Portions of the brain fall asleep and wake back up all the time

When we are in a deep slumber our brain's activity ebbs and flows in big, obvious waves, like watching a tide of human bodies rise up and sit down around a sports stadium. It's hard to miss. Now, researchers have found, those same cycles exist in wake as in sleep, but with only small sections sitting and standing in unison rather than the entire stadium. It's as if tiny portions of the brain are independently falling asleep and waking back up all the time.

Originally published at https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/12/161202101326.htm

Online insomnia program can improve sleep for many, study finds

An online program designed to help people overcome insomnia significantly improves both the amount and quality of sleep, a new study has found. The study is the first to look closely at the effects of the Sleep Healthy Using the Internet (SHUTi) program on people with health conditions that could be affecting their sleep.

Originally published at https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161130141306.htm

Lack of sleep costing US economy up to $411 billion per year

Lower productivity levels and the higher risk of mortality resulting from sleep deprivation have a significant effect on a nation's economy. Sleep deprivation increases the risk of mortality by 13 per cent and leads to the U.S. losing around 1.2 million working days a year. Increasing nightly sleep from under six hours to between six and seven hours could add $226.4 billion to the U.S. economy.

Originally published at https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161130130826.htm

How did web-based cognitive therapy work for insomnia?

How well did a web-based cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia intervention work in a randomized clinical trial? A new article reports that adults assigned to receive the fully automated and interactive web-based Sleep Healthy Using the Internet (SHUTi) intervention had improved sleep compared with those adults just given access to a patient education website with information about insomnia.

Originally published at https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161130130738.htm

Don't let yourself go in middle age: Health between 45 and 55 is the key to preventing heart failure

Men at age 45 without hypertension and diabetes lived an average of 10.6 years longer while women had 14.9 years extra, researchers from the American College of Cardiology found.

Read the rest at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3979344/Don-t-let-middle-age-Health-45-55-key-preventing-heart-failure.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

How kids' brains respond to a late night up

Any parent can tell you about the consequences of their child not getting enough sleep. But there is far less known about the details of how sleep deprivation affects children's brains and what this means for early brain development.

Originally published at https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161128130826.htm

Sleep apnea may make lung cancer more deadly

New research shows that a lack of oxygen during sleep helps enable the spread of cancer cells.

Originally published at https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161117204726.htm