https://medicalxpress.com/sleep-news/ en-us Latest health news and information about Sleep & Recovery Sleep does not isolate the brain from the world—rather, it affects how the brain balances the processing of different types of sensory information. A Swiss study shows that as we drift off to REM sleep, signals from the outside world gradually decrease while those coming from our own body are preserved or even enhanced. Scientists from the universities of Lausanne and Geneva offer a partial explanation for this phenomenon. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-brain-rem-eeg.html Mon, 03 Aug 2026 11:00:05 EDT news704707141 A novel AI model can use information collected during routine sleep studies to identify patients' long-term health risks, according to a new study published in Nature Communications. Developed by a multidisciplinary research team, the model uncovered hidden sleep patterns linked to risks including heart disease, cognitive decline and death. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-ai-previously-unrecognized-health-insights.html Mon, 03 Aug 2026 10:40:01 EDT news704970422 REM sleep is already called "paradoxical sleep." The body is largely still, yet the brain is highly active. In humans, this is also the stage most closely associated with vivid dreaming. Our study, published in Communications Biology, has revealed another paradox hidden within REM sleep: Brain blood volume increased, but the ATP available inside neurons decreased. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-blood-neuronal-energy-rem.html Sun, 02 Aug 2026 11:00:04 EDT news704454464 Sleep is a crucial physiological process that supports recovery, clears metabolic waste products from the brain, regulates metabolism and supports the functioning of the immune system. Sleep is also known to play a key role in consolidating different types of memories, ranging from memories of past events and memorized facts to newly acquired skills or habits (i.e., procedural memories). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-replay-skills-independently-hippocampus-mouse.html Thu, 30 Jul 2026 09:40:24 EDT news704550515 New research from the Guelph Family Health Study (GFHS) has found that circadian rhythm-related genes could influence the risk of obesity in children, highlighting an important connection between sleep and eating behavior. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-circadian-gene-variants-indicator-obesity.html Tue, 28 Jul 2026 18:00:02 EDT news704469902 Sleep disturbances are far more common among workers in middle to later life than previously believed, according to a study that links work-related stress to a range of well-being issues. Researchers found that nearly 70% of participants experienced persistent, clinically significant sleep problems, despite having no known history of sleep disorders. Even more concerning, almost 92% met the clinical threshold for a sleep disorder at least once during the study. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-potential-crisis-workers-links-stress.html Tue, 28 Jul 2026 16:20:03 EDT news704463781 Researchers at Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins Medicine have discovered that memory consolidation during sleep depends on coordinated activity among three brain regions, and disruptions to this activity can impair memory performance. This is the first human study to directly link interactions between the orbitofrontal cortex, thalamus and hippocampus to memory, offering new insight into how the brain strengthens memories and how epilepsy can affect the sleep-memory system. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-kind-reveals-memory-epilepsy-disrupt.html Tue, 28 Jul 2026 14:40:05 EDT news704463182 The brain demands a lot of energy compared with other organs. However, it can also make do when energy supplies are scarce, flexibly processing information using what is available. How the brain resourcefully allocates this limited energy across internal states remains a key question in neuroscience. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-energy-rem-paradox.html Tue, 28 Jul 2026 09:20:01 EDT news704448841 University of Missouri researchers have identified a simple, effective way to improve quality of life. A new study found that maintaining a consistent daily routine can reduce physical pain and ease symptoms of depression, demonstrating how everyday habits can have a meaningful impact on well-being, particularly for older adults with insomnia. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-simple-habit-physical-mental-health.html Tue, 28 Jul 2026 09:00:01 EDT news704442661 Disrupted sleep and anxiety may be ongoing issues for many people after the pandemic, whether due to COVID-19 directly or to the stress and anxiety caused by the global pandemic, and may contribute to the fatigue commonly reported by people with Post-COVID-19 Syndrome (PCS, or "long COVID"). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-pandemic-issues-late.html Sat, 25 Jul 2026 12:00:01 EDT news704030805 A dream vacation, an exotic destination, a long-haul flight and finally some well-deserved rest. The problem is that many travelers arrive at their destination only to spend the first days of their vacation struggling with fatigue, sleep disturbances, low energy levels and digestive issues. Researchers from Wroclaw Medical University point out that these symptoms may be caused by more than classic jet lag. A growing body of evidence suggests that time zone changes also affect the trillions of bacteria living in our intestines. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-gut-jet-lag-days-vacation.html Fri, 24 Jul 2026 15:00:04 EDT news704118902 Sleep is known to be essential for survival, as it allows both humans and other animals to rest, while the brain consolidates memories and clears out metabolic waste products. For many people worldwide, however, falling asleep at a reasonable time every evening and sleeping enough hours is challenging, due to various conditions such as insomnia, circadian rhythm disorders, depression and anxiety. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-newly-molecule.html Wed, 22 Jul 2026 09:20:03 EDT news703772239 For the first time, Northwestern Medicine scientists have detailed how fall and spring daylight saving time transitions affect a person's risk of developing retinal vascular disease. The study is published in Scientific Reports. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-daylight-eye-smallest-blood-vessels.html Mon, 20 Jul 2026 13:40:10 EDT news703772545 Most of us would like to hang around on the planet for as long as possible, and thankfully, lifespans in many countries are increasing. Scientists are also developing a new field known as longevity medicine, which aims to help people stay healthier for longer as they age. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-healthy-aging-born.html Mon, 20 Jul 2026 11:40:02 EDT news703763143 Researchers estimate that more than 80 million U.S. adults are living with obstructive sleep apnea, a condition in which the soft tissue at the back of the throat collapses and blocks the airway during sleep. This blockage causes shallow or irregular breathing that lowers oxygen levels, decreasing sleep quality and raising the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-hypoglossal-nerve-obstructive-apnea-downstream.html Fri, 17 Jul 2026 16:40:01 EDT news703497838 There's a small fire isolated in your kitchen. If you had the right tool, you might be able to put it out. But before you can, the sprinklers turn on and flood your entire house. An automatic response to an issue has now damaged everything you own. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-hours-alzheimer-breakthrough.html Fri, 17 Jul 2026 11:20:01 EDT news703497775 Sleep disorders may do more than leave people feeling tired. New research from Florida International University shows that sleep disorders are associated with structural changes in brain regions involved in attention, motivation and decision-making. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-disorders-dont-exhaust-brain.html Thu, 16 Jul 2026 09:20:03 EDT news703406539 There's growing evidence linking brain health with exercise. A new study from Victoria University (VU) strengthens the case for exercise as a critical part of protecting the brain from age-related decline like dementia and Alzheimer's disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-brains-healthy-age.html Wed, 15 Jul 2026 09:30:02 EDT news703326005 A new study from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) has found that children exposed to secondhand smoke have significantly poorer sleep quality and greater sleep fragmentation, independent of the severity of their breathing problems. The prospective clinical trial, published Monday in the journal Scientific Reports, uses objective sleep-lab data and biological markers to demonstrate that tobacco smoke directly disrupts pediatric sleep per se, rather than simply worsening existing airway blockages. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-secondhand-independently-disrupts-children.html Mon, 13 Jul 2026 11:08:40 EDT news703159692 Scientists at Newcastle University's Neural Circuits Laboratory, in collaboration with researchers at the Blue Brain Project (EPFL, Switzerland) and leading institutions in Spain, have published a study that advances understanding of the brain's chemical messengers—acetylcholine, dopamine and serotonin—known as neuromodulators. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-brain-chemical-messengers-consciousness.html Mon, 13 Jul 2026 09:20:07 EDT news703149123