Recent Research Bombshells
Sleep Deprivation Bombshells
Sleep is important when faced with stress and anxiety. Sleep is an essential part of our daily lives and well-being.
Sleep disorders rob us of the opportunity to restore ourselves physically, emotionally Here are some tips from the National Sleep Foundation
Men who frequently work long hours or get little sleep double their risk of having a
non fatal heart attack,
according to a study by Japanese researchers. They evaluated the cases of 260 men aged 40-79 who were admitted to hospitals with acute myocardial infarction between 1996-98. They compared the men with a control group of
445 men similar in age and residence who had not had heart attacks. The men who worked 61 hours a week or more on average during the previous year were twice as likely to have a heart attack as the men who worked 40 hours a week or less, and the men who slept five hours or less on average each working day during the previous year had two-to-three times greater risk of having a heart attack than men who got more than five hours of sleep each night. The study was published in the July issue of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. (http://oem.bmjjournals.com/)
Your ability to learn motor skills increases when you’ve had a good night’s sleep,
according to a recent study by Harvard Medical School researchers. They taught groups of people to type a sequence of keys on a computer keyboard as quickly and accurately as possible. One group was trained in the morning and then re-tested 12 hours later; they were able to improve their performance by about two percent in the re-test. But subjects who were trained in the evening and re-tested 12 hours later, after a good night’s sleep, improved far more-an average of 20 percent. The research also showed that the amount of improved performance correlated with the amount of Stage 2 non-REM (NREM) sleep, which usually occurs late at night. “This finding of sleep-dependent motor skill improvement may have important implications for the efficient learning of all skilled actions in humans,” the study concluded. The study was published
in the July 3 issue of Neuron. (http://www.neuron.org/).
Melatonin may limit risk of Alzheimer’s:
A report appearing in the American Chemical Society’s Journal Biochemistry found that the hormone melatonin could inhibit the process of forming amyloid protein bundles, which are toxic to nerve cells and indicators of the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Melatonin is widely used for treating insomnia and jet lag. For more information, visit http://www.supplementinfo.org
7 out of 10 people have felt depressed since 9/11 WTC attacks
According to a recent poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, 7 out of 10 people have felt depressed since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11; nearly half report having trouble concentrating; and a third said they have had trouble sleeping. The National Sleep Foundation recently released a list of suggestions for coping with “Sleep Problems Following Stress”; a news release summarizing the information is available at The complete list is located athttp://www.sleepfoundation.org.
A recent study suggests that shift work may lead to an increased risk of heart disease.
The study by Dutch scientists at Maastricht University indicates that working at night puts excess stress on the body, which can cause abnormal heart rhythms and a greater susceptibility to heart attack and stroke. The study involved 400 shift workers and 400 daytime employees. It showed that the people who worked irregular hours had more abnormal heartbeats. Previous research has shown that shift workers are more likely to suffer from heart disease because of the stress, tension and shift work their jobs involve. NSF’s publication, “Sleep Strategies for Sleep Strategies for Shift Workers”
(http://www.sleepfoundation.org/publications/shiftworker.html) provides sleep and coping tips.
