For most parents, sleep is a sacrifice they accept during the earliest part of their child’s life. But for Francesca Fedeli and Roberto D’Angelo, sleep deprivation has been a constant for five years as they’ve taken turns in overnight co-sleeping vigils for their 8-year-old son, Mario, who has suffered potentially life-threatening seizures since he was 3. (more…)
UCLA scientists report the first evidence that a gene outside the brain controls the ability to rebound from sleep deprivation — a surprising discovery that could eventually lead to greatly improved treatments for insomnia and other sleep disorders that do not involve getting a drug into the brain. (more…)
Every high school kid has done it: putting off studying for that exam until the last minute, then pulling a caffeine-fueled all-nighter in an attempt to cram as much information into their heads as they can. (more…)
A study conducted by scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen, Germany has shown that the male members of a sandpiper population who spend less time sleeping are more successful at mating with females and have more offspring.
The sandpiper mating season takes place during the summer in the Arctic Circle, when the sun practically never goes down. Males of the species compete to impress females by fighting with each other, defending territory, and flying over the females while making a hooting sound. (more…)
*In a newly published study, researchers found the majority of medical residents surveyed experienced a decline in empathy over the course of the oft-used “long-call” shift.*
Fatigue and sleep deprivation are undisputed job descriptors for medical residents, but results from a new study indicate the common “long-call” shift may have adverse effects not only for residents, but also their patients.
University of Arizona alumna Stacey Passalacqua, now a visiting assistant professor at James Madison University’s School of Communication, surveyed nearly 100 medical residents at several different hospitals. (more…)
