To boost your learning and sharpen your memory, skip the brain teasers and string around your finger. Take a nap. You won’t merely be resting—your brain continues to learn while you’re asleep.

Researchers at Michigan State University completed a study suggesting that the ability to learn while asleep is a distinct form of memory, separate from other forms. The study also suggests that individual differences in “sleep memory” affect performance while awake.

Whether you’re trying to master a difficult piano or guitar piece, parsing irregular verbs, or organizing facts and figures for a presentation, you stand a better chance of doing well tomorrow if you get a solid night’s sleep tonight.

“When we sleep, we’re reinforcing learned memories, experiences and behaviors that occurred during the daytime,” said Dr. Wesley Fleming, medical director of Sleep Center Orange County.

In the Michigan State study, researchers showed 48 pairs of related words, such as forest/timber and blacksmith/metal, to 255 participants. In the “awake” group, participants studied the pairs of words at 9 a.m., and completed a recall test immediately afterward in which they were shown one word and asked to remember the second word in all 48 pairs. They took a second test on the words at 7 p.m., along with another test involving equations and letters.

In the “sleep” group, participants studied the word pairs and took the first test at 7 p.m., then were tested again at 9 the following morning, after a night’s sleep. They did significantly better on the second test than the awake group, reinforcing the idea that the brain continues to process information on an unconscious level during sleep.

In findings published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, the researchers also speculate that people with a greater ability to process and recall information while awake have an increased capacity for unconscious, or sleep memory. Study participants who recalled more word pairs immediately after they studied them also had higher scores, and increased recall, after they had slept. So, if you have a good memory to begin with, you might derive even more benefit from sleep.

A National Sleep Foundation survey reported that 43 percent of Americans say they rarely or never get a good night’s sleep during the week. Anyone who has felt befuddled during a test after an all-nighter or befogged during an early morning meeting knows that insufficient or poor quality rest affects performance.

Both the quality and quantity of sleep count, said Dr. Fleming. Even a long stretch in bed won’t do you much good if your sleep is fragmented by alcohol before bed, sleep apnea, low oxygen, restless legs or snoring (yours or a bedmate’s).

Source: Treacy Colbert, Sanclemente Patch

What We Know About Dreaming

When Do Dreams Occur?

Scientists have determined that dreams mostly occur during the rapid-eye movement (REM) stage of sleep. It is during this stage of sleep that your brain activity is the highest; it is signaled by a series of continuous movements of your eyes under your eyelids. Dreams can also occur during other stages of sleep, but those dreams tend to be less memorable and less vivid.

The REM stage usually takes around 20-25% of your total sleep, resulting in about 90-120 minutes of REM sleep a night. On average, people usually experience about four to five cycles of REM sleep, starting with short periods of REM sleep at the beginning of the night and progressing to longer REM cycles toward the end. So, in essence, your dreams occur throughout the night, when you cycle into the REM stage of sleep.

How Long Are Dreams Typically?

While this is extremely difficult to quantify, scientists can measure REM sleep cycles by observing eye movement of the person sleeping. The first and shortest REM sleep episode lasts around ten minutes in duration while the second episode lasts roughly 15-20 minutes. It is estimated that dreams at the end of the night typically last 15 minutes though these may be experienced as shorter separate dreams due momentary interruptions which tend to be more frequent at the end of the night.

How Often Do You Dream?

Studies have shown that you dream every REM sleep episode. This means that you have several dreams a night although sometimes you will have a reoccurring dream in one night. Although it seems like it is the same dream and may be perceived as an extension of the same dream, this is actually a separate but reoccurring dream. Some people believe that they never dream; in actuality, they simply don't remember any of the multiple dreams that happen every night.

Why and When Do You Remember Dreams?

Dreams are most often recalled when a person is awakened while dreaming, particularly during the REM sleep episode. In general, women recall dreams more often than men. In most cases, dream recall is extremely difficult and unreliable; at least 95% of all dreams are not remembered because certain brain chemicals used to convert short-term memories into long-term memories are suppressed during REM sleep. Most dreams that are recalled are due to either to their anomalously vivid nature or to the dreamer being waking up during the dream or REM sleep. Otherwise, most dreams will not be remembered.

