News

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>>

Restless legs syndrome and poor sleep in pregnant women

Aug 23 2017...

Pregnancy can mean sleepless nights and discomfort for many women. But are these common sleep disturbances indicators of an actual sleep disorder? Research from the University of Michigan Sleep Disorders Center suggests they could be. READ MORE>>

Sleep quality may impact skin

Jul 24 2013...

The key to women looking younger might not be using a super expensive anti-aging cream, it may be just getting more shut eye. In a recent clinical trial, physician-scientists at University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center found that sleep quality impacts skin function and aging. The study, commissioned by Estée Lauder, demonstrated that poor sleepers had increased signs of skin aging and slower recovery from a variety of environmental stressors, such as disruption of the skin barrier or ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Poor sleepers also had worse assessment of their own skin and facial appearance.

The research team, led by Primary Investigator Elma Baron, MD, presented their data this spring at the International Investigative Dermatology Meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland in an abstract titled "Effects of Sleep Quality on Skin Aging and Function." READ MORE>>

Increasing physical activity may improve sleep for menopausal women

Mar 27 2013...

Getting a good night's sleep isn't always easy for women at menopause. Exercise may help, but women can have a tough time carving out leisure time for it. The good news from a study published online today in Menopause, the journal of the North American Menopause Society, is that higher levels of routine daily physical activity may be the more important key to a better night's sleep for many women who have hot flashes or night sweats.

Although exercise is known to improve sleep for people in general, studies in menopausal women haven't been conclusive. That's why the researchers at the Pittsburgh site of the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) focused exclusively on women with hot flashes or night sweats and also drew the distinction between leisure time and household activity. READ MORE>>

Women who work nightshift may have increased risk of ovarian cancer

Mar 18 2013...

A new study has found a link between working the night shift and ovarian cancer.

The study, published in the March issue of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, included 1,101 women with the most common form of advanced ovarian cancer, 389 women with borderline ovarian cancer and 1,832 women that were part of a healthy comparison group. READ MORE>>

Sleep disturbance common among gynecological cancer survivors

Mar 14 2013...

A new survey has found that more than half of gynecologic cancer survivors may have trouble sleeping.

"Physicians need to address the presence of sleep disturbance (SD) among their survivors," and modifiable risk factors, e.g., hot flashes, urinary urgency, and bowel complaints, should be addressed, Dr. Shannon Westin from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston told Reuters Health by email. READ MORE>>

Couples who sleep together have better health

Feb 14 2013...

In honor of Valentine’s Day, we’re taking a look back at a University of Pittsburgh study from 2009, that found that couples who sleep together have better sleep quality and experience better health.

“We discovered that these women had more restless sleep than the always married women,” said Wendy Troxel, PhD, the study’s lead author. “We speculate that these findings may reflect a ‘newlywed effect.’ These women may be less adjusted to sleeping with their partner than the ‘stably married’ women.” READ MORE>>

Women with OSA and cardiac symptoms have high incidence of cardiac dysfunction

Feb 11 2013...

In a study to be presented on February 15, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting™, in San Francisco, researchers will report findings that women with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and cardiac symptoms have a 31 percent incidence of cardiac dysfunction. The use of echocardiograms should be considered in the clinical management of these women.

OSA is characterized by abnormal pauses in breathing or instances of abnormally low breathing, during sleep. These pauses can last from at least ten seconds to minutes, and may occur five to 30 times or more an hour; this can lead to cardiovascular disease. The objective of the trial was to measure the incidence of OSA among pregnant and reproductive women. READ MORE>>

Treating sleep-disordered breathing in pregnancy may improve fetal health

Jan 02 2013...

A new study suggests that treatment of mild sleep-disordered breathing with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy in pregnant women with preeclampsia improves fetal activity levels, a marker of fetal well-being.

Results show that the average number of fetal movements increased from 319 during a night without CPAP treatment to 592 during the subsequent night with CPAP therapy. During the course of the night without CPAP treatment, the number of fetal movements decreased steadily by 7.4 movements per hour. In contrast, the number of fetal movements increased by 12.6 per hour during the night with CPAP therapy. READ MORE>>

Melatonin could improve symptoms of premenstrual syndrome

Dec 21 2012...

A new study by Douglas Mental Health University Institute researchers shows altered body rhythms of the hormone melatonin in Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) women with insomnia. This finding may help explain some of the sleep disruptions experienced by women with PMDD, also known as premenstrual syndrome.

PMDD is a mood disorder which appears in the week preceding menses and affects about 3-8 percent of women. PMDD sufferers can experience depression, tension and irritability of sufficient intensity to interfere with daily activities and relationships. Disturbed sleep is also a common symptom of the disorder, with up to 70 percent of patients frequently reporting either poor sleep quality with increased awakenings or excessive sleepiness during the symptomatic phase. READ MORE>>