Tag Archives: Sleep

Books & Reading, Current Affairs, Science & Health, Times They Are A-Changing

Lucid Dreaming: What Your Brain’s Really Up To In This Sleep State | Glam

By Saskia Ainsworth | March 5, 2023 6:00 am EST

Naja_WoW/Shutterstock

Has a dream ever felt so real that you were sure that you were living it? Lucid dreaming is a phenomenon that happens to millions of us across the globe and has reportedly occurred in at least 55% of adults, according to Sleep Foundation.

Those who lucid dream often report that their dreams feel like real life and that they can control what happens as if it was happening in real time. Bizarrely, many lucid dreamers are often aware that they are dreaming too. However, those who study this type of dream are still unsure of the exact cause.

While much of the lucid dreaming world remains a complex mystery to scientists, there are some aspects of it that they do understand. Currently, they have a basic understanding of when and how this unique dreaming state happens, which at least provides some answers. In the meantime, many lucid dreamers continue to enjoy the freedom they find themselves with while they are sleeping, taking the opportunity to explore their inner thoughts and wildest dreams. So, what do scientists know so far about this magical dreaming state?

Source: Lucid Dreaming: What Your Brain’s Really Up To In This Sleep State

Pleasures, Science & Health

7 hours may be the ideal amount of sleep starting in middle age | Health | CNN

By Katie Hunt, CNN, Updated 12:13 PM EDT, Mon May 2, 2022

Flashpop/Digital Vision/Getty Images

The optimum amount of sleep is not too little but not too much – at least in middle and old age.

New research has found that around seven hours of sleep is the ideal night’s rest, with insufficient and excessive sleep associated with a reduced ability to pay attention, remember and learn new things, solve problems and make decisions.

Seven hours of slumber was also found to be linked with better mental health, with people experiencing more symptoms of anxiety and depression and worse overall well-being if they reported sleeping for longer or shorter stints.

“While we can’t say conclusively that too little or too much sleep causes cognitive problems, our analysis looking at individuals over a longer period of time appears to support this idea,” Jianfeng Feng, a professor at China’s Fudan University and an author of the study published in the scientific journal Nature Aging, said in a statement.

“But the reasons why older people have poorer sleep appear to be complex, influenced by a combination of our genetic makeup and the structure of our brains.”

Source: 7 hours may be the ideal amount of sleep starting in middle age | CNN

Science & Health

Science of sleep: Why a good night’s rest gets harder with age | Medicalxpress

February 24, 2022

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

It’s well known that getting a good night’s sleep becomes more difficult as we age, but the underlying biology for why this happens has remained poorly understood.

A team of US scientists has now identified how the brain circuitry involved in regulating sleepfulness and wakefulness degrades over time in mice, which they say paves the way for better medicines in humans.

“More than half of people 65 and older complain about the quality of sleep,” Stanford University professor Luis de Lecea, who co-authored a study about the finding published Thursday in Science, told AFP.

Editor’s Note: Read more, see link below for original item…

Source: Science of sleep: Why a good night’s rest gets harder with age

Current Affairs, Science & Health

What is the perfect bed time? New study reveals best time for sleep – Deseret News

Falling asleep at a specific time might protect you from heart problems

By Herb Scribner @HerbScribner Nov 12, 2021, 11:00pm MST

Falling asleep at a specific time might protect you from heart problems
Illustration by Alex Cochran, Deseret News

Scientists may have identified the perfect bedtime to protect your heart — 10 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Per NBC News, scientists recently reviewed data from 88,000 adults who tracked their sleep patterns for six years.

They found that there was a 12% greater risk for heart disease in those who went to sleep from 11 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. There was a 25% higher risk of developing the cardiovascular disease for those who fell asleep past midnight. There was a 24% decreased risk in those who fell asleep before 10 p.m.

Source: What is the perfect bed time? New study reveals best time for sleep – Deseret News

Love & Relationships, Memories & History, Science & Health

Rosalind Cartwright, Psychologist and ‘Queen of Dreams,’ Dies at 98 – The New York Times

An early researcher of sleep disorders and the role of dreams in emotional health, she studied her subjects’ nights to help them turn their days around.

By Penelope Green, Published March 15, 2021, Updated March 16, 2021

The sleep researcher Rosalind D. Cartwright at her dream research laboratory in Chicago in 1991. Credit…Chicago Sun Times

Nicknamed the Queen of Dreams by her peers, Dr. Cartwright studied the role of dreaming in divorce-induced depression, worked with sleep apnea patients and their frustrated spouses, and helped open one of the first sleep disorder clinics.

She died at 98 on Jan. 15 at her home in Chicago. Her daughter, Carolyn Cartwright, said the cause was a heart attack.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/15/obituaries/rosalind-cartwright-dead.html

Food & Drink, Science & Health

Matthew Walker: Why Is It Essential To Make Time For Sleep?

Sleep is crucial for our health — and there are alarming consequences when we don’t get enough. Matthew Walker explores the many benefits of a full night of sleep, and how to make sleep a priority.

Source: Matthew Walker: Why Is It Essential To Make Time For Sleep?