A study released today by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine found that a lack of sleep may increase your risk of cardiovascular disease. The researchers, who monitored a group of 39 subjects, found that after consecutive days of insufficient sleep, the subjects experienced higher than normal heart rates and appeared more likely to experience heart trouble. The AFP article about the study has been picked up by multiple international news outlets.
June 14, 2007
Scientists believe they have discovered technique that could, one day, allow you to sleep at the push of a button. The technique, known as transcranial magnetic stimulation, involves the use of magnetic waves to stimulate slow wave activity in the brain. Research seems to indicate that this slow-wave activity is a key process that occurs during sleep, and is responsible for sleep’s “refreshing” nature. The magnetic pulses that are used to generate the slow wave activity are said to be harmless, and they can be created using a relatively simply headset type device. Giulio Tononi and Marcello Massimini, both of the University of Wisconsin, will be publishing their findings in the journal of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Read the full articles used to source this post here and here.
May 16, 2007
We found this post in Ask Yahoo about the ideal amount of sleep. Ask Yahoo says, “It all depends!”
National Sleep Foundation says that adults should get seven to nine hours of sleep a day while adolescents needs about 85.-9.5. Infants sleep the most (14-15 hours a day). The post also talks about benefits of taking naps.
April 24, 2007
This article on about.com suggests that yoga is “an ideal method of relaxation for your pre-bedtime routine,” in other words, a great way to get to sleep. The article goes on to provide the uninitiated with a brief overview of what yoga is all about. This article from Yogi Marlon also touts the benefits of Yoga as a sleep aid; the article also includes tips for improving your sleep schedule.
If you are interested in learning more about yoga, you can find a yoga studio near you. Have you tried yoga as a sleep aid? If so, let us know in the comments.
January 31, 2007
A recent analysis of 37 sleep studies that were conducted from 1998 to 2004 has yielded some interesting tips that will hopefully help those of you who have trouble getting to sleep at night:
- Go to bed only when you’re sleepy.
- If you can’t sleep, get out of bed.
- Use the bedroom only for sleeping (no reading, TV, etc.)
- Get up at the same time every morning.
- Don’t nap.
To see the rest of the tips and read more about the studies, check out the full article on WTKR.COM.
November 3, 2006
