Insomnia Research

The discovery of the brain cell which determines our sleep patterns could pave the way for the introduction of a pill to beat jetlag. A pill that cures jet lag is a step closer today, after scientists discovered how signals from the brain control our biological clocks. Tests on mice suggested the human body clock - controlled by a region of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nuclei...

The millions of middle-aged and older adults who suffer from insomnia have a new drug-free prescription for a more restful night's sleep. Regular aerobic exercise improves the quality of sleep, mood and vitality, according to a small but significant new study from Northwestern Medicine.

People who sleep less than six hours a night may be three times more likely to develop a condition which leads to diabetes and heart disease, according to researchers at the University of Warwick.

At 30 years old, male testosterone levels drop by one to two percent annually. By age 40, men's quality of sleep begins to diminish. Could there be a link between decreased testosterone and reduced sleep?

If you want to look attractive and healthy, the best thing you can do is get a good night's sleep, finds research in the Christmas issue published on the British Medical Journal website.

For the first time, say the authors, there is scientific backing for the concept of beauty sleep.

New research from Warwick Medical School published in the European Heart Journal shows that prolonged sleep deprivation and disrupted sleep patterns can have long-term, serious health implications. Leading academics from the University have linked lack of sleep to strokes, heart attacks and cardiovascular disorders which often result in early death.

Exposure to even dim light at night is enough to cause physical changes in the brains of hamsters that may be associated with depression, a new study shows. Researchers found that female Siberian hamsters exposed to dim light every night for eight weeks showed significant changes in a part of the brain called the hippocampus.

Experts at the University of Surrey discovered that many older people felt that they may be branded lazy for taking afternoon naps so they tried hard to avoid nodding off. But the occasional nap can make older people more able to lead a fully active life by giving them enough energy to take part in recreational and social activities.

Reporting at the American Headache Society's 52nd Annual Scientific Meeting in Los Angeles, scientists say new research shows that sleep deprivation leads to changes in the levels of key proteins that facilitate events involved in the underlying pathology of migraine.

A paper by University of Notre Dame biologist Giles Duffield and a team of researchers offers new insights into a gene that plays a key role in modulating the body's circadian system and may also simultaneously modulate its metabolic system. The relationship between circadian and metabolic systems the researchers describe could have important implications for understanding the higher incidence of cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes among...

Patients who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) also tend to have additional gastrointestinal (GI) tract conditions, such as gastric reflux and hiatal hernia, which form at the opening in your diaphragm where your food pipe (esophagus) joins your stomach. In a paper presented at the 2009 American Academy of Otolaryngology...

Protein -- not sugar -- stimulates cells keeping us thin and awake, a new study suggests. A new study has found that protein and not sugar activates the cells responsible for keeping us awake and burning calories. The research, published in the Nov. 17 issue of the scientific journal Neuron, has...