Natural sleep cycles identified in rural community -- new study finds
2015-03-18
(Press-News.org) A new study, published today in the journal Scientific Reports, has identified a rural community in Brazil that still follows the earlier sleep and wake times similar to pre-industrial times.
The team of researchers from the University of Surrey and the University of São Paulo studied the population of Baependi, a small rural town in south-eastern Brazil, whose sleep/wake cycle is much more aligned with that of our ancestors.
"In big cities, the availability of cheap electricity has brought us both artificial lighting and a multitude of other electronic devices that compete with us going to sleep at night," said lead author Dr Malcolm von Schantz from the University of Surrey.
"As a result, most of us go to bed much later than our ancestors did, and, many of us are sleeping less. Even though the people in Baependi have access to electricity and television, their daily rhythms are much closer to those of previous generations. Studying this population is like being able to look back at past generations through a pair of binoculars and provide an insight into the benefit this natural pattern may be having on their health."
As part of the study, people were asked when they would prefer to wake up and go to bed if they were completely free to plan their day. The average answers from town residents were 07.15 and 22.20, whereas people in the surrounding countryside preferred to rise at 06.30 and go to bed at 21.20. The researchers believe that the difference is due to town residents following much less of a natural sleep/wake cycle because of the influence of artificial lighting.
"When we asked the same question in London, the average answers were 08.30 and 23.15," said Dr von Schantz.
"The people of Baependi, particularly those in the countryside, maintain a much stronger link with the solar rhythm, largely because many of them work outdoors. Midnight really represents the middle of the dark phase, and yet many of us in the industrialised world are not even in bed by then.
"Our colleagues at the University of São Paulo have studied this population, so there is a lot of data emerging about the health outcomes of the same population. We are optimistic that this project will teach us to what extent cardiovascular health, obesity, diabetes, and mental health problems may be associated with our move away from the natural day/night cycle, and the associated sleep loss."
INFORMATION:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2015-03-18
A new technique invented at Caltech to produce graphene--a material made up of an atom-thick layer of carbon--at room temperature could help pave the way for commercially feasible graphene-based solar cells and light-emitting diodes, large-panel displays, and flexible electronics.
"With this new technique, we can grow large sheets of electronic-grade graphene in much less time and at much lower temperatures," says Caltech staff scientist David Boyd, who developed the method.
Boyd is the first author of a new study, published in the March 18 issue of the journal Nature ...
2015-03-18
SPOKANE, Wash.--Washington State University researchers have found a mechanism by which omega-3 fatty acids inhibit the growth and spread of prostate cancer cells. The findings, which are at odds with a 2013 study asserting that omega-3s increase the risk of prostate cancer, point the way to more effective anti-cancer drugs.
Scientists have long known that omega 3s reduce inflammation and have anti-diabetic effects, and some recently discovered how this happens.
"But we're the first to show that they work this way in cancer," said Kathryn Meier, a professor of pharmacy ...
2015-03-18
NEW YORK (March 17, 2015)--A new tuberculosis (TB) drug regimen designed to improve options for TB therapy eliminated more bacteria from sputum than standard therapy and did so at a faster rate, according to data from a phase 2b clinical trial published today in The Lancet. These results are published just as the global phase 3 clinical trial, designed to bring this regimen through the last stage of testing, has begun.
PaMZ is a three-drug regimen comprised of two candidate drugs that are not yet licensed for use against TB: pretomanid (Pa), formerly known as PA-824, ...
2015-03-18
Chemical changes that occur in tree leaves after being attacked by insects and mammals can impact nearby streams, which rely on fallen plant material as a food source, report scientists from the University of Chicago Department of Ecology and Evolution. The study, published March 17 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, shows how interactions between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems are an essential part of understanding ecological responses to climate change.
Graduate student Sara Jackrel and Timothy Wootton, PhD, professor in the Department of Ecology ...
2015-03-18
Longer duration of breastfeeding is linked with increased intelligence in adulthood, longer schooling, and higher adult earnings, a study following a group of almost 3500 newborns for 30 years published in The Lancet Global Health journal has found.
"The effect of breastfeeding on brain development and child intelligence is well established, but whether these effects persist into adulthood is less clear,"* explains lead author Dr Bernardo Lessa Horta from the Federal University of Pelotas in Brazil.
"Our study provides the first evidence that prolonged breastfeeding ...
2015-03-18
Alteplase is a tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) that helps to disperse blood clots in a process called thrombolysis.
Most major stroke guidelines support use of alteplase up to 4.5 hours after stroke onset, but Dr Brian Alper and colleagues believe that current guidance is based on uncertain evidence and they call for urgent reconsideration of the available data to guide policy decisions.
The UK regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA), is planning to analyse all relevant sources of evidence and reassess the balance of benefits and risks for ...
2015-03-17
Previous research among young and older adults has suggested that the context in which drinking occurs may contribute to specific alcohol-related problems, such as aggression, risky sex, and drinking and driving. However, little is known about how young drinkers select drinking contexts. A longitudinal study of drinking patterns, and demographic and psychosocial characteristics associated with youth drinking in different contexts, has found that where youth drink alcohol varies by characteristics such as age, gender, drinking frequency, smoking, and deviant behaviors.
Results ...
2015-03-17
Both the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5), and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Edition (ICD-10) have established diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorders (AUDs). While the DSM is widely used by clinicians, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has recently called for providers to bill for services using ICD-10 designations. Given the ramifications for who will and will be not eligible for treatment, this study compares the two diagnostic approaches, finding ...
2015-03-17
A new study has examined genetic and environmental influences underlying alcohol use.
Results show that genetic effects on the amount of alcohol use appear to be greater in low socioeconomic-status (SES) conditions.
Shared environmental effects tended to increase in high-SES conditions, and non-shared environmental effects tended to decrease with SES.
Research on genetic and environmental influences underlying alcohol use has thus far failed to uncover specific causes, likely because genetic and environmental influences vary by context. A study of the moderating ...
2015-03-17
DALLAS, March 17, 2015 -- Your heart health, which is optimal for most of us at birth, can decline substantially with unhealthy childhood behaviors, according to research in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal.
"Our findings indicate that, in general, children start with pretty good blood pressure," said Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, M.D., Sc.M., senior author of the study and professor and chair of preventive medicine at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois. "But if they have a horrible ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Natural sleep cycles identified in rural community -- new study finds