To increase the chances of dream recall, many people keep a dream journal in which they write down and record their dreams. Some people record their full dreams upon waking while others take quick notes after waking that will assist in recall later. It is better to record dreams sooner rather than later as most people have a strong tendency to forget their dreams.

What Influences Dreams?

During REM sleep, you mind consolidates memories and experiences, and it is hypothesized that these memories and experiences create much of the dream world. Dreams are also influenced by external stimuli, such as smells. Many drugs, such as sedatives and many stimulants (cocaine, methamphetamine, ecstasy) have been linked to the suppression of dreaming due to their effects on the cycles and stages of sleep. Interestingly, the security of relationships has an effective on dreams as well with those having less secure relationships have reported dreaming with more frequency and more vividly.

Why Do Some Dreams Seem Real While Others Are Bizarre and Impossible?

Some dreams, known as "authentic dreams" appear within the confines of reality. These dreams are based in actual memories and experiences that the dreamer relates to. Dreams that seem based outside of the realm of reality are called "illusory dreams." It is hypothesized that these dreams stem from memories with efficacy errors. Older memories have refreshed synaptic efficacy multiple times in someone's lifetime, resulting in the summation of efficacy errors that form illusory dreams when stimulated. Bizarre illusory dreams most likely stem from older memories while authentic dreams are believed to stem from more recent memories.

About Lucid Dreaming

One of the most fascinating concepts related to dreaming is known as the lucid dream. To have a lucid dream, you simply need to be aware that you are dreaming while in a dream. In lucid dreams, the dreamer can actively manipulate imaginary experiences in the dream environment. For a similar parallel to lucid dreaming, think about the power that Neo has in The Matrix when he realizes he's the one. That's the kind of potential power and freedom you can accomplish from lucid dreaming.

Of course, not allow lucid dreams allow you to control them with your every whim. According to a 1992 study, Deirdre Barrett found that lucid dreams exhibited four "corollaries" of lucidity:

• Realizing you are in a dream;
• Realizing that the dream world will disappear after waking;
• Realizing that physical laws don't need to apply;
• Having a clear memory of the waking world.

Of all the lucid dreams recorded for the study, less than a quarter of them contained all four corollaries. Regardless, the main corollary that defines a lucid dream is realizing that you're in a dream. From this realization many other possibilities can open up.

How Do You Lucid Dream?

Fortunately, you can learn the skill of lucid dreaming although experiencing lucid dreams on a regular basis may be extremely challenging. There are a variety of ways you can improve your chances of having a lucid dream such as the following:

• Dream recall – This is considered the first step one should take to achieve lucid dreaming. Increasing your ability to remember dreams increases your awareness of dreams in general. There is a chance that you may have already had a lucid dream but just didn't have good enough dream recall ability to remember it. Like I stated above, keeping a dream journal and recording dreams as soon as you wake from them is one of the best things you can do to improve dream recall. Other suggestions to improve dream recall include closing your eyes while trying to remember the dreams and recording your dreams in the present tense in writing. Sometimes just stating your goal out loud ("I will remember my dreams") before going to sleep will help train your mind to become more conscious of your dreams.
• Reality checking – There are quite a few tricks you can do to determine whether or not you're dreaming. Essentially, you perform an action that dreams have trouble replicating and see if the results of this action are consistent with what you would expect in reality. Many lucid dreamers practice these tests often during their waking life, so that they will naturally begin performing the same tests in their dreams. If the test fails, they know that they are dreaming. These tests include checking the words and numbers on digital devices (changing drastically seconds later is the sign of a dream), flipping on and off light switches (dreams do not change light levels often due to switches), look into a mirror (reflections in dreams are often blurred, distorted, or frightening), looking down at your feet or hands (there is a difference in appearance which can alert you of your dream state), and holding your nose and mouth closed while trying to breathe (you will still be able to breathe in your dream state).
• Prolongation – Sometimes people will experience and remember a lucid dream, but then they will awake prematurely. This can be incredibly frustrating for those who have invested a good amount of time into learning to lucid dream. The various solutions to prolonging your dream state involve focusing on and increasing your tactile or sensory engagement with the dream world. So doing something like spinning your dream body in circles or rubbing your hands together in your dream have shown to have a high correlation with prolonging your dream state.

