Sleep

Acupuncture activates GABA neurons in the thalamic reticular nucleus to treat insomnia, mouse study shows A new mechanistic study from Chinese researchers provides some of the strongest evidence yet that acupuncture improves sleep by directly activating GABAergic neurons in the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN), a brain region long recognized as a gatekeeper of sleep and […]

Obstructive sleep apnea and perinatal outcomes in a Japanese pregnancy cohort Lead. Obstructive sleep apnea may be more common among pregnant women with lower body mass index than previously assumed, according to a new prospective study of a Japanese cohort. The findings suggest that screening thresholds developed largely in Western populations may miss cases in […]

Movement behaviors, sleep, and screen time in middle childhood: A 24-hour framework analysis New research from Portuguese investigators reveals how sedentary time, sleep efficiency, and sex independently predict high screen time exposure in children, supporting calls for integrated 24-hour movement guidelines in public health. Published June 28 in Human Movement Science, the study examined 307 […]

Sleep Need Outcompetes Preparation: Reframing Sleep Initiation Through Naturalistic Behavior A new study published in SLEEP challenges conventional wisdom about what determines when humans actually fall asleep, arguing that the biological drive for sleep consistently overrides behavioral preparation. Published online June 28, 2026, in the journal SLEEP, the article by Rhiannan H. Williams and Bastiaan […]

Prenatal Depression and Anxiety Disrupt Infant Sleep Through Two Distinct Biological Pathways Prenatal psychological distress is a known risk factor for infant sleep problems, but the mechanisms have remained unclear. A large prospective study published in Sleep now provides evidence that depression and anxiety disrupt infant sleep through entirely different biological routes: one involving the […]

Female Mice Show More Severe Sleep-Disordered Breathing, Driven by Heightened CO2 Sensitivity Sex differences in sleep-disordered breathing are well documented in humans: men are more likely to have obstructive sleep apnea, while women report more insomnia. But the underlying biological mechanisms remain poorly understood. A new study in Sleep from researchers at George Washington University […]

Weekend catch-up sleep linked to lower metabolic syndrome risk Lead Catching up on lost sleep over the weekend may offer more than just relief from fatigue. A new cross-sectional study of 7,658 U.S. adults finds that people who sleep one to two extra hours on weekends have a 28% lower odds of metabolic syndrome, a […]

Weekend catch-up sleep linked to lower metabolic syndrome risk Lead Catching up on lost sleep over the weekend may offer more than just relief from fatigue. A new cross-sectional study of 7,658 U.S. adults finds that people who sleep one to two extra hours on weekends have a 28% lower odds of metabolic syndrome, a […]

Enhancing slow-wave sleep via tDCS modulates Alzheimer’s biomarker clearance, pilot study finds Lead A small randomized trial from researchers at University Medicine Greifswald in Germany has produced the first human evidence that non-invasive brain stimulation during sleep can alter blood levels of proteins linked to Alzheimer’s disease. The preprint, posted on bioRxiv on June 22, […]

The Quest for Automated Pediatric Sleep Scoring: Are We There Yet? Automated sleep scoring algorithms have transformed adult sleep laboratories over the past decade, but a new article in the journal Sleep asks whether the same technology is ready for pediatric patients. The answer, according to pediatric sleep specialist Alex Gileles-Hillel and biomedical engineer Joachim […]