New discoveries into how the body clock works could provide clues to help combat jet lag, research suggests.
A University of Manchester team studied special cells which they say play an important role in regulating a person’s body clock.
The cells had been thought to be inactive during the day – but their research found the opposite is true.
It is hoped the findings may also pave the way to combating sleep disorders triggered by body clock malfunctions. Read the rest of this entry »
A new study has found that certain sounds in your sleep can enhance memories when you wake up.
While nutritional supplements such as ginko biloba may help with improving memory, a study from Northwestern University indicates that even though the participants were in a deep sleep, they were able to hear sounds that enhanced their memory when they awoke.
The study played 25 different sounds while the participants slept, including a cat meowing and a tea kettle whistle. Read the rest of this entry »
Out of more than 700 participants in a particular study, two people stood out. These individuals were blessed with a trait most of us can only envy: Just six hours of sleep was enough to propel them through a very active day. Unlike most people, who need about eight hours of shut-eye, the pair did not suffer debilitating effects of chronic sleep deprivation, such as impaired cognition and memory.
The two individuals also performed a great service to science: As participants in sleep research conducted by the University of California, San Francisco, the subjects’ unusual sleep patterns led researchers to a specific gene for “short sleepers.” Read the rest of this entry »
Memory fuzzy after missing out on sleep? Researchers may be one step closer to figuring out what to do about it.
Sleep deprivation makes it harder for the brain to memorize newly learned information, and scientists may have found a way around that problem.
Writing in Nature, University of Pennsylvania graduate student Christopher G. Vecsey, professor Ted Abel, PhD, and colleagues identify a chemical chain reaction linked to sleep deprivation — and a possible solution.
The researchers used electrical shocks to train lab mice not to move in certain cages, and then deprived some of the mice of sleep for five hours. Those sleep-deprived mice were worse at remembering not to move around in those cages than mice that had been allowed to sleep. Read the rest of this entry »
