Thursday, November 5, 2009

Penn Researchers Reverse The Cognitive Impairment Caused By Sleep Deprivation

Penn Researchers Reverse The Cognitive Impairment Caused By Sleep Deprivation
A research collaboration led by biologists and neuroscientists at the University of Pennsylvania has found a molecular pathway in the brain that is the cause of cognitive impairment due to sleep deprivation. Just as important, the team believes that the cognitive deficits caused by sleep deprivation, such as an inability to focus, learn or memorize, may be reversible by reducing the concentration of a specific enzyme that builds up in the hippocampus of the brain.

Shared Bed May Raise SIDS Risk
Title: Shared Bed May Raise SIDS Risk
Category: Health News
Created: 10/14/2009 8:10:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 10/14/2009

Coffee Decreases Quality Of Daytime Recovery Sleep For Night Workers
Night-shift workers should avoid drinking coffee if they wish to improve their sleep, according to research published in the journal Sleep Medicine. A new study led by Julie Carrier, a Université de Montréal psychology professor and a researcher at the affiliated Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur Sleep Disorders Centre, has found the main byproduct of coffee, caffeine, interferes with sleep and this side-effect worsens as people age.

Sleep Deprivation Can Negatively Affect Information Processing
A study in the Nov.1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that sleep deprivation causes some people to shift from a more automatic, implicit process of information categorization (information-integration) to a more controlled, explicit process (rule-based). This use of rule-based strategies in a task in which information-integration strategies are optimal can lead to potentially devastating errors when quick and accurate categorization is fundamental to survival.

World Trade Center Workers Have More Cases of Acid Reflux
Title: World Trade Center Workers Have More Cases of Acid Reflux
Category: Health News
Created: 10/26/2009 2:10:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 10/27/2009

Sleep Disturbances Improve After Retirement
A study in the Nov.1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that retirement is followed by a sharp decrease in the prevalence of sleep disturbances. Findings suggest that this general improvement in sleep is likely to result from the removal of work-related demands and stress rather than from actual health benefits of retirement. Results show that the odds of having disturbed sleep in the seven years after retirement were 26 percent lower (adjusted odds ratio of 0.