Sleeping late may be associated with higher fast food consumption and lower vegetable intake as well as reduced physical activity, a new study has warned. The results show that late sleep timing in healthy adults with a habitual sleep duration of at least 6.5 hours is linked with poorer diet quality, particularly fast food, vegetable and dairy intake, researchers said. “Our results help us further understand how sleep timing in […]

Give your box of chamomile a rest. New research presented at the Experimental Biology 2014 meeting finds drinking this twice a day can help you sleep nearly 90 more minutes a night Researchers from Louisiana State University had seven older adults with insomnia drink eight ounces of Montmorency tart cherry juice twice a day for two weeks, followed by two weeks of no juice, and then two more weeks of […]

Evidence continues to emerge, both scientific and historical, suggesting that the way in which the majority of us currently sleep may not actually be good for us. In 2001, historian Roger Ekirch of Virginia Tech published a paper that included over 15 years of research. It revealed an overwhelming amount of historical evidence that humans used to in fact sleep in two different chunks. In 2005, he published a book […]

Sleep problems are near epidemic in modern society.  You already have heard many of the tips to create the ideal environment for sleep–a darkened room, no light from electronics like computers or cellphones, reserving the bedroom for sleep and keeping out work and entertainment clutter.  But if you are taking all these steps and still having trouble going to sleep or staying asleep, you might take a look at your […]

The mechanism by which a good night’s sleep improves learning and memory has been discovered by scientists. The team in China and the US used advanced microscopy to witness new connections between brain cells – synapses – forming during sleep. Their study, published in the journal Science, showed even intense training could not make up for lost sleep. Experts said it was an elegant and significant study, which uncovered the […]

“It’s not rocket science,” says Russell Foster, explaining how most of us are deprived of sleep and in need of an early night. No, but it is neuroscience — and as Professor of Circadian Neuroscience at Oxford University, he should know. Foster is one of the U.K.’s leading experts on sleep, and an evangelical advocate of us all getting eight undisturbed hours each night, not just to improve our physical […]