Having lucid dreams on a regular basis is both uncommon and extremely difficult. Still, many of the practices used to aid lucid dreaming will increase one's perception and memory of dreams in general. Even if you aren't able to regularly achieve lucid dreaming, having a greater retention of dreams is still considered a valuable, or at the very least neat, skill that can open areas of creativity and even give ideas that could help solve practical problems within your own life

Thanks to the MotorcycleInsurance.com team for providing this content.

Even after people have gone to bed for the night their brains can carry on processing information according to the study by researchers at Michigan State University in the US.

The findings are highlighted in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

“We speculate that we may be investigating a separate form of memory, distinct from traditional memory systems,” said Kimberly Fenn, assistant professor of psychology and lead researcher on the project.

“There is substantial evidence that during sleep, your brain is processing information without your awareness and this ability may contribute to memory in a waking state.”

In the study of more than 250 people, Ms Fenn and Zach Hambrick, associate professor of psychology, suggest people derive vastly different effects from this “sleep memory” ability, with some memories improving dramatically and others not at all. This ability is a new, previously undefined form of memory.

“You and I could go to bed at the same time and get the same amount of sleep,” Ms Fenn said, “but while your memory may increase substantially, there may be no change in mine.”

She added that most people showed improvement. Fenn said she believes this potential separate memory ability is not being captured by traditional intelligence tests and aptitude tests.

“This is the first step to investigate whether or not this potential new memory construct is related to outcomes such as classroom learning,” she said.

It also reinforces the need for a good night’s sleep.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, people are sleeping less every year, with 63 percent of Americans saying their sleep needs are not being met during the week.

“Simply improving your sleep could potentially improve your performance in the classroom,” Ms Fenn said.

Source: The Telegraph

A marker for Alzheimer’s disease rises and falls in the spinal fluid in a daily pattern that echoes the sleep cycle, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found.

The pattern is strongest in healthy young people and reinforces a link between increased Alzheimer’s risk and inadequate sleep that had been discovered in animal models. The brain’s relative inactivity during sleep may provide an opportunity to finish clearing away the Alzheimer’s marker, a byproduct of brain activity called amyloid beta. The body clears amyloid beta from the brain through the spinal fluid and other mechanisms.

In the new study, scientists report that the normal highs and lows of amyloid beta levels in the fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord begin to flatten in older adults, whose sleep periods are often shorter and more prone to disruption. In older adults with brain plaques linked to Alzheimer’s disease, the ebb and flow is eradicated, and amyloid beta levels are close to constant.

The study is now online in Archives of Neurology.

“In healthy people, levels of amyloid beta drop to their lowest point about six hours after sleep, and return to their highest point six hours after maximum wakefulness,” says Randall Bateman, MD, associate professor of neurology. “We looked at many different behaviors, and the transitions between sleep and wakefulness were the only phenomena that strongly correlated with the rise and fall of amyloid beta in the spinal fluid.”

Bateman’s laboratory conducted the study in partnership with Washington University’s Sleep Medicine Center.

“We’ve known for some time that significant sleep deprivation has negative effects on cognitive function comparable to that of alcohol intoxication,” says Stephen Duntley, MD, professor of neurology and director of the center. “But it’s recently become apparent that prolonged sleep disruption and deprivation can actually play an important role in pathological processes that underlie diseases. This connection to Alzheimer’s disease isn’t confirmed yet in humans, but it could be very important.”

Duntley notes that older adults often sleep less and have fewer periods of deep slumber. A number of factors linked to aging, such as reduced exercise levels, can disrupt the normal daily patterns of sleep and waking. These disruptions often become more pronounced as individuals age. The risk of Alzheimer’s disease also increases with age.

Scientists studied three sets of subjects: a group age 60 and older who tested positive for the presence of amyloid beta plaques in the brain; a group in the same age range who did not have plaques; and a group of healthy persons age 18-60.

Researchers used a spinal tap to monitor amyloid beta in the spinal fluid hourly for 24 to 36 hours, and videotaped patients’ activities and monitored their brain activity during that period.

