https://medicalxpress.com/sleep-news/ en-us Latest health news and information about Sleep & Recovery 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 The widespread use of benzodiazepines—better known as sleeping pills or anxiety medication—among the population has become a serious public health issue. These psychotropic drugs, central nervous system depressants prescribed to treat anxiety and insomnia, carry a high risk of dependence, cognitive impairment and falls, among other consequences. A 2024 study carried out by the Spanish Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) showed that 22% of the Spanish population regularly use this type of medication, in four out of ten cases on a daily basis. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-primary-campaign-benzodiazepine-overuse-patient.html Tue, 14 Apr 2026 22:40:01 EDT news695384766 Timing exercise to match body clock chronotype—the natural predisposition to morning or evening alertness—may lower cardiovascular disease risk among those who are already vulnerable, suggests research published in the open access journal Open Heart. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-body-clock-chronotype-cardiovascular-disease.html Tue, 14 Apr 2026 18:30:03 EDT news695294521 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 A rise of high-tech recovery culture is underway. As sports science becomes increasingly accessible, we're seeing a trickle-down effect from elite athletes to weekend warriors, and even recreational exercisers, who are exploring ways to biohack better health and speed up recovery. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-biohacks-basics-recovery.html Fri, 10 Apr 2026 21:20:04 EDT news695019481 Humans and most other organisms have internal biological clocks that track the daily cycle of sunrise and sunset. These clocks help time our sleep, metabolism and other essential body functions over the course of a day, creating daily patterns called circadian rhythms. Research shows that when these rhythms are disrupted—by jet lag, lack of sleep or irregular work schedules—people can suffer long-term negative health effects. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-baby-body-clock-synchronize-local.html Fri, 10 Apr 2026 14:40:01 EDT news695048979 The numbers are sobering: nearly 80% of the world's teenagers don't get enough physical activity, according to the World Health Organization. But a new longitudinal study from Université de Montréal suggests the seeds of that sedentary lifestyle—or an active one—may be sown much earlier than anyone realized. Like when a child is 2.5 years of age. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-play-age-decade-motion.html Fri, 10 Apr 2026 10:00:06 EDT news695033641 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 Older Canadians who are socially connected, physically healthy, and spiritually engaged are significantly more likely to experience complete mental health, according to a new nationally representative study examining adults aged 65 and older. Using data from 2,024 respondents in Statistics Canada's 2022 Mental Health and Access to Care Survey (MHACS), researchers examined factors associated with both the absence of psychiatric disorder (APD) and complete mental health (CMH), a broader measure that combines freedom from mental illness with high emotional, psychological, and social well-being. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-social-pain-linked-mental-health.html Wed, 08 Apr 2026 14:00:14 EDT news694863061 An estimated 55 million people live with dementia worldwide, and both its prevalence and cost are expected to increase, with global costs projected to reach $2 trillion dollars by 2030. Current treatments for preventing or treating dementia have limited efficacy; therefore, public health efforts have also aimed at healthy lifestyle factors to reduce the risk of dementia before symptoms occur. Healthy behaviors such as regular physical activity and good sleep hygiene are known to support cognitive health. However, there remains a need to better understand their relationship to dementia. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-physical-linked-subsequent-dementia.html Wed, 08 Apr 2026 14:00:01 EDT news694795416 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 A bit of sugar before a class test, a piece of chocolate before an important negotiation, a muesli bar before a marathon—the important role glucose plays in coping with stressful situations has been well researched. When we consume sugar, the body reacts more strongly to stress by releasing more cortisol. In addition, our heart rate remains elevated for longer. This means that more energy is available in acutely stressful situations. The negative long-term consequences are also well known: increased risk of high blood pressure, obesity and cardiovascular disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-sugar-undermine-meditation-massage-calm.html Tue, 07 Apr 2026 17:50:01 EDT news694799701 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 Lifestyle-behavioral factors and socioeconomic status play an important role in shaping healthy aging, but their effects may differ depending on the individual's DNA, according to a new international study led by Adelaide University researchers. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-genes-dictate-lifestyle-choices-impact.html Wed, 01 Apr 2026 21:40:01 EDT news694250165 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 Sleep helps the brain to cleanse itself—and now this process can be measured in humans entirely noninvasively. Researchers at the University of Oulu have developed a method that allows the increased movement of brain fluids during sleep to be tracked quickly and safely, without the need for injected contrast agents. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-brain-fast-invasive.html Tue, 31 Mar 2026 15:40:03 EDT news694180922 A study by psychologists at Nottingham Trent University suggests that mornings are the optimal time for older adults to engage in age-related interventions to maximize well-being. The research involved 86 men and women aged 60 to 81 who completed online questionnaires once early in the morning and once in the late afternoon or early evening. The work is published in the journal Chronobiology International. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-people-younger-morning-maximize.html Mon, 30 Mar 2026 22:30:01 EDT news694083906 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 Health care workers who take on extended or overnight shifts, particularly during periods of operational strain, may face heightened fatigue that can affect their own well-being. This fatigue arises not from individual effort or commitment, but from the physiological challenges created when work demands intersect with the body's internal clock. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-shift-workers-internal-clock-affects.html Thu, 26 Mar 2026 20:30:01 EDT news693734970 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