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.

Stimulants and Sleep

REM Sleep Activity

Tips on Getting to Sleep

Function of Sleep

What is the Role of Melatonin in Sleep Regulation?

Ghrelin and Sleep

How Much Sleep do People Need?

A Guide to Managing Sleep Disorders

Why Do We Sleep?

Role of Sleep in Memory Consolidation

Why Do We Dream?

See more featured articles »

Effects of Sleep Deprivation

Importance of Sleep

Hypnotics and Sleep

Sleep Hygiene

Sleep Onset Mechanics: Understanding the Transition from Wakefulness to Slumber

Does Your Alarm Sound Affect Your Mood?

Can too much sleep be dangerous?

Is Daytime Napping in Adults Good or Bad?

Spoon Test for Sleep Deprivation

History of Sleep

Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder (DSPD) Management

Shift Work Sleep Disorder

How Long Should My Teenager Sleep For?

Regulation of Sleep

How to Catch up on Lost Sleep

Causes of Sleep Deprivation

Sleep Deprivation - Inadequate Quantity of Sleep

Could Humans Ever Hibernate?

How Does Sleep Affect Your Immunity?

Neuroscience of Sleep

Promoting Sounder Sleep in Older Adults

The Health Risks of Oversleeping

Types of Sleep Disorders

How Long should my Child Sleep for?

What is the Circadian Rhythm?

Brain Activity During Sleep

Nutritional Effects on Sleep

Stages of Sleep

Causes of Nocturnal Awakenings

What is Sleep?

What is Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder (DSPD)?

The Importance of Having a Good Night’s Sleep

Management of Sleep Deprivation

How Does Pain Affect Your Sleep?

A Guide to Healthy Sleep Positions

Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorders

How Can Mindfulness Meditation Improve Sleep?

Sleep and Hormones

How Can Sleep Affect Men's Health?

What is Sleep Regression?

Difference Between Nightmares and Night Terrors

Effect of Sleep on Your Emotions

The DEC2 Gene and Sleep

What Does Polysomnography Involve?

Sleep and Yoga

Health Effects of Poor Sleep - Quantity and Quality

Latest Sleep News and Research

UH College of Pharmacy secures funding for three major health studies

University of Houston College of Pharmacy researchers have secured more than $1 million in new funding to support three separate studies targeting sepsis, Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, and depression in patients with sickle cell disease.

11 Aug 2026

Nocturnal micro-awakenings linked to genetic risk of Alzheimer's disease

What if certain signs of the disease were to manifest themselves subtly during sleep, long before the first memory problems appear? This is the line of inquiry being explored by a team of researchers at ULiège, with the support of the Stop Alzheimer's Foundation.

11 Aug 2026

FDA clears first self-balancing personal exoskeleton for wheelchair users

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared Eve™, the first self-balancing personal exoskeleton for eligible wheelchair users living with spinal cord injury.

11 Aug 2026

Adolescents using nicotine face higher risks of mental health problems

Adolescents who use nicotine are more likely to report symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems than their peers who do not use nicotine.

11 Aug 2026

Comprehensive BMJ review identifies most effective bipolar disorder treatments

The most comprehensive review to date has identified the most effective bipolar disorder treatments across different age groups and mood phases. It was published today in The BMJ.

11 Aug 2026

Bright-light therapy may reduce attention lapses during night work

Light therapy may improve alertness and attention/reaction time during simulated night shifts, with the strongest benefits appearing after light exposure. Effects on executive function were smaller and largely limited to treatment, while substantial study heterogeneity and limited real-world evidence warrant caution.

11 Aug 2026

New computer model connects brain chemistry to neural activity patterns

Researchers have developed a computer model of the human cortex that links its microscopic chemistry to its brain-wide patterns of activity, providing new evidence that regional differences in receptor density help shape how activity and information move across the brain.

7 Aug 2026

Severe COVID-19 reactivates dormant viruses and may leave a lasting viral signature

A longitudinal study of 1,154 hospitalized COVID-19 patients found widespread reactivation of chronic Herpesviridae and Anelloviridae, with distinct viral patterns linked to disease severity, inflammation, and clinical outcomes. Anelloviridae also persisted during convalescence and were associated with physical deficits in long COVID, although the study did not establish causation.

7 Aug 2026

Nicotine gum may make smokeless tobacco withdrawal easier to manage

A randomized trial found that 2 mg nicotine gum controlled craving, anxiety, and sleep problems more effectively than behavioral counselling during smokeless tobacco cessation. Although abstinence rates were numerically higher with nicotine gum, the differences were not statistically significant, highlighting the need for larger studies.

6 Aug 2026

Nighttime light linked to conflicting signs of biological aging

Higher residential nighttime light exposure was associated with contrasting biological aging patterns in nearly 300,000 UK Biobank participants, depending on the aging algorithm used. PhenoAge and homeostatic dysregulation suggested a potentially adverse aging pattern, while KDM-BA showed the opposite association, underscoring uncertainty about how nighttime light relates to biological aging.

6 Aug 2026

Parenting stress influences children's screen habits, study finds

Researchers at FIU have a message for parents: If screen time is part of getting through a stressful day, find a way to make it count. The goal should be to focus less on quantity and more on quality.

6 Aug 2026

AI sleep model reveals health risks missed by standard apnea scores

An AI foundation model extracted hidden physiological patterns from routine polysomnography and identified five patient groups with distinct long-term risks of mortality, cardiovascular disease, and neurological disorders. The approach outperformed apnea–hypopnea index severity categories for risk stratification and remained informative in an independent sleep cohort.

6 Aug 2026

Night shifts and chronic insomnia may increase long COVID risk

The first evidence that night work and chronic insomnia may increase the risk of developing long COVID comes from a new study led by ISGlobal, a centre supported by "la Caixa" Foundation, in collaboration with the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), through the GCAT | Genomes for Life cohort.

6 Aug 2026

ACLM launches first lifestyle medicine evidence repository for healthcare professionals

The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) has launched the Lifestyle Medicine Evidence Repository, the first centralized, curated collection of scientific research focused specifically on lifestyle medicine interventions.

5 Aug 2026

Hypothyroidism linked to higher risk of obstructive sleep apnea

According to a study conducted in Brazil by researchers at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) with participants from the São Paulo Epidemiological Sleep Study (EPISONO 2018), people with hypothyroidism experience a higher frequency and severity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

5 Aug 2026

Medical cannabis compound alleviates nightmares associated with PTSD

Nightmares are among the most agonizing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – a condition that can develop after exposure to severe traumatic experiences, such as disasters, serious accidents, acts of violence, or wartime experiences. Individuals affected relive the events intensely at night, as if they were real, time and time again.

5 Aug 2026

For students, an early social media account may come with a lasting classroom cost

Researchers linked retrospective digital-habit surveys from 5,227 northern Italian students with standardized test records spanning grades 2–10, including 4,545 students in the principal longitudinal analysis. Students who opened social media accounts in grades 6 or 7 had lower later Italian and mathematics scores than matched students who waited until grade 9 or later, although residual confounding cannot be excluded.

5 Aug 2026