https://medicalxpress.com/sleep-medicine-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Sleep medicine How we sleep may have lasting impacts on our brain health as we age. A new University of Arizona study has found that several common sleep behaviors may be linked to signs of brain aging. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-struggle-common-habits-brain-aging.html Fri, 05 Jun 2026 14:40:01 EDT news699887521 Sleep loss dulls alertness and coordination, and it can produce effects similar to severe intoxication, making actions like driving incredibly risky. But there's no clinical test for determining when someone is dangerously sleep deprived. Now, researchers report a step toward a non-invasive test for sleep deprivation in the Journal of Proteome Research. In a study of 20 men, they identified molecular differences in saliva after a full night's rest and 24 hours without sleep. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-deprived.html Wed, 03 Jun 2026 17:50:02 EDT news699725402 Postpartum and perinatal depression are known challenges for those going through pregnancy, but there has been less focus on the more prevalent disorder of anxiety. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-anxiety-pregnancy-priority.html Wed, 03 Jun 2026 15:20:01 EDT news699707941 Daylight saving time isn't just a seasonal inconvenience—it may also pose significant neuropsychological risks for the hundreds of millions of people worldwide who experience biannual clock shifts, especially those living with chronic mental illnesses. That's according to a major new study by a team of researchers from New Mexico State University's College of Health, Education and Social Transformation and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas's Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-daylight-worsen-cognitive-psychological-problems.html Tue, 02 Jun 2026 15:40:05 EDT news699620161 Neuropsychology researchers at LMU have discovered a rhythm in the midbrain that could serve as a biophysiological signature for specific states of consciousness. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-deep-brain-rhythm-clue-consciousness.html Fri, 29 May 2026 10:40:02 EDT news699268804 Appalachia has a legacy of making the most with limited resources, but there's one thing that there's no way to stretch: sleep. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-disorders-linked-socioeconomic-disparities-appalachia.html Thu, 28 May 2026 13:40:01 EDT news699191099 Evening coffee has sparked controversy for years. Some people fall asleep without difficulty, while others toss and turn for half the night. However, a growing body of research suggests the question of whether coffee makes it harder to fall asleep may be too simplistic. What appears to matter far more is what happens in the brain during sleep. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-caffeine-sabotage-deep-hours.html Wed, 27 May 2026 14:40:04 EDT news699101523 When a person goes into deep sleep, waterlike fluid circulates around the brain, washing away metabolic waste that is linked to diseases such as Alzheimer's. This process, known as the glymphatic system, was first described in 2012 by Maiken Nedergaard, a pioneering neuroscientist and co-director of the University of Rochester Center for Translational Neuromedicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-ai-brain-revealing-deep.html Wed, 27 May 2026 14:00:02 EDT news699025731 Why are conditions such as chronic stress, depression, cardiovascular disease, fragmented sleep, and aging all associated with a higher risk of dementia? In a new review piece in Science, University of Rochester Medicine neuroscientist Maiken Nedergaard, MD, DMSc, proposes that many of these seemingly different conditions may converge on the same biological problem: disruption of a sleep-dependent brain rhythm that helps clear waste from the brain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-brain-night-shift-clearance-dementia.html Thu, 21 May 2026 14:00:12 EDT news698571481 A once-nightly oral pill helped control obstructive sleep apnea in a large, Phase III clinical trial presented at the 2026 ATS International Conference. The drug, called AD109, is the first therapy to treat OSA by addressing its underlying mechanisms and targeting the neuromuscular causes of airway collapse. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-nightly-pill-airway-collapse-obstructive.html Mon, 18 May 2026 07:00:03 EDT news698052901 An analysis of biological clocks throughout the human body suggests that too few hours of sleep—and too many—may speed aging in the brain, heart, lung, and immune system and is associated with a wide range of diseases. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-faster-aging.html Wed, 13 May 2026 11:00:17 EDT news697883187 New research from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health shows that teenagers today are getting less sleep than any generation before them. This lack of sleep causes daily fatigue and reduced functioning, alongside long-term health concerns including poor mental health, academic difficulties and chronic disease later in life. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-today-teens.html Tue, 12 May 2026 12:20:01 EDT news697806362 Humans and other mammals cycle through distinct sleep phases. One of them is easily recognized by the darting motion of the eyes behind closed lids, giving it its name: REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. This is the state in which we experience our most vivid, intense dreams. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-fish-reveal-distinct-states-eye.html Wed, 06 May 2026 14:00:06 EDT news697287301 For nearly 25 years, scientists believed they knew what caused the most severe form of narcolepsy. A new UCLA Health study now suggests they were only half correct. In a study published in Nature Communications, UCLA Health researchers have discovered that narcolepsy with sudden loss of muscle strength, known as cataplexy, involves degeneration of neurons in not one, but two regions of the brain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-severe-narcolepsy-brain-region.html Thu, 30 Apr 2026 16:30:01 EDT news696784801