Discover the Science of Health
We are all familiar with the negative consequences of getting too little sleep, but they may be more serious than just feeling a bit groggy. A new study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine has shown that sleep restriction, along with a disruption of one’s internal body clock, can raise the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes [1]. This could explain the increased rates of these conditions in shift workers and others who work at night.
Obstructive sleep apnea is associated with an increased risk of stroke in middle-aged and older adults, especially men, according to new results from a landmark study supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health. Overall, sleep apnea more than doubles the risk of stroke in men. Obstructive sleep apnea is a common disorder in which the upper airway is intermittently narrowed or blocked, disrupting sleep and breathing during sleep.
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, have discovered the first gene involved in regulating the length of human sleep. The study, published recently in the journal Science, identified a genetic mutation that is associated with a short human sleep phenotype [1]. The finding may help scientists better understand the regulatory mechanisms of sleep and lead to treatments for a variety of sleep disorders.
