A newly-released study out of the Sleep and Human Health Institute and Maimonides Sleep Arts & Sciences, Ltd has determined that among a group of 1,210 patients suffering from chronic insomnia, ninety percent were discovered to be suffering from undiagnosed sleep apnea.  It is likely that despite the fact that the patients had been attempting to cure themselves through both over-the-counter and prescription sleep aids for many years, the source of their problem had been the sleep disorder all along. Continue reading →

If you struggle with relaxing and falling asleep at night, you are certainly not alone. Insomnia and sleep deprivation are reaching epidemic proportions in the United States and around the world. There are a number of sleep devices and medications that can be used to assist you in getting a good night’s sleep, but if you are one of those who are searching for a natural method then you might want to try one or more of these deep breathing techniques. Continue reading →

It seems as though every day we are reading another story about a high-powered executive man or woman who sings their own praises and powers regarding how little sleep they need or get. The idea of the successful entrepreneur grabbing a couple of hours of sleep under their desk or the tales of Margaret Thatcher and Thomas Edison requiring fewer than four hours of rest per night have traditionally been held up as examples of how hard work equates to success.

Science has been telling us that this type of sleep deprivation is incredibly unhealthy, and the message has been getting across. More and more companies are trying to send the message that sleep is as critical as nutrition and exercise, and corporations are starting to install nap rooms and encourage employees to take breaks and get outside into the fresh air in order to keep them healthy and focused.  Continue reading →

Yawning has always been associated with sleepiness, boredom, or both but new studies are starting to point to a variety of other reasons behind the behavior. Though we often find ourselves apologizing for yawning, especially if we do it in socially situations where we are expected to be alert and attentive, the truth is that yawning may have little to do with our level of interest in the people that we are with or the content that we are listening to, and instead may be an unconscious response to stress or an attempt to keep ourselves particularly alert. It turns out that yawning is something that happens to nearly all animals, and it has a variety of causes and reasons behind it.  Continue reading →

In 2009, there was a pandemic of H1N1 ‘swine flu’ in Europe, and in response, millions of doses of a special vaccine were used throughout several countries on the continent. Mysteriously, soon after the vaccine was administered it was discovered that over 800 children in those countries who had received the vaccine were diagnosed with narcolepsy, a brain disorder that disrupts the body’s sleep/wake cycle.  People who have this sleep disorder exhibit excessive daytime sleepiness, and experience uncontrollable bouts of sleeping in the middle of the day. The condition is thought to be caused by an autoimmune destruction of hypocretin-producing neurons that stop the brain from functioning normally. Today several lawsuits were filed against the State of Ireland, the pharmaceutical company that created the vaccine, and the Irish health minister claiming personal injury caused by the vaccine. Continue reading →