In the group with brain plaques, amyloid beta levels were close to constant. But in the other two groups, the levels regularly rose and fell in a snakelike, sinusoidal pattern. The highs and lows of this pattern were much more pronounced in younger subjects.

Lead author Yafei Huang, PhD, statistical data analyst, reviewed the subjects’ activities during the monitoring period at 30-second intervals. She grouped them into categories such as eating or drinking, watching television, using the bathroom, and using a computer or text messaging.

None of these activities could be closely correlated with changes in amyloid beta levels. But peaks in sleep and wakefulness, assessed both by videotape and by records of patients’ brain activity levels, consistently occurred before the peaks and valleys of amyloid beta levels.

Researchers are currently testing if deliberate interruption of sleep in young healthy subjects disrupts the normal daily decrease in spinal amyloid beta.Scientists may follow these studies with tests of whether sleeping pills and other interventions that improve sleep help maintain the rise and fall of amyloid beta in the spinal fluid.

“It’s still speculation, but there are tantalizing hints that better sleep may be helpful in reducing Alzheimer’s disease risk,” says Duntley. “We know from a number of studies that exercise enhances sleep, and research also has shown that exercise is associated with decreased risk of Alzheimer’s. Sleep might be one link through which that effect occurs.”

Source: Michael C. Purdy, Washington University School of Medicine, via EurekAlert

Spending less or more time in bed increased the chance of raised glucose levels, while a lower amount of deep sleep caused insulin levels to drop, according to research published in the Diabetes Care journal.

The findings mean that a healthy sleeping pattern could help to ward off the onset of diabetes in the patients, all of whom were obese, researchers from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia said.

A seperate study in 2007 found that almost one in three British teenagers gets just four to seven hours’ sleep per night.

Dr Dorit Koren, who led the study, said it backed up previous research which showed that adults who were deprived of sleep had a higher risk of type 2 diabetes.

The teenagers were monitored over one and a half days, during which their blood sugar levels were tested and their sleep patterns were analysed by researchers.

Dr Koren said: “Our study found to keep glucose levels stable, the optimal amount of sleep for teenagers is 7.5 to 8.5 hours per night.”

The researchers will now try to back up their findings by carrying out a similar analysis in obese teenagers’ homes rather than in the laboratory.

“In the meantime, our study reinforces the idea that getting adequate sleep in adolescence may help protect against type 2 diabetes,” Dr Koren said.

Source: The Telegraph

Experts recommend that adults get seven to eight hours of sleep a night, but for most of us, life often gets in the way of the best bedtime intentions. Whether it’s due to a new baby at home or because you’ve been putting in earlier hours at the office, not getting enough sleep is fairly common—though its impact on your health can be surprising. That’s where napping comes in. Not only can an afternoon snooze energize you, but it can also help improve heart health, boost your mood and more. But there’s a right and wrong way to go about sneaking in a few extra zzz’s. From the benefits of midday sleep to when, where and how long your naps should be, read on for everything you need to know about getting a little shut-eye.

A midday nap can help you focus.

On the days when you’re dragging, a nap is more than just a great way to feel refreshed—it can also help you think better. A 2010 study at the University of California-Berkley found that a group of young adults fared better in learning exercises having taken a 90-minute nap at 2 p.m., as opposed to a similar control group not allowed to nap. “When you’re sleepy, you don’t remember things as well. Your concentration is poor and it can be difficult to retain things,” says Donna Arand, PhD, experimental psychologist at the Kettering Sleep Disorders Center in Dayton, Ohio. “If you took naps, you would be able to remember better, think better and retain better. It would be a definite win-win situation.” Bonus: You don’t need to lie down for 90 minutes, like the study’s participants, in order to reap the rewards of a nap—most doctors recommend just 20 to 30 minutes of midday sleep.

A nap can help reduce the risk of heart disease.

