https://medicalxpress.com/sleep-medicine-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Sleep medicine It's 3am. The room is dark, the house is silent, but your brain is suddenly wide awake. Many people find themselves waking at roughly the same time each night and start to wonder whether something is wrong with their sleep. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-night.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 15:00:04 EDT news695477582 There are a few reasons why we might dream, say neuroscientists. Even dreams that are scary may serve a purpose: One prevalent idea is that fear in dreams could help people deal with fear in waking life, much like exposure therapy. One University of Kansas researcher recently tested this concept. Garrett Baber, a KU doctoral student in clinical psychology, sought to test whether emotions experienced within dreams—like fear and joy—change feelings the following morning. The research is published in the journal SLEEP. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-reveals-affect-emotions-day-life.html Tue, 14 Apr 2026 16:40:03 EDT news695399761 Research from the University of Oklahoma and the University of Tulsa proposes a new model to explain why nightmares can persist over time in children and how therapy can be designed to break that cycle. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-nightmares-persist-children.html Fri, 10 Apr 2026 07:00:01 EDT news695015521 As the world heats up, nights are warming faster than days where most people live—and this ambient heat affects how well and how long people sleep. A new article by eminent sleep scientists, including the presidents of the World Sleep Society and International Pediatric Sleep Association, suggests that warm nights are already degrading sleep for billions of people worldwide. The problem is poised to become significantly worse if this trend continues without further adaptation. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-scientists-nighttime-threatens-billions.html Thu, 09 Apr 2026 21:40:01 EDT news694949269 Mount Sinai researchers have created an analytic tool using machine learning that can predict cardiovascular disease risk in millions of patients with obstructive sleep apnea, a serious sleep disorder, according to findings recently published in Communications Medicine. The team said their study is the first to provide estimates of whether continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), a widely used therapy for obstructive sleep apnea, will increase or decrease an individual's cardiovascular risk. It highlights the potential for precision medicine and varied approaches to tailor clinical care and reduce cardiovascular disease risk in vulnerable patients. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-ai-cpap-massively-heart-apnea.html Thu, 09 Apr 2026 17:40:03 EDT news694971481 Consumer wearables have become everyday tools for monitoring sleep and physical activity. Researchers at the Centre for Sleep and Cognition at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS Medicine) have now shown that their capabilities may extend further: pulse signals recorded overnight carry enough information to estimate vascular age, a key indicator of cardiovascular health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-wearable-cardiovascular-health.html Wed, 08 Apr 2026 11:40:04 EDT news694866181 Organoids are miniature, simplified versions of an organ. Over the past two decades, scientists have developed them for the gut, lung, liver, mammary gland, brain, and more. Now, researchers at Yale School of Medicine (YSM) have organoid-ized the pineal gland, a small structure in the brain that regulates sleep patterns through its production of the hormone melatonin. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-lab-grown-pineal-gland-organoids.html Wed, 08 Apr 2026 10:40:01 EDT news694860494 People whose sleep apnea changes dramatically from night to night are 30% more likely to have a heart attack, stroke, or heart failure, reveals a new study from Flinders University. The research, published in the journal SLEEP, shows that it is not just how severe sleep apnea is that matters, but how much it fluctuates, with wide night-to-night swings in breathing problems during sleep linked to a higher risk of serious heart disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-patterns-reveal-hidden-heart.html Tue, 07 Apr 2026 11:20:06 EDT news694776661 An irregular bedtime in midlife may signal an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. A new study from the University of Oulu suggests that large swings in when people go to bed could double the risk of serious cardiac events—particularly among those who get less than eight hours of sleep. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-irregular-bedtime-linked-higher-cardiac.html Sat, 04 Apr 2026 15:30:01 EDT news694101005 A groundbreaking new study tracking almost 2,000 young Australians for a decade has challenged a long-held assumption about depression and physical health, finding disrupted sleep was a stronger predictor of later insulin resistance rather than weight gain. The research from the University of Sydney's Brain and Mind Centre found that weight gain is not the main reason depression is linked to later insulin resistance, which is an early marker of diabetes and heart disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-depression-young-people-physical-health.html Sat, 04 Apr 2026 09:00:01 EDT news694175072 Easter is here and chocolate is everywhere—crowding shop shelves, piling up on desks, and likely already sitting in your pantry. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-enjoy-easter-chocolate.html Thu, 02 Apr 2026 21:40:01 EDT news694342224 New research to be presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2026, Istanbul, Turkey, 12–15 May) shows that those living with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have a 71% higher risk of cardiovascular events (CVEs) or death from any cause (all-cause mortality) compared with those not living with OSA. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-association-obstructive-apnea-mortality-cardiovascular.html Thu, 02 Apr 2026 18:00:03 EDT news694337367 A research team at Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin has developed a test that can determine a person's chronotype based on their hair roots. It is intended to lay the foundation for circadian medicine—that is, medicine that is more closely aligned with the human body's internal clock. Applied to approximately 4,000 people, the new method also reveals that women and men differ slightly in their biological rhythms, and that lifestyle has a greater influence than previously assumed. The results have now been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-body-internal-clock-hair-sample.html Wed, 01 Apr 2026 13:20:02 EDT news694264381 Have you ever been drifting off to sleep when suddenly you hear what sounds like a gunshot, a door slamming, or an explosion inside your head? You jolt awake, heart pounding, sit upright in bed, but the room is silent. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-syndrome-common-condition.html Tue, 31 Mar 2026 16:20:02 EDT news694174915 While sleep is essential to health, nearly half of adults (45%) have not discussed sleep with their health care professional, according to a new survey from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. The health care conversation gap is wider for women. According to the survey, women (49%) are more likely than men (40%) to have not discussed their sleep with any health professional. As a result, women are less likely to get specialist referrals, making women (9%) less likely to have discussed their sleep with a sleep specialist compared with men (21%). