News

Spotlight on sleep psychologists

Jul 20 2020...

If you’re experiencing a sleep disorder you may meet with a sleep psychologist, one of the members of the integrated sleep care team. READ MORE>>

Teen marijuana use linked to adult insomnia

Jul 06 2020...

From cell phones and caffeine to school start times and homework, there are many things that keep teenagers from getting enough sleep at night. READ MORE>>

How seasonal affective disorder disrupts sleep

Feb 19 2020...

Fewer hours of daylight and colder temperatures can impact your mood and your health. While many people feel less energetic in the winter, seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is more than the “winter blues.” READ MORE>>

College students aren’t getting nearly enough sleep

Jul 18 2019...

There is a big problem facing college students today. Students are sleeping less and not getting a healthy amount. READ MORE>>

Sleep to feel well: Sleep and mood in teens

Oct 05 2018...

My freshman year of high school was devastating. In 2016, seven students in the Ann Arbor school district lost their lives. These teens died of various causes, but it appears that several of them battled depression. READ MORE>>

Depression and insomnia are linked to frequent nightmares

Apr 09 2015...

A new study suggests that depression and insomnia are the strongest risk factors for having frequent nightmares.

The study involved 13,922 adults. They ranged in age from 25 to 74 years. All of the study subjects answered a series of questions about their health. READ MORE>>

Brain chemical could be key to happiness

Mar 25 2013...

The neurochemical changes underlying human emotions and social behavior are largely unknown. However, scientists at UCLA have measured the release of a specific peptide, a neurotransmitter called hypocretin, that greatly increased when subjects were happy but decreased when they were sad.

The finding suggests that boosting hypocretin could elevate both mood and alertness in humans, thus laying the foundation for possible future treatments of psychiatric disorders like depression by targeting measureable abnormalities in brain chemistry. READ MORE>>

Adult sleepwalking serious condition that impacts quality of life

Feb 28 2013...

A new study found that adult sleepwalking is a potentially serious condition that may induce violent behaviors and affect health-related quality of life.

“We found a higher frequency of daytime sleepiness, fatigue, insomnia, depressive and anxiety symptoms and altered quality of life in patients with sleepwalking compared to the control group,” said Yves Dauvilliers, MD, PhD, the study’s principal investigator and lead author. Dr. Dauvilliers is professor of physiology and neurology and director of the sleep lab at Gui-de-Chauliac Hospital in Montpellier, France. “What would usually be considered a benign condition, adult sleepwalking is a potentially serious condition and the consequences of sleepwalking episodes should not be ignored.” READ MORE>>

Promoting better sleep can improve mental state in hospitals

Feb 20 2013...

A hospital is not the best place to get a good night's sleep, especially in a noisy intensive care unit. It's a cause for concern because studies have shown that a lack of sleep can cause patients to experience delirium – an altered mental state that may delay their recovery and lead to short and long-term confusion and memory problems.

A team of doctors, nurses, psychologists and pharmacists in the medical intensive care unit (MICU) at The Johns Hopkins Hospital implemented a project to see if by taking simple steps to reduce nighttime noise, light, and staff interruptions, as well as stopping certain medications for insomnia, they could reduce delirium and improve patient perceptions about the quality of their sleep. READ MORE>>

Suicidal thoughts common in depressed people with sleep issues

Feb 07 2013...

A new study found an association between insomnia symptoms and suicidal thoughts in depressed patients.

“Insomnia and nightmares, which are often confused and may go hand-in-hand, are known risk factors for suicide, but just how they contribute was unknown,” said Dr. W. Vaughn McCall, lead author and chair of the Medical College of Georgia Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior at Georgia Regents University. READ MORE>>