Just as sleep impacts mental clarity and brain function, it can also affect your heart health. “There’s research that shows people who sleep six hours a night put themselves at greater risk [for heart disease] than those who sleep seven to eight hours a night,” says Sarah Conklin, PhD, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Allegheny College. “Daytime sleep may have some type of restorative effect that undoes the negative effect of short nocturnal sleep.” In other words, for people who are sleep-deprived, a 45- to 60-minute nap has been shown to lower the risk of heart disease. “The benefit of napping during the day might depend on what you want to change, but if there is an opportunity to sleep 45 minutes to an hour a day, it may have a measurable benefit in reducing the heart disease risk that is associated with not sleeping [at night] very long.”

There is an ideal time of day to nap.

If you’ve ever been to Spain, you know that after lunch, everything tends to shut down for the afternoon siesta. But the fact that it takes place between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. is no coincidence. Dr. Arand points to the “postprandial dip,” which is when your body experiences a natural drop in mental and physical energy. “That’s when a lot of cultures have the siesta, and it really is a normal, inborn following of the circadian rhythms,” Dr. Arand says. She adds that scheduling snooze sessions during this time of day won’t interfere with your ability to fall asleep at bedtime. However, she warns against napping later in the day. “Don’t try to take a nap at 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. in the evening. If you can get through [that time without sleeping], then that’s probably the best,” she says.

Use an alarm.

You may be accustomed to setting your alarm clock at night, but it can also be a valuable tool for daytime catnaps. “A lot of people worry, ‘I’m going to take a nap and sleep too long and screw this thing up,’” says David Volpi, MD, director of the Manhattan Snoring & Sleep Center. Setting an alarm clock will help limit sleep time, as well as reduce any anxiousness about over-sleeping. “If you’re lying there worrying about getting yourself up on time, then you’re going to have anxiety and not get to sleep.”

If you get enough sleep but still feel tired, see a doctor.

Napping is a great option for people who don’t get seven to eight hours of sleep per night. But for those who get enough nocturnal rest and still feel the need for a daily nap, it could indicate a larger problem. “An occasional nap is a good idea, but if you need to nap despite the fact that you sleep at night, that might be the time to get checked out,” says Karl Doghramji, MD, medical director at the Jefferson Sleep Disorders Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. According to Dr. Doghramji, this type of sleeping pattern can indicate poor sleep quality, which might be attributed to a sleep-related disorder such as sleep apnea or narcolepsy. The bottom line? If you are getting seven or more hours of sleep every night and still feel tired throughout the day, see a doctor to rule out a sleep disorder or other health condition.

Create a nap-friendly zone.

Just like at night, ambiance is important when it comes to daytime snoozing. According to Dr. Doghramji, the room you nap in should be as dark and quiet as possible. “Nap in a bed, if you can. But if not, a comfortable lounge chair is better than putting your head down at your desk,” he says. Also, the temperature should be comfortable, which for most people, according to Dr. Doghramji, is slightly cool. All of these elements help contribute to a deeper sleep, which means a better sleep.

Source: Alexandra Gekas, Woman’s Day

The research implies that a new class of drugs developed to treat sleep disorders can reverse the inactivity and exhaustion brought on by acute illness. Although the sleep drugs were initially designed to treat narcolepsy, they have the potential to restore energy and motivation in patients with acute and chronic disease, the researchers report. Their findings are published in The Journal of Neuroscience.

“We all know what it means to feel ‘bad’ when we’re acutely ill. In particular, patients with chronic diseases experience a compromise in motivated behaviors. They don’t feel like getting up and doing anything. Yet the brain mechanisms behind this common experience have remained obscure,” said Daniel L. Marks, MD, PhD, principal investigator and associate professor of pediatrics in the Papé Family Pediatric Research Institute at OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.

“Our lab has found that the neurotransmitter system thought to be primarily involved in the induction of sleep is actually extremely important in maintaining motivation and movement during acute and chronic illness,” Marks explained.

To determine the cause of illness-induced lethargy, Marks and colleagues studied the brains of rats, the neuroactivity of which closely mimics human brains. They determined that acute and chronic inflammation-induced lethargy is brought about by a specific population of inflammation-sensitive neurons located near the neurotransmitter system that controls physical activity and arousal, known as the orexin system. When the researchers injected the rats with orexin, they were able to restore orexin signaling and, thus, restore motivated behaviors and movement.

