News
Does sleep loss cause dementia?
This, very preliminary research, indicates that restricted sleep does NOT increase the chances of the brain being more susceptible to processes associated with the development of dementia.
Zeo Mobile launched
Zeo have launched the mobile version of their automated sleep monitoring equipment.
Validation of an automated wireless system to monitor sleep in healthy adults.
The aim of this study was to evaluate a novel wireless system (the Zeo) that does not require skilled preparation for the automatic collection and scoring of human sleep.
Walking dreams in congenital and acquired paraplegia.
Patients with paraplegia dream about walking, running, dancing, standing up, cycling or competing even if they have not been able to walk since birth.
Extra sleep improves elite athletic performance?
Stanford University's basketball players were told to try to extend their sleep to at least 10h / day. If they didn't manage to do this because of travel and other requirements they were told to nap during the day. Sports measures such as sprint times and throwing accuracy improved. Formal psychological measures also showed improved performance and better mood.
Does sleep loss cause dementia?
This, very preliminary research, indicates that restricted sleep does NOT increase the chances of the brain being more susceptible to processes associated with the development of dementia.
Microsleeps: Some brain regions nap during wakefulness
Microsleeps usually refer to ultra-brief naps which compromise all behaviour. This paper finds that parts of the brain that can go to sleep whilst the person as a whole remains awake. This may account for those absent-minded lapses? (Dolphins though and some other aquatic species do it more sensibly, they shut half-their brain down while the other half sleeps!)
Mood lighting to maintain alertness and behaviour in classrooms
Observer article
Herbal remedies banned
Observer article
BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF MILD FACIAL WARMING ON SLEEP PROPENSITY AND SLEEP LATENCIES
Results: 4-way ANOVA with Subject, Day (first/second), Time of the day (1 to 8) and Heat (On/Off) revealed a significant main effect of the facial warming on sleep latencies (ON: 5.1 ± 5.3 minutes; OFF: 7.5 ± 6.1 minutes; F = 8.67, P < 0.001). Significant main effects also existed for Subjects, Day (likely due to adaptation) and time of the day (all P < 0.001). Conclusion: The results of the study indicate that mild facial warming can promote sleep onset
Dreaming and the brain: from phenomenology to neurophysiology
Dreams are a remarkable experiment in psychology and neuroscience, conducted every night in every sleeping person. They show that the human brain, disconnected from the environment, can generate an entire world of conscious experiences by itself. Content analysis and developmental studies have promoted understanding of dream phenomenology. In parallel, brain lesion stu- dies, functional imaging and neurophysiology have advanced current knowledge of the neural basis of dreaming. It is now possible to start integrating these two strands of research to address fundamental ques- tions that dreams pose for cognitive neuroscience: how conscious experiences in sleep relate to underlying brain activity; why the dreamer is largely disconnected from the environment; and whether dreaming is more closely related to mental imagery or to perception.
