People react better to both negative and positive events with more sleep

 New research finds that after a night of shorter sleep, people react more emotionally to stressful events the next day -- and they don't find as much joy in the good things.

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Infant sleep problems can signal mental disorders in adolescents

Specific sleep problems among babies and very young children can be linked to mental disorders in adolescents, a new study has found.
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Poor sleep significantly linked with teenage depression

Teenagers who experience very poor sleep may be more likely to experience poor mental health in later life, as depressed teens in study slept 30 minutes less per night than other groups.
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Sleep and our struggles with it chosen as the theme for mental health awareness week 2020

The theme for Mental Health Awareness Week 2020 will be Sleep, the Mental Health Foundation announced today. Click here to read MHF news piece

Sleeping pills reduce suicidal thoughts in patients with severe insomnia

Insomnia is a driver of suicide, and particularly people with severe insomnia may safely benefit from taking a sedative to help address their sleep problems as it reduces their suicidal thoughts, investigators report. Click here to read ScienceDaily article

Hot Bath 90 Minutes Before Bed May Help Improve Sleep

Taking a very hot bath or shower (104 to 109 degrees Fahrenheit) around 90 minutes before bedtime can help you fall asleep more quickly and even improve your sleep quality, according to a new analysis of thousands of studies. As a comparison, the average hot tub is set around 100 to 102 degrees F. Click here to read PsychCentral article

Night owls can 'retrain' their body clocks to improve mental well-being and performance

A simple tweak to the sleeping patterns of 'night owls' -- people with extreme late sleeping and waking habits -- could lead to significant improvements in sleep/wake timings, improved performance in the mornings, better eating habits and a decrease in depression and stress. Click here to read ScienceDaily article

Sleep Myths Hinder Good Sleep Habits, May Harm Health

New research suggests that many people have poor sleep health because of misinformation about sleep. Click here to read PsychCentral article

Sleeping In on Weekends Doesn’t Reduce Risks of Chronic Sleep Loss

After a full week of getting up early and losing sleep, many people try to catch up on the weekends. But can we ever truly catch up on insufficient sleep? Click here to read article

Using Screens in The Dark Can Hinder Preteens’ Sleep

Preteens who look at a phone or television screen in the dark an hour before bed are at risk of not getting enough sleep compared to those who use these devices in a lighted room or do not use them at all before bedtime, according to a new study by U.K. and Swiss researchers. Click here to read PsychCentral article

Stress and dream sleep are linked to pathways of brain cell death and survival

The first and most distinct consequence of daily mild stress is an increase in rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep, a new study reports. The research also demonstrated that this increase is associated with genes involved in cell death and survival. Read ScienceDaily article here

Using Music as Sleep Aid

A new study shows that many individuals use music to fight sleep difficulties. Click here for PsychCentral article

For Teens, More Screen Time Tied to More Insomnia, Less Sleep

New research suggests that greater amounts of daily screen time are associated with more insomnia symptoms and shorter sleep duration among adolescents.Click here for PsychCentral article

Sleep Disorders May Signal Depression in Young Athletes

A new study finds that nearly one-quarter of student athletes say they experience dream-like hallucinations as they are falling asleep or waking up, and 18 percent experience occasional sleep paralysis. These symptoms have been independently associated with depression. Click here for PsychCentral article

Health app: Sleepio for adults with poor sleep [MIB129]

New: Medtech Innovation Briefings

Sleepio (Big Health) is a self-help sleep improvement programme based on cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT‑I). It is accessed through a website or an app for iOS mobile devices, and can link to a compatible wearable fitness tracker to monitor sleep (currently Fitbit and any other device that uses Apple's Healthkit).

The programme is structured around a series of 6 weekly interactive sessions, lasting about 20 minutes each. Users can access the programme for 12 months after their first login. They can also access electronic library articles, online tools and the online Sleepio user community.

Obstructive Sleep Apnoea and Retinopathy in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Longitudinal Study

Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2017 Jun 8. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201701-0175OC. [Epub ahead of print]

Aim was to assess the relationship between obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and diabetic retinopathy (DR) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and to assess whether OSA is associated with its progression).

OSA is associated with STDR in patients with T2D. OSA is an independent predictor for the progression to pre-/proliferative DR. CPAP treatment was associated with reduction in pre-/proliferative DR. Interventional studies are needed to assess the impact of OSA treatment on STDR.

UHCW Research: A. Ali

Sleep duration impacts treatment response for depressed patients with insomnia

Preliminary results from a new study, published in the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, show that depressed patients with insomnia who sleep seven or more hours per night are more likely to benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia and achieve depression remission.

How Poor Sleep Hinders Those With Anxiety & Depression

Sleep deficits can make focusing, finishing assignments, and coping with everyday stress seem daunting. To make matters worse, people with anxiety and depression often have sleep problems.

To date, little has been known about whether or how their poor sleep affects a specific region of the brain known to be involved in regulating negative emotional responses. But a new study from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine finds that the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex may have to work harder to overcome negative emotional responses in people with poor sleep who have depression or anxiety.

Narcolepsy with or without cataplexy in adults: pitolisant

New Evidence Summary form NICE:

Narcolepsy is a rare, disabling long‑term brain disorder that can result in excessive daytime sleepiness, sleep attacks, cataplexy, sleep paralysis, excessive dreaming and disturbed nocturnal sleep.

This evidence summary reviewed 2 small randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of pitolisant 5–40 mg per day in adults with narcolepsy with or without cataplexy. Compared with placebo, pitolisant improved excessive daytime sleepiness, improved time awake in a darkened room and reduced the weekly cataplexy rate. Pitolisant was also compared with modafinil in a non-inferiority analysis (an analysis designed to test if it was not worse than modafinil for improving excessive daytime sleepiness by a pre-specified amount). Non-inferiority to modafinil was not shown.