https://medicalxpress.com/sleep-medicine-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Sleep medicine It's no accident that we spend a third of our lives asleep. It is essential to our health, and even animals for whom resting is complicated—such as aquatic mammals that need to surface to breathe, or birds that go up to 10 days without touching dry land—manage to sleep with surprising adaptations. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-good-night-healthy-gut-bacteria.html Sun, 07 Jun 2026 20:30:02 EDT news699540301 An increasing number of people are suffering from sleep deprivation, difficulty falling asleep, or interrupted sleep—with consequences for health, society, and the economy. An international research team involving the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine—Brain and Behavior (INM-7) at Forschungszentrum Jülich is therefore calling for a fundamental rethink. In the future, sleep should no longer be regarded merely as a personal health issue, but as a global health priority, they argue. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-poor-threatens-health-society-economy.html Sun, 07 Jun 2026 10:30:02 EDT news699624126 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 A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2026 annual meeting found that irregular sleep—including variability in sleep timing and duration—was associated with lower receptive vocabulary and visuospatial memory scores in preschool-age children, even after accounting for total sleep duration. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-irregular-preschool-age-children-memory.html Thu, 04 Jun 2026 09:40:01 EDT news699783182 A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2026 annual meeting found that poorer sleep health according to wrist actigraphy and insomnia symptoms during adolescence predicted a higher likelihood of an overnight hospital stay during young adulthood around seven years later, even after accounting for adolescent hospitalizations and sleep health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-poor-health-adolescence-linked-hospitalization.html Thu, 04 Jun 2026 09:20:01 EDT news699783062 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 Researchers at WashU Medicine found that adults who regularly experience short or poor-quality sleep, as well as those who work night shifts, face a significantly higher risk of developing osteoarthritis and requiring hip or knee replacement surgery. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-poor-night-shift-linked-higher.html Tue, 02 Jun 2026 16:20:04 EDT news699621902 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 A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2026 annual meeting found that adults who feel older than their chronological age reported worse sleep outcomes, including more insomnia symptoms, greater sleep-related impairment, and lower sleep regularity, with those sleep outcomes in turn associated with poorer self-reported physical health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-older-age-linked-poorer-worse.html Tue, 02 Jun 2026 10:20:07 EDT news699610742 A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2026 annual meeting found that individuals with an evening chronotype, who prefer to go to sleep and wake up at later times, report poorer mental health, higher general loneliness, and higher nocturnal loneliness. Both forms of loneliness serve as significant pathways in the association between chronotype and mental health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-loneliness-anxiety.html Tue, 02 Jun 2026 09:40:04 EDT news699610622 A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2026 annual meeting found that sleep problems in middle-aged and older adults are tied to lower psychological well-being nine years later. The link was stronger in women than in men, suggesting that sleep may play an outsized role in how women feel and function later in life. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-poor-middle-aged-women-psychological.html Tue, 02 Jun 2026 09:20:01 EDT news699610501 Amid growing concern about the widespread off-label use of sedative medications for sleep problems, Flinders University researchers have led a world-first clinical trial examining how a commonly prescribed "sleeping pill" affects sleep, breathing and next-day performance. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-commonly-medication-problems-alarm-bells.html Mon, 01 Jun 2026 16:00:05 EDT news699524161 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 Whether you're commuting to work or road-tripping up the coast, driving can be tiring. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-why-do-i-get-so.html Thu, 28 May 2026 17:40:03 EDT news699190852 Problematic media use is associated with sleep disturbances in children diagnosed with enuresis, according to a study published in the August issue of the Journal of Pediatric Urology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-problematic-media-linked-disturbances-children.html Thu, 28 May 2026 16:00:02 EDT news699192822 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 Some mornings when you wake up, your head is fuzzy, your body is heavy, and you don't feel rested. It felt like you were dreaming all night. But did all that dreaming actually wear you out? Let's look at what the science says. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-vivid.html Wed, 27 May 2026 08:20:01 EDT news699087842 In his wildest dreams, HHMI Investigator Massimo Scanziani never imagined he'd study sleep. But, when a postdoc in the lab suggested studying eye movements in sleeping animals, Scanziani's curiosity was awakened. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-brain-simulates-world-rem.html Tue, 26 May 2026 18:00:01 EDT news699017319 Among the younger part of the population, sleep problems, anxiety, and depression are widespread and growing issues. But why are our sleep and mental health in such poor condition? And why does it seem so difficult to improve the situation? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-young-people-mental-health-poor.html Thu, 21 May 2026 14:40:01 EDT news698586543 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 Positional therapy can be a long-lasting and effective treatment for patients with positional obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to research presented at the 2026 ATS International Conference. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-positional-therapy-benefits-obstructive-apnea.html Wed, 20 May 2026 12:30:02 EDT news698398921 Many insurers stop covering continuous positive airway pressure or CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) devices if patients don't use them regularly in the first 90 days. But new research presented at the ATS 2026 International Conference shows that many patients who initially struggle to meet these early-use thresholds do go on to use and benefit from CPAP therapy. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-early-cpap-struggles-dont-treatment.html Wed, 20 May 2026 12:10:02 EDT news698400583 A study by Kuopio University Hospital and the University of Eastern Finland shows that sleep disturbances during pregnancy may be a significant risk factor for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-disturbances-pregnancy-gestational-diabetes.html Tue, 19 May 2026 16:00:06 EDT news698420085 Tirzepatide GLP-1 medication is known to improve sleep apnea for people with both obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and obesity, but not all patients benefit equally. Now, new research presented at the 2026 ATS International Conference narrows down which patients are likely to have the best treatment outcomes. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-patients-benefit-tirzepatide-glp-obesity.html Tue, 19 May 2026 10:30:01 EDT news698309937 While sleep is essential to health, women face unique challenges to getting quality sleep across key life stages. According to new survey results from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, more than a third of women ages 45–64 report frequent nighttime waking (37%) and night sweats or hot flashes that disrupt sleep (35%) due to menopause, while more than a quarter have increased daytime fatigue (29%) and trouble falling asleep (27%). Only 6% of women in that age group say their sleep quality has not changed during menopause. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-menopausal-women-hot-night.html Mon, 18 May 2026 14:40:02 EDT news698331356 Sleep complaints may be an important Alzheimer's disease risk factor in older women with a higher genetic predisposition to the disease, according to a new study from researchers at the University of California San Diego. The findings suggest that women with a higher genetic risk for Alzheimer's who reported poorer sleep also showed greater memory difficulties and more Alzheimer's-related brain changes. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-poor-alzheimer-older-women.html Mon, 18 May 2026 10:00:04 EDT news698315702 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