PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Lack of sleep affects long-term health

2015-06-16
(Press-News.org) New research from the University of Copenhagen has found that maintaining a good night's sleep is important for our future health, partly because of how it affects lifestyle factors. Previous population based studies have not provided sufficient information on the timing of changes in both sleep and lifestyle to tease out cause and effect relations of this highly intertwined relationship.

"This study shows that sleep affects our ability to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and when sleep deteriorates we are more likely to make unhealthy lifestyle changes," says Postdoc Alice Jessie Clark from the Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen. The research has been published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

Unhealthy lifestyle changes The researchers found that maintaining a good night's sleep made it easier to maintain a healthy lifestyle. For example; they found that smokers who maintained a sleeping pattern characterized by normal sleep duration and undisturbed nights were less likely to still be smoking and more likely to have quit smoking four years on, when compared to those who either shortened their average sleep duration or experienced an increase in sleep disturbances.

Overall, similar patterns were also observed in regards to other adverse lifestyle changes, with onset of impaired sleep inflicting a higher risk of uptake of high-risk alcohol consumption (among non-risk consumers), of becoming physically inactive (among the initially physically active), and of becoming overweight or obese.

International collaboration The research was conducted as an international collaboration between established sleep researchers and epidemiologists from Denmark and Finland, based on more than 35,000 adult Finns who participated in at least three successive waves of this large longitudinal cohort study.

For the study, the researchers made strict inclusion and exclusion criteria to identify eligible participants building on information from three successive waves of the cohort study. This enabled temporal separation between onset of impaired sleep and subsequent changes in lifestyle among participants with a stable lifestyle before experiencing deteriorations in sleep.

By way of example; in order to determine the effect of onset of disturbed sleep on risk of becoming physically inactive, the researchers followed the group of physically active undisturbed sleepers for four years (from the first to the second wave) to assess exposure status, i.e. onset of disturbed sleep (among those still physically active at the second wave). They then followed the still active participants, some of which now suffered disturbed sleeping patterns, an additional four years (until the third wave) to assess whether the risk of becoming physically inactive differed between persistent normal sleepers and those who had experienced an increase in sleep disturbances.

"Better knowledge of the importance of sleep, not just for biological restitution, but also for making healthy lifestyle decisions, may help people make informed decisions about prioritizing how to spend the night - caching up on work emails, surfing social media or going to bed and ensuring a good night's sleep," concludes Clark.

INFORMATION:



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Brain injury patterns linked to post-concussion depression and anxiety

Brain injury patterns linked to post-concussion depression and anxiety
2015-06-16
OAK BROOK, Ill. - A new MRI study has found distinct injury patterns in the brains of people with concussion-related depression and anxiety, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology. The findings may lead the way to improved treatment and understanding of these common disorders, researchers said. Post-concussion psychiatric disorders like depression, anxiety and irritability can be extremely disabling for those among the nearly 3.8 million people in the United States who suffer concussions every year. The mechanisms underlying these changes after ...

Hyperlipidemia, caused by a high-fat diet, aggressively accelerates organ rejection

2015-06-16
BOSTON (June 16, 2015, 12:01 a.m. EDT)--In two studies published online today in the American Journal of Transplantation, researchers determined that hyperlipidemia accelerates heart-transplant rejection in mice. By using models that mimic the health conditions found in human transplant recipients, the researchers from Tufts determined that transplant rejection was accelerated whether the hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol and high triglycerides in the blood) was caused by genetics or solely by a high-fat diet. "Our work fundamentally changes how we view transplant rejection. ...

Mannitol dosing errors made during transport of patients to tertiary hospitals

2015-06-16
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (JUNE 16, 2015). Researchers in Alberta, Canada, investigated the use of the drug mannitol before and during transportation of patients with intracranial emergencies from peripheral hospitals to tertiary facilities that house neurosurgery departments. The focus was on the appropriate use of the drug and the extent to which dosing errors may have occurred. The authors found a 22% dosing error rate, with slightly more patients receiving a dose smaller, rather than larger, than the dose range recommended by the Brain Trauma Foundation. Findings of this ...

Young adults find health insurance enrollment on HealthCare.gov challenging

2015-06-16
PHILADELPHIA - When trying to enroll in a health insurance plan through HealthCare.gov during the first open enrollment period of the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) health insurance marketplaces, young adults were confused by unfamiliar health insurance terms, concerned about the affordability of plan options, and unsure how to seek good primary care. Those findings were among the results of a study led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania that followed a group of well-educated young adults as they shopped for health insurance ...