This research demonstrates that orexin replacement is a viable therapeutic avenue for sickness-induced lethargy, the researchers explain. Because chronic disruption of this crucial neurotransmitter system leads to profound sleep disturbance and loss of motivated behaviors, they propose that drugs that mimic orexin would be useful in chronically ill patients to improve quality of life and independent living.

“There is a very exciting opportunity to quickly translate these findings into clinical practice,” Marks said. “Because the role of orexin in sleep disorders like narcolepsy has been known for several years, the drug development efforts aimed at restoring orexin signaling are at an advanced state and nearly ready for clinical application.”

Source: Sleep Review Mag

According to a report, companies in other places are beginning to allow employees to take naps on the job. Employees can take “time out” much like kindergarteners.

Employees who can’t keep their eyes open don’t need to fill up on coffee or energy drinks.

The article “Why Companies are Cozing Up to Napping at Work, says that Ryan Hodson of Kodiak Capital Group estimates that a third of his 15 employees now take a power nap on a regular basis.

Since Americans are spending more time as work and even taking work home, companies are encouraging at-work napping. An employee benefits survey of 600 American companies conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management produced the following:

• 6% of workplaces had nap rooms in 2011, a slight increase from 5% the previous year.
• A 2011 poll of 1,508 adults by the National Sleep Foundation found that 34% of respondents say their employers allow them to nap at work.
• 16% said their employers also have designated napping areas.

Dozing off at work is no longer a taboo; especially in jobs that demand long work hours.

What has been done to encourage power naps at work

• Google’s Mountain View campus designed “Energy Pods” which are futuristic-looking white capsules that rent for $795 a month or sell for $12,985 where nappers can recline out of other people’s sight and set timers to wake themselves up with vibrations and lights.
• Arianna Huffington has publicly plugged the “NapQuest” rooms; outfitted with Energy Pods at the headquarters of the combined AOL and Huffington Post in New York. The three new nap rooms are usually occupied. Editors used to sneak up to the sixth floor of their former office to sleep in the grooves of the windowsill. They no longer have to do this.
• Christopher Lindholst, cofounder of MetroNaps, which has been selling Energy Pods since 2006, says his clients — which include Google, AOL Huffington Post Media Group and Cisco offer incentives to employees to improve their fitness or eat healthier. Sleep is also a part of good health and has been added to the incentives.

It has been proven that after a power nap, productivity is higher. Sleeping for about 20 minutes can lead to a 34% improved performance and 54% improved alertness.

Nap rooms are part of some companies amenities. Employers are letting job seekers know that a power nap is part of their benefits package.

Source: Margaret Minnicks, Examiner

• Alcohol is known to increase slow-wave sleep during the first half of sleep, but then become disruptive.
• A new study of the relationship between sleep and heart rate variability (HRV) during sleep has found that alcohol interferes with the restorative functions of sleep.

Large amounts of alcohol are known to shorten sleep latency, increase slow-wave sleep, and suppress rapid eye movement (REM) during the first half of sleep. During the second half of sleep, REM increases and sleep becomes shallower. A study of the acute effects of alcohol on the relationship between sleep and heart rate variability (HRV) during sleep has found that alcohol interferes with the restorative functions of sleep.

Results will be published in the November 2011 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.

Alcohol affects overall sleep architecture,” said Yohei Sagawa, a medical doctor in the department of neuropsychiatry at the Akita University School of Medicine. “Normally, during physiologic nocturnal sleep in humans, the parasympathetic nervous system, responsible for ‘rest-and-digest’ activities, is dominant over the sympathetic nervous system, responsible for stimulating activities. We wanted to investigate how alcohol may change this complementary relationship.”

“I believe that the approach used in this study is unique,” added Seiji Nishino, director of the Sleep & Circadian Neurobiology Laboratory
 at Stanford University School of Medicine. “Although there are several studies monitoring HRV during sleep, as far as I know there is no report describing the effects of alcohol on autonomic nervous system during sleep using this parameter.”

