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.

How Morning Routines Influence Cognitive Performance, Mood, and Circadian Rhythm

How simple, evidence-based morning habits recalibrate the circadian system to sharpen cognition, stabilize mood, and support long-term mental health.

Causes of Sleep Deprivation

Role of Sleep in Memory Consolidation

Ghrelin and Sleep

Tips on Getting to Sleep

How Does Sleep Affect Your Immunity?

Spoon Test for Sleep Deprivation

What is Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder (DSPD)?

Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorders

Could Humans Ever Hibernate?

How Long should my Child Sleep for?

Function of Sleep

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Brain Activity During Sleep

History of Sleep

Sleep Hygiene

Is Daytime Napping in Adults Good or Bad?

What is Sleep Regression?

Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder (DSPD) Management

Promoting Sounder Sleep in Older Adults

The Health Risks of Oversleeping

What is the Circadian Rhythm?

The DEC2 Gene and Sleep

Causes of Nocturnal Awakenings

Sleep Deprivation - Inadequate Quantity of Sleep

Regulation of Sleep

Stages of Sleep

REM Sleep Activity

The Importance of Having a Good Night’s Sleep

Effects of Sleep Deprivation

How Can Sleep Affect Men's Health?

Stimulants and Sleep

How Much Sleep do People Need?

Does Your Alarm Sound Affect Your Mood?

How to Catch up on Lost Sleep

Hypnotics and Sleep

Sleep and Yoga

Can too much sleep be dangerous?

A Guide to Healthy Sleep Positions

What Does Polysomnography Involve?

How Can Mindfulness Meditation Improve Sleep?

Difference Between Nightmares and Night Terrors

Neuroscience of Sleep

Nutritional Effects on Sleep

Sleep Onset Mechanics: Understanding the Transition from Wakefulness to Slumber

Why Do We Sleep?

Importance of Sleep

What is the Role of Melatonin in Sleep Regulation?

How Does Pain Affect Your Sleep?

Sleep and Hormones

Shift Work Sleep Disorder

Health Effects of Poor Sleep - Quantity and Quality

How Long Should My Teenager Sleep For?

Effect of Sleep on Your Emotions

A Guide to Managing Sleep Disorders

Types of Sleep Disorders

What is Sleep?

Why Do We Dream?

Management of Sleep Deprivation

Latest Sleep News and Research

Brain blips in epilepsy can be predicted before onset

Epilepsy is best known for seizures, but many people with the condition also experience much more frequent and subtler disruptions.

30 Apr 2026

Sickness behavior may be a coordinated whole organism immune strategy

Symptoms such as fatigue, loss of appetite, altered sleep, and social withdrawal are often treated as inconvenient side effects of infection.

30 Apr 2026

NIH awards $44 million for landmark study on health challenges in the rural South

The University of Texas at San Antonio (UT San Antonio) has been awarded a five-year, $44 million contract from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health for a landmark study focused on persistent health challenges in the rural South.

30 Apr 2026

Degeneration in two brain regions causes severe narcolepsy symptoms

For nearly 25 years, scientists believed they knew what caused the most severe form of narcolepsy. A new UCLA Health study now suggests they were only half correct.

30 Apr 2026

AHA calls for lifelong brain health strategy to prevent cognitive decline

The AHA scientific statement calls for a life-course approach to brain health that integrates cognitive, emotional, behavioral, vascular, environmental, inflammatory, sleep, microbiome, and social factors. It highlights how early-life exposures, mental health, pollution, chronic inflammation, poor sleep, gut dysbiosis, and socioeconomic adversity may shape brain resilience and later-life cognitive decline.

29 Apr 2026

Study reframes ADHD as disorder of energy regulation

The number of people in Europe diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has continued to rise steadily, not only among children, but increasingly among adults and women.

28 Apr 2026

Cumulative cardiovascular health from early adulthood predicts lower disease risk

The American Heart Association's Life's Essential 8 (LE8) score is a health tool, ranging from 0 to 100, that quantifies cardiovascular health (CVH) using information from eight lifestyle and risk factors, (body mass index, cholesterol, blood pressure, blood glucose, physical activity, diet, smoking, and sleep.

28 Apr 2026

PCORI announces new funding for patient-centered clinical effectiveness research

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) today announced new funding to support patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) across a range of health conditions experienced by Americans, along with projects designed to help bring practice-changing CER results into real-world care settings.

28 Apr 2026

Study finds season of entry impacts childhood obesity outcomes

Childhood obesity remains a major health challenge, and effective interventions often depend on more than nutritional advice or exercise plans alone.

28 Apr 2026

New clinical guidelines significantly reduce opioid prescriptions after ear surgery

A new retrospective study published in OTO Open, the open-access journal of the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF), demonstrates that the Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) Opioid Prescribing for Analgesia After Common Otolaryngology Operations has had a measurable and sustained impact on prescribing practices following parotidectomy, which a surgical procedure to remove the parotid gland.

28 Apr 2026

New scientific statement defines brain health across life

Brain health isn't determined only by genetics or what happens later in life. A growing body of research shows that a range of factors-from mental health and sleep to environment, lifestyle and social conditions-play a powerful role in shaping how the brain functions and ages.

28 Apr 2026

The simple link between core strength and brain health

The brain is more mechanically connected to the body than previously appreciated, scientists reported today (April 27) in Nature Neuroscience. Through a study using mice and simulations, the team found a potential biological mechanism underlying why exercise is thought to benefit brain health: abdominal contractions compress blood vessels connected to the spinal cord and the brain, enabling the organ to gently move within the skull.

28 Apr 2026

Sleep and age shape EEG brain signals during wakefulness

Clinicians use electroencephalography (EEG) to assess brain activity in epilepsy and sleep pathologies, and this powerful tool has shown promise for other conditions.

28 Apr 2026

GLP-1 drugs promise wider health benefits, but experts urge caution on use

GLP-1 receptor agonists are reshaping care for type 2 diabetes, obesity, chronic kidney disease, and obstructive sleep apnea, with evidence for glycemic, weight-loss, cardiovascular, and renal benefits. The review urges nurse practitioners to balance expanding clinical promise with careful prescribing, patient education, monitoring, access advocacy, and vigilance for gastrointestinal, endocrine, pregnancy-related, and rare serious risks.

27 Apr 2026

Advanced heart, kidney and metabolic disease linked to higher cancer risk

People with advanced heart, kidney and metabolic disease may face a higher risk of developing cancer, according to new research published today in the American Heart Association's peer-reviewed scientific journal Circulation: Population Health and Outcomes.

27 Apr 2026

Stronger slow-wave sleep helps older adults regulate anxiety overnight

Researchers at Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas have identified a specific feature of sleep that helps older adults regulate anxiety overnight - and shown that, as it deteriorates with age, emotional wellbeing deteriorates along with it.

27 Apr 2026

Drinking coffee alters your microbiome, mood, and memory

Coffee consumption influences the microbiota-gut-brain axis, affecting cognitive performance and emotional regulation through complex biological pathways.

24 Apr 2026

Study identifies key risk factors driving MASLD across populations

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) affects approximately 32% of the US adult population.

23 Apr 2026

Late-night eating may amplify the effects of stress on gut health

It's well known that chronic stress can disrupt bowel function, sending people running to the bathroom or making them constipated.

23 Apr 2026

Transcatheter arterialization of the deep veins improves quality of life for no-option CLTI patients

Data from the PROMISE III trial suggest that chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI) patients with no other treatment options experienced significant quality of life (QoL) improvements after undergoing transcatheter arterialization of the deep veins (TADV).

23 Apr 2026