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-health-overlooked-adults-havent-professional.html Mon, 30 Mar 2026 22:00:03 EDT news694083930 Electrical signals from the brain could help identify potential issues in the organ's development, a new study reports. Scientists from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland and the University of Surrey investigated electrical activity in the brains of sleeping infants longitudinally, at ages 3 and 6 months. They examined three electrical signals with distinct frequencies: slow wave activity (0.75–4.25 Hz), theta (4.5–7.5 Hz) power and sigma (9.75–14.75 Hz) power, which are key markers of sleep depth and brain development. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-eeg-reveals-infant-brain-rhythms.html Mon, 30 Mar 2026 19:40:04 EDT news694102986 Our date of birth doesn't always match the age of our brain. How old our brain really is depends on our biological age, shaped by the wear and tear our cells experience over time. Genetics, environmental factors, and lifestyle choices all play a role in shaping how young or old our body's components are. A biological age higher than your actual chronological age can signal an increased risk of age-related diseases and health problems. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-subtle-brainwave-patterns-eeg-dementia.html Sun, 29 Mar 2026 13:00:01 EDT news693652249 For some pet guardians, their pets are present in their lives from the moment they wake up to the moment they go to bed. This happens because cats, dogs and other companion animals are increasingly perceived as family members. I'm not talking about the distant cousin, for example, but the ones who really take part in our everyday lives. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-pet-science-reveals-tricky-tradeoff.html Sat, 28 Mar 2026 12:30:02 EDT news693666610 Sleep data captured with a wearable device could help clinicians better tailor care by identifying patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who may need additional support to participate in pulmonary rehabilitation, according to new research published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Digital Health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-wearable-patient-engagement-remote-copd.html Fri, 27 Mar 2026 18:00:03 EDT news693808983 When people think about ways to improve cardiovascular health, diet and exercise are often at the top of the list. But long-term health, especially in adolescents, might start with something more fundamental: sleep. A new study, led by a team from Penn State College of Medicine, has found that when teenagers go to sleep and when they wake up may be the driving force behind what teenagers eat and how much they move. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-teens.html Thu, 26 Mar 2026 18:40:04 EDT news693763081 Ahead of the beginning of Daylight Saving Time (DST) on 29 March, a comprehensive international review by researchers at the University of Kent has highlighted the complex arguments for and against scrapping the twice-yearly clock change, and the need for more evidence before a decision can be made. Calls to scrap Daylight Saving Time have intensified in recent years with campaigners often emphasizing the negative consequences it has on public health and well-being in the UK. However, a review of 157 studies from 36 countries led by the Medway School of Pharmacy in partnership with researchers at the University of Cologne suggests that this simple messaging can be misleading. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-scrap-daylight.html Tue, 24 Mar 2026 23:00:01 EDT news693581093 As you get older, it's normal to notice changes in your sleep. These can include fewer hours of shuteye, waking up more during the night, and finding it harder to drop off. However, despite the general view that older people tend to need less sleep, scientific evidence suggests that this change isn't actually a question of needing less rest, but of a reduced ability to fall into a deep, continuous sleep. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-lighter-aging.html Tue, 24 Mar 2026 15:40:04 EDT news693580874 Researchers led by Guilio Bernardi at the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca in Italy have discovered a key relationship between dreaming and the feeling of having had a good night's sleep. Published in PLOS Biology, the study shows that the feeling of deep sleep is not determined solely by slow-wave brain activity. Rather, immersive dreaming that comes with increases in wake-like brain activity leads to a greater feeling of deep sleep. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-vivid-deeper.html Tue, 24 Mar 2026 14:00:01 EDT news693474121 Researchers at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine), have demonstrated that caffeine can restore social memory impaired by sleep deprivation by targeting a defined brain pathway. Social memory enables us to recognize and differentiate familiar individuals, such as people we have met before. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-caffeine-memory-function-loss.html Tue, 24 Mar 2026 10:20:01 EDT news693564572 Children who use social media for more than three hours per day are more likely to develop greater levels of depression and anxiety compared to those who use it more moderately. The findings are the latest analysis to come from the SCAMP study, led by public health researchers at Imperial College London and based on data from more than 2300 children in schools across London. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-children-social-media-linked-depression.html Mon, 23 Mar 2026 11:20:05 EDT news693482643 A machine-learning analysis of brain waves recorded during sleep may help identify people at high risk of developing dementia, according to a study led by UC San Francisco and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. The study found that when a person's "brain age," estimated from sleep signals using EEG, exceeded their actual age, the risk of dementia increased. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-brain-aging-faster-key.html Sun, 22 Mar 2026 11:00:02 EDT news693140845 The increasing availability of sleep monitoring apps, and rising interest in sleep health, has led to a sharp increase in people tracking their rest. But these apps might not give people an accurate image of their sleep, and they could be making it harder for people to rest. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-tracking-app-insomnia-worse.html Fri, 20 Mar 2026 01:00:01 EDT news693123719 They say love conquers all, but it doesn't always conquer snoring. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-divorce-beds-health.html Tue, 17 Mar 2026 13:30:02 EDT news692971802 Elaine Pinggal from Monash University, and colleagues assessed how sleep-like brain activity in awake adults influences sustained attention during a task. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-differences-brain-adhd-neurotypical-adults.html Mon, 16 Mar 2026 13:00:01 EDT news692603135 Nearly half of all U.S. children aren't getting the sleep they need, a new National Sleep Foundation survey reports. About 44% of children do not consistently get the recommended amount of sleep for their age, according to results from the 2026 Sleep in America Poll. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-kids-lack-adequate-survey.html Sun, 15 Mar 2026 17:30:01 EDT news692354397