Doug Griswold/Bay Area News Group/MCT via Getty Images
Users of an app developed by the University of Michigan to help with jet lag entered information on their time zone and sleep patterns that helped academics with their work. But is the approach valid? The analysis of the data was published in the journal Science Advances, but critics worry that using data generated via smartphones might not be a representative sample.
Read more at NPR.org.
Karramba Production/Shutterstock
Have you ever struggled to finish a level of Candy Crush or complete a Sudoku puzzle in the evening but breezed through it the following morning? The reason may please anyone who’s been told they spend too much time in bed asleep. A new study suggests that ‘sleeping on it’ can improve problem solving.
Read more at iflscience.com.
Courtesy of Lully
A startup has developed a method the firm says will put to bed kids’ night terrors, a sleep disorder that can impact a family’s quality of life. The device uses app-controlled timed vibrations that rouse a child into a lighter sleep stage and prevent night terrors, which occur during deep non-REM sleep.
Read more at NPR.org.
James Duncan Davidson/TED
What do we know about one of our most basic needs: sleep? Not a lot, says circadian neuroscientist Russell Foster. We know we need to do it to stay alive, but much about it remains a mystery.
Read more at NPR.org.
Rob Stapleton/AP
Mega-disasters like Chernobyl and the Exxon Valdez oil spill were set off by people who were sleep-deprived. Researchers say they’re able to pinpoint how lack of sleep derails decision-making.
Read more at NPR.org.
Scientists still debate the exact function of sleep, with some arguing that it aids our memory, while others argue that it helps to conserve energy, and still other argue that it is needed to discharge our emotions. A new study published in Science presents data suggesting that during sleep harmful toxins are cleared from our brains, which might prevent diseases like Alzheimer’s. Read more at NPR’s coverage: Brains Sweep Themselves Clean of Toxins During Sleep