

A research team funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) uncovered higher rates of heart disease and worse heart health affecting adults living in rural communities compared to urban areas and the factors that likely drive these differences.

1 Apr 2025

Only 13% of French adults have optimal heart health—here’s what’s driving the gap

Only 13% of French adults aged 18–69 have optimal cardiovascular health, according to a national study using the American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8 (LE8) score. The findings highlight missed prevention opportunities and suggest that modest lifestyle changes could prevent up to 81% of cardiovascular events.

1 Apr 2025

Pregnancy may provide some protection against Long COVID

Pregnancy may offer some protection from developing Long COVID, found a new study led by Weill Cornell Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, University of Utah Health and Louisiana Public Health Institute.

1 Apr 2025

Study shows women can hear better than men

An international team of scientists has found that biological sex is the leading factor explaining differences in hearing sensitivity, with women having significantly more sensitive hearing than men.

From University of Bath 1 Apr 2025

Study helps characterize how sleep deficiency may relate to Alzheimer's pathogenesis

New research reveals that lower proportions of specific sleep stages are associated with reduced brain volume in regions vulnerable to the development of Alzheimer's disease over time.

31 Mar 2025

Caffeine and beetroot juice beat fatigue in repeated high-intensity runs

Caffeine combined with beetroot juice significantly improves both initial and repeated 1000-meter running performance in non-athlete men. Body fat percentage, sleep duration, and nutrition emerge as key factors influencing endurance outcomes.

30 Mar 2025

Discrimination exposure found to raise anxiety, depression risks among racial and ethnic groups

A new study found that more than half of US adults encounter some form of discrimination, and that this mistreatment may fuel higher chances of depression and/or anxiety among specific racial and ethnic groups due to cultural, social, and systemic factors.

28 Mar 2025

Their physical therapy coverage ran out before they could walk again

Mari Villar was slammed by a car that jumped the curb, breaking her legs and collapsing a lung. Amy Paulo was in pain from a femur surgery that wasn't healing properly.

28 Mar 2025

Banning smartphone and social media access fails to protect children from digital harm

Banning smartphone and social media access alone fails to equip children for healthy use of technology, argues a group of international experts in The BMJ today.

27 Mar 2025

Trump turns homelessness response away from housing, toward forced treatment

President Donald Trump is vowing a new approach to getting homeless people off the streets by forcibly moving those living outside into large camps while mandating mental health and addiction treatment — an aggressive departure from the nation's leading homelessness policy, which for decades has prioritized housing as the most effective way to combat the crisis.

27 Mar 2025

Addressing cardiovascular risk factors in emerging adulthood

Many teenagers enter adulthood with significant risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and the transition from adolescence to adulthood is a key time to address these risk factors and reduce the risk of developing future cardiovascular disease, according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

26 Mar 2025

New guidelines recommend 2 hours of weekly exercise for postpartum women

New mums should be strongly encouraged to begin clocking up at least two hours of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity such as brisk walking and muscle strengthening exercises each week in the first three months after birth, when physically able, to improve health and well-being, say experts in a new guideline published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

26 Mar 2025

New study challenges assumptions about youth and digital media

A groundbreaking new study of young people's digital media use has revealed surprising results, including evidence that smartphone ownership may actually benefit children.

26 Mar 2025

Increased mobility linked to lower risk of hospitalization in heart failure patients

Compared with those who spent most of their time in a single room, people with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) who were able to travel outside of their home without assistance were significantly less likely to be hospitalized or die within a year, according to a study being presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session (ACC.25).

25 Mar 2025

New insights into how sleep reorganizes neuronal activity for better memory

Why is sleep so important for learning and memory? Neuroscientists from the Csicsvari group at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) provided new insight into this essential function by monitoring neuronal activity in rat brains for up to 20 hours of sleep following spatial learning.

24 Mar 2025

Sticking to Life’s Essential 8 slashes cancer risk, major study shows

Long-term adherence to the American Heart Association’s “Life’s Essential 8” lifestyle score significantly reduces the risk of overall and site-specific cancers. Stable high LE8 scores over four years were linked to notably lower risks of lung, breast, liver, and colorectal cancers in a large Chinese cohort study.

23 Mar 2025