Sagawa and his colleagues gave 10 healthy, male university students with a mean age of 21.6 years three different alcohol beverages at three week intervals: 0g (control), 0.5g (low dose), or 1.0g (high dose) of pure ethanol/kg of body weight. On the day of the experiment, a Holter electrocardiogram was attached to the subject for a 24-hour period; the subject was instructed to drink one of the three alcoholic beverages 100 minutes before going to bed; and polysomnography was then performed for eight hours. Power spectral analysis of the HRV was performed using the maximum entropy method, and the low- and high-frequency components along with their ratios were calculated.

“Our study showed that alcohol suppresses the high-frequency power during sleep in a dosage-dependent manner,” said Sagawa. “Although the first half of sleep after alcohol intake looks good on the EEG, the result of the assessment regarding the autonomic nerve system shows that drinking leads to insomnia rather than good sleep.”

More specifically, as alcohol consumption increased, the heart rate increased and the spectral power of HRV measured at each frequency range decreased. Also, the low-frequency/high-frequency ratio that is considered an index of the balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems was increased. This suggests that alcohol, in a dosage-dependent manner, suppresses the high-frequency component of HRV that is an indicator of parasympathetic nerve activity during sleep.

“The current study evaluates the acute effects after only a single dose of alcohol intake, and subsequently found a negative health consequence,” observed Nishino. “Many subjects habitually drink alcohol, and if the reduction of parasympathetic nerve activity during sleep chronically occurred, negative health consequences may be much larger and may induce various diseases. It is reported that habitual drinkers with hypertension are often associated with reductions of parasympathetic nerve activities.”

Sagawa agreed. “Many alcoholics and habitual drinkers suffer from insomnia,” he said. “Suppressed parasympathetic nerve activity is the result of alcohol drinking. Thus, it is inferred that suppressed parasympathetic nerve activity is associated with insomnia, which includes difficulty getting to sleep, early-morning awakening, lack of a sense of deep sleep, and difficulty maintaining sleep.”

“It is generally believed that having a nightcap may aid sleep, especially sleep initiation,” said Nishino. “This may be true for some people who have small amounts of alcohol intake. However, it should be noted that large amounts of alcohol intake interfere with sleep quality and the restorative role of sleep and these negative consequences may be much larger during chronic alcohol intake.”

Sagawa added that it is important for clinicians who are treating physical and psychological disorders related to alcohol to consider the disturbing effects on sleep’s restorative effects that habitual drinking can have.

Source: Seiji Nishino, M.D., Ph.D., Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, via EurekAlert

Researchers found it takes on average 37 minutes a night trying to get to sleep, with many of us now turning to noise in a bid to get them off.

One in five (20 per cent) say noises from nature help them doze off, with favourites including sounds of the rainforest and birds twittering, a survey found.

The sound of waves is considered the most soothing, preferred by 11 per cent of Brits, followed by soft music (nine per cent).

The wind was voted most relaxing by eight per cent, with the ticking of a clock coming fourth (six per cent) and then late night radio (four per cent).

The study found that 11pm is the most common time for going to bed and Brits sleep for an average of 6 hours 49 minutes.

In a bid to ease themselves into sleep, 45 per cent of Brits read in bed – the most popular method of dropping off.

Interestingly, ten per cent claim that a chat with their partner soon has them falling asleep. Less than one in ten still try counting sheep.

The research found the noise most likely to keep us awake is someone else’s snoring, which is the most annoying bedtime sound for 27 per cent of us.

Sleep expert Dr Neil Stanley said: “Listening to sounds you like helps the brain ‘tune out’ other more disruptive sounds, so you get a better night’s sleep.

“Noises from nature, which tend to provide a continuous, familiar sound which you don’t have to actively listen to, can be particularly helpful.

“It’s not uncommon to find ‘everyday’ sounds such as the hum of traffic and even rock music relaxing.

“Wayne Rooney has even admitted he likes to drop off to the sound of a vacuum cleaner or hair dryer.

“With Brits sleeping for only 6 hours 49 minutes per night, it is clear there’s a real need to improve our methods of falling asleep.”

Guests at the Chessington World of Adventures Resort safari-themed Resort Hotel can now have genuine nature and animal sounds piped into their rooms at night, to help them sleep.

David Smith, of the resort, which commissioned the survey, said: “Having researched what nature noises people want to hear, we’ve trialled it with a number of families who said it really helped them doze off.”

Source: The Telegraph