Sleep Loss May up Appetite for Sugary, Fatty Foods

Is it hard for you to avoid gorging on sugar-laden sweets and oily samosas? Your lack of proper sleep is to be blamed. A new study has suggested that rapid eye movement (REM) sleep loss leads to increased consumption of unhealthy foods, specifically sucrose and fat. REM sleep is a unique phase of sleep in mammals that is closely associated with dreaming and characterised by random eye movement and almost complete paralysis of the body. The study showed that “the medial prefrontal cortex — brain region that are recruited when…

Read More

Sleep Loss Takes a Toll on Your Heart

Short-term sleep loss due to long working hours may adversely affect your heart function, a study has warned. People who work in fire and emergency medical services, medical residencies and other high-stress jobs are often called upon to work 24-hour shifts with little opportunity for sleep. “For the first time, we have shown that short-term sleep deprivation in the context of 24-hour shifts can lead to a significant increase in cardiac contractility, blood pressure and heart rate,” said study author Daniel Kuetting from University of Bonn in Germany. For the…

Read More

Electro-acupuncture may improve sleep in breast cancer patients

Electro-acupuncture may be an effective method in improving sleep quality in patients suffering from breast cancer, a study has shown. Electro-acupuncture is a form of acupuncture where a small electric current is passed between pairs of acupuncture needles. Compared with women who undergo natural menopause, nearly 30 to 40 per cent of women with breast cancer are at a greater risk of experiencing hot flashes, partially as a result of the premature menopause that results from chemotherapy and surgery, as well as estrogen deficiency caused by the use of breast…

Read More

Poor Sleep May Adversely Affect Kidney Function

Short and poor quality of sleep may worsen kidney function in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), says a study. “Short sleep and fragmented sleep are significant yet unappreciated risk factors for CKD progression,” said one of the researchers, Ana Ricardo, from the University of Illinois at Chicago in the US. “Our research adds to the accumulating knowledge regarding the importance of sleep on kidney function, and underscores the need to design and test clinical interventions to improve sleep habits in individuals with CKD,” she added. Although there is increasing…

Read More

Shorter Sleep May Increase Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Drinks

People who sleep five or fewer hours a night are likely to drink significantly more sugary caffeinated drinks, such as sodas and energy drinks, according to a new study. “We think there may be a positive feedback loop where sugary drinks and sleep loss reinforce one another, making it harder for people to eliminate their unhealthy sugar habit,” said Aric A. Prather, assistant professor at the University of California San Francisco. “This data suggests that improving people’s sleep could potentially help them break out of the cycle and cut down…

Read More

Shorter Sleep May Increase Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Drinks

People who sleep five or fewer hours a night are likely to drink significantly more sugary caffeinated drinks, such as sodas and energy drinks, according to a new study. “We think there may be a positive feedback loop where sugary drinks and sleep loss reinforce one another, making it harder for people to eliminate their unhealthy sugar habit,” said Aric A. Prather, assistant professor at the University of California San Francisco. “This data suggests that improving people’s sleep could potentially help them break out of the cycle and cut down…

Read More