New review highlights principles of nutrition management of inherited metabolic disorders

2015-06-16
Thanks to screening of newborns and newly developed therapies, the population of patients with inherited metabolic disorders has expanded. As these patients age and enter adulthood, diet therapy will be the mainstay of treatment for their disorders. A new review, published today in Nutrition in Clinical Practice (NCP), a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journal of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (A.S.P.E.N.) that publishes articles about the scientific basis and clinical application of nutrition and nutrition support, highlights the basic principles ...

Randomized controlled trials must be simplified to sustain innovation

2015-06-16
Randomised controlled trials must be simplified to sustain innovation in cardiovascular diseases, which are still the biggest killer in Europe, according to the Cardiovascular Round Table (CRT). The CRT is an independent forum established by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and comprised of cardiologists and representatives of the pharmaceutical, device and equipment industries. The group's views are published today in European Heart Journal 1*. Professor Paulus Kirchhof, corresponding author, said: 'Despite marked progress in diagnosis and treatment, cardiovascular ...

Guidelines on hoarding launched by psychologists

2015-06-16
New guidelines providing information, guidance and recommendations for people working with those with hoarding difficulties are launched today, Tuesday 16 June 2015, in London by the British Psychological Society's (BPS) Division of Clinical Psychology (DCP). The free guidelines, 'A psychological perspective on hoarding: DCP good practice guidelines' have been compiled by clinical psychologists, using expertise and evidence from this area of research. It also includes contributions from those living with hoarding issues as well as their carers. Lead Consultant Clinical ...

Violence by teachers almost halved in primary schools

2015-06-16
An innovative programme of activities used in Ugandan primary schools has succeeded in reducing violence by teachers against children by 42%, according to new research published in The Lancet Global Health. The study is published on 16 June, the Day of the African Child. The Good School Toolkit is a behavioural intervention designed by Ugandan NGO Raising Voices, which aims to foster change in operational culture at the school level. Its materials include t-shirts, books, booklets, posters and guides for around 60 different activities. [1] To evaluate the Toolkit's effectiveness, ...

Eating up to 100 g of chocolate daily linked to lowered heart disease and stroke risk

2015-06-16
Eating up to 100 g of chocolate every day is linked to lowered heart disease and stroke risk, finds research published online in the journal Heart. There doesn't seem to be any evidence for cutting out chocolate to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, conclude the researchers. They base their findings on almost 21,000 adults taking part in the EPIC-Norfolk study, which is tracking the impact of diet on the long term health of 25,000 men and women in Norfolk, England, using food frequency and lifestyle questionnaires. The researchers also carried out a systematic ...

UK hospital post mortems on verge of extinction, survey reveals

2015-06-16
The UK hospital post mortem is on the verge of extinction, having already disappeared completely in around a quarter of NHS trusts, reveals a survey published online in the Journal of Clinical Pathology. Post mortems are carried out in only just over half of one per cent of all UK hospital deaths, the responses show. The practice of post mortem examination or autopsy dates back to mummification and human dissection in 3000 BC, but is thought to have entered medical practice in its current form in the 1800s. The researchers base their findings on Freedom of Information ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

CCNY team discovers potential chemo-induced cognitive changes in cancer survivors

New mRNA-based therapy that shows promise in heart regeneration after heart attack

Extremists use gaming platforms to recruit - study

Nearly 70% of U.S. children in car crashes with a fatality were not using proper child passenger restraints, study finds

Understanding what makes some bladder cancers resistant to chemotherapy

Protecting your beating heart

The key to lowering your water bill may already be at your door

Saliva testing may reveal early signs of diabetes and obesity

4D images show heat shield damage goes below the surface

Hibernator “superpowers” may lie hidden in human DNA

Changes in diet drove physical evolution in early humans

Experts call for science- and evidence-based AI policy

Challenges in governing rapidly emerging marine-climate interventions

Slowdown in protein translation drives aging in the killifish brain

Behavior drives morphological change during primate evolution

Climate interventions to save our oceans need stronger governance, experts warn

Do you want to freeze a cloud? Desert dust might help

Nanodevice uses sound to sculpt light, paving the way for better displays and imaging

Twinkle, twinkle leopard seal: songs below the ice flow like nursery rhymes

Potato evolved from tomato 9 million years ago

MIT researchers show how the brain distinguishes 'things' from 'stuff'

Impact of the MISSION act on quality and outcomes of major cardiovascular procedures among veterans

Not all low-grade prostate cancers are low risk

GLP-1 RAs and risk of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy in older patients with diabetes

The clinical practice guideline update on adult sinusitis emphasizes patient education, shared decision-making, and evidence-based treatment options

Big data begins to crack the cold case of endometriosis

This artificial sweetener could make cancer treatment less effective

Light-based listening: Researchers develop a low-cost visual microphone

Immunoglobulin replacement therapy shows no reduction in serious infections for patients with CLL

University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus awarded one of the largest clinical trial grants in campus history to lead trauma study

[Press-News.org] Lack of sleep affects long-term health