https://medicalxpress.com/sleep-news/ en-us Latest health news and information about Sleep & Recovery 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 For generations, early to bed and early to rise was seen as the blueprint for a healthy life, and any departure from it was often considered unhealthy. Scientists, however, have discovered that whether someone is an early bird who wakes up early and starts the day with energy or a night owl who naturally stays up late and wakes up later is far more than a lifestyle choice. This pattern reflects the body's natural preference for the timing of sleep and wake cycles within a 24-hour day. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-night-owls-nutritious-food-belly.html Sun, 12 Jul 2026 11:20:04 EDT news702896030 Good sleep is essential for brain health. During sleep and rest, the glymphatic system, the brain's waste-clearing process, helps remove metabolic waste that accumulates during waking hours. This activity is linked to memory processing, cognitive function and neural recovery. When sleep quality is poor, metabolic waste may accumulate, potentially disrupting cognitive function and memory formation. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-soft-wearable-device-home.html Fri, 10 Jul 2026 10:20:04 EDT news702896156 A new study led by University of Manchester scientists has revealed that brighter, more consistent daytime light exposure could be key to earlier bedtimes, better-quality sleep and deeper rest. The research throws new light on sleep—one of the body's most basic needs, which can trigger problems with mood, memory, metabolism and long-term health when disturbed. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-brighter-days-linked.html Fri, 10 Jul 2026 05:00:01 EDT news702720469 Scientists have discovered how damage to the myelin sheath—the insulating layer around nerve fibers—affects brain activity during sleep. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-myelin-generates-abnormal-rhythms-brain.html Thu, 09 Jul 2026 18:00:10 EDT news702814485 For several years now, sleep research has been focusing intensively on the question of whether targeted auditory stimulation during sleep can improve the consolidation of new memories. A research team in Freiburg led by the neuropsychologists Prof. Dr. Monika Schönauer and Dr. Nora Roüast has discovered that auditory stimuli during sleep can also have undesirable consequences. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-random-played-impair-memory-formation.html Thu, 09 Jul 2026 13:20:05 EDT news702809176 A single night of sleep testing may not be enough to diagnose sleep apnea, with new Flinders University research revealing that night-to-night variation can lead to missed or incorrect diagnoses. The study, published in npj Digital Medicine, found that analyzing sleep over multiple nights may provide a more accurate picture of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), challenging the longstanding reliance on one-night sleep studies. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-night-apnea-misclassify-patients.html Wed, 08 Jul 2026 10:20:05 EDT news702721620 A University of Texas at Austin-led team of researchers has developed a noninvasive patch that boosts REM sleep in real-world trials without surgery or medication. The technology, called NEUSLeeP, is a soft, wearable device that uses gentle ultrasound waves and electrodes to stimulate deep brain regions and monitor brain activity in real time. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-ultrasound-patch-boosts-rem-rest.html Tue, 07 Jul 2026 15:00:10 EDT news702654753 People who shortened their sleep by around 80 minutes a night for six weeks gained weight—1 pound on average—and were more sedentary, researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons found. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-skimping-weight-gain.html Mon, 06 Jul 2026 17:00:06 EDT news702539350 Across cultures, the way we soothe an unsettled baby tends to look much the same: hold them close and gently rub their back. The act is so familiar that it's easy to forget how little is actually understood about why it works. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-calms-infants-mouse-pups.html Mon, 06 Jul 2026 11:05:04 EDT news702554676 Tonight, as you close your eyes in bed, something strange will happen to you: Your mind will drift from an ordinary thought to a dream, but it will be impossible to say exactly when it happened. We tend to imagine that the boundary between being asleep and awake is clear: When we are awake, we think; when we are asleep, we dream. Yet, in our study, published in Cell Reports, we show that this boundary is more porous than you think. You can dream before falling asleep and plan your day ahead after drifting off. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-youre-boundary-lot-blurrier-youd.html Fri, 03 Jul 2026 17:40:01 EDT news702130312 The brain's waste clearance system is impaired in people living with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), which can lead to various symptoms, including brain fog, Griffith University researchers have discovered. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-brain-scans-reveal-impaired-clearance.html Fri, 03 Jul 2026 08:40:05 EDT news702286134 A digital mindfulness intervention with electroencephalogram (EEG) feedback—the FocusZen Mindfulness Stress Reduction System—reduces depression, anxiety, and sleep symptoms among participants with late-life depression (LLD), according to a study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-digital-mindfulness-intervention-beneficial-late.html Wed, 01 Jul 2026 20:00:05 EDT news702116880 Sleep is a fundamental aspect of human health that plays a crucial role in cognitive function, academic performance and social interactions. A study published in PLOS One by Yao Zhao at Temple University, U.S., and colleagues suggests that wearable devices can provide accurate, longitudinal sleep data to facilitate analyses of changing sleep patterns over time. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-wearable-device-reveals-freshman-senior.html Wed, 01 Jul 2026 14:00:21 EDT news702049862 If you're 18, getting a bit more sleep could matter more than you think. New research from the University of Copenhagen and COPSAC shows that even in healthy young people, longer nights of sleep are linked to more stable blood sugar levels the next day. What's more, the relationship appears to go both ways. The findings suggest that sleep may play an important role in our metabolism long before conditions such as diabetes develop. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-teens-bed-good-blood-sugar.html Wed, 01 Jul 2026 09:40:01 EDT news702117142 Better identification and management of sleep apnea and associated vascular risk factors in midlife may provide an important opportunity to support long-term brain health, according to new research from Monash University. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-links-apnea-poor-memory-greater.html Tue, 30 Jun 2026 08:20:04 EDT news702015302 Researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), in collaboration with the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, found that a year after receiving their first smartphone at age 13, teens at 14 who spent significant time on their phones were more likely to experience depression, obesity and insufficient sleep. The study is published in JAMA Pediatrics. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-age-limits-wont-smartphone.html Wed, 24 Jun 2026 13:20:03 EDT news701524261 Biomedical engineers at Duke University have developed a technique to noninvasively visualize the brain's waste-removal system in unprecedented detail. This new imaging approach allows researchers to examine how this system is altered by conditions including ischemic stroke, aging and anesthesia in animal models, providing new insights into a system increasingly linked to neurodegenerative disease and brain health. This work is published in the journal Science Advances. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-tracking-cerebrospinal-fluid-reveals-unprecedented.html Tue, 23 Jun 2026 17:20:07 EDT news701447584 A night without sleep produced increased markers of connections between brain cells, showing that sleep in humans may be important for restoring cellular balance in the brain, according to a study published in PLOS Biology by David Elmenhorst from the Forschungszentrum Jülich Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, and colleagues. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-sleepless-night-brain-reset.html Tue, 23 Jun 2026 14:00:03 EDT news701341501 Researchers at Marshall University have identified a potential immune mechanism contributing to metabolic dysfunction and insulin resistance associated with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), offering new insight into how chronic sleep-related oxygen deprivation affects overall health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-mouse-reveals-key-inflammatory-mechanism.html Tue, 23 Jun 2026 07:00:01 EDT news701411401 Sleep is one of the most widely studied states of consciousness, known to play a role in physical recovery, the processing of memories and the regulation of immune functions. During sleep, the brain transitions between light sleep, intermediate sleep, deep sleep and dreaming. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-brainstem-rem.html Mon, 22 Jun 2026 10:40:09 EDT news701342347 The altered presence of tiny fragments of neuronal genes, called microexons, causes hyperarousal in zebrafish. This is the main conclusion of an international study led by Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) and the Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG). An abnormal pattern of neural microexon presence leads to a hyperarousal state characterized by heightened neural activity and insomnia, commonly associated with stress but also with neurodevelopmental disorders. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-tiny-genetic-fragments-critical-brain.html Fri, 19 Jun 2026 14:00:03 EDT news701010062 New research from Edith Cowan University has discovered an important link between genes and sleep habits, suggesting they work together to influence early brain and cognitive changes associated with Alzheimer's disease long before symptoms appear. The study is published in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-aqp4-gene-variants-jointly-early.html Thu, 18 Jun 2026 15:40:05 EDT news701011501 Infants' activity while sleeping is rhythmic, according to a new study from the University of Surrey. The findings provide crucial insight into sleep cycles of infants in the first year of life. In the largest study of its kind, scientists from Surrey, led by Dr. Eva Winnebeck, investigated the sleep cycle development of 152 infants at ages 3, 6 and 12 months. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-infant-movements-reveal-minute-inactivity.html Wed, 17 Jun 2026 11:20:03 EDT news700905422