Quality Sleep

Sydney, July 3 (IANS) A team of researchers have successfully repurposed two existing medications to reduce the severity of sleep apnoea in people by at least 30 per cent. Sleep apnoea is a condition where the upper airway from the back of the nose to the throat closes repetitively during sleep, restricting oxygen intake and causing people to wake as often as 100 times or more per hour. Those with untreated sleep apnoea are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease, dementia and depression, and are two to four times more likely to crash a car than the general population, indicates the study published in The Journal of Physiology. "We were thrilled because the current treatment options for people with sleep apnoea are limited and can be a painful journey for many," said researcher Danny Eckert from Flinders University in Australia. Previous research showed two classes of medication -- reboxetine and butyl bromide -- were able to keep muscles active during sleep in people without sleep apnea and assist their ability to breathe. By repurposing the medications, researchers used a multitude of recording instruments to measure whether reboxetine and butylbromide could successfully target the main causes of sleep apnoea. This included balancing the electrical activity of muscles around the airway, preventing the throat from collapsing while people were sleeping, and improving the regulation of carbon dioxide and breathing during sleep. The results from the study showed these medications did in fact increase the muscle activity around participants' airways, with the drugs reducing the severity of participants' sleep apnoea by up to one-third.  

New York, Older adults who struggle to fall asleep and experience frequent night awakenings are at high risk for developing dementia or dying early from any cause, a new study suggests. The findings, published in the Journal of Sleep Research, indicated that people who reported routinely experiencing difficulty falling asleep had a 49 per cent increased risk of dementia. And those who often woke in the night and had difficulty falling back asleep had a 39 per cent increased risk of dementia, reports CNN. "We found a strong association between frequent difficulty falling asleep and nighttime awakenings and dementia and early death from any cause, even after we controlled for things like depression, sex, income, education and chronic conditions," said researcher Rebecca Robbins from Harvard Medical School. For the study, the team analysed data collected by the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), which conducts annual in-person interviews with a nationally representative sample of 6,376 Medicare beneficiaries. Data from between 2011 and 2018 were examined for the new study, with a focus on people in the highest risk category -- those who said they had sleep issues "most nights or almost every night". Self-reported sleep difficulties by participants in the study were then compared to each participant's medical records. The study found that people who had trouble falling asleep most nights had about a 44 per cent increased risk of early death from any cause. Those who said they often woke in the night and struggled to return to sleep had a somewhat higher risk -- a 56 per cent increased risk of early death from any cause. "These results contribute to existing knowledge that sleep plays a very important role, every night, for reducing our long term risk for neural cognitive decline and all-cause mortality," said Robbins.(Agency) Read More ► How poor sleep is linked to high blood pressure

New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) The Coronavirus pandemic which started last year has taken a heavy toll on the working mothers in India with significant reduction in their average sleep time and more than two-fold jump in time taken to care for elderly in the family, a nationwide survey showed on Friday. Working mothers in the country are now sleeping for only 5.50 hours per day as compared to 6.50 hours every day on average in pre-Covid era (before 2020), a reduction of about 17 per cent. They are now spending 01.50 hours more taking care of the elderly/others in the family than in pre-Covid times, according to a survey carried out by market research agency Market Xcel Data Matrix covering 1,200 working mothers across the country. The pandemic has also altered working mothers' routine and lifestyle -- their time of exercise and entertainment has also been reduced significantly. Juggling between various responsibilities, they are struggling hard to finish their office work and are spending 08.55 hours to finish office work as compared to 06.50 hours earlier. Their household work has also gone up with the absence of housemaids in many cases. Moreover, the working mothers are spending more time on their children's education now, with the absence of proper guidance in schools. Around 30 per cent women reported more household chores since the pandemic started and about 26 per cent said there were more childcare responsibilities. As many as 30 per cent women also reported mental health issues since 2020 while another 26 per cent said they were having some kind of physical health issues. "The present pandemic situation has had a ripple effect on everybody's life. The working mothers have especially been impacted who are burdened and stressed working round the clock fulfilling professional responsibilities and household duties," said Ashwani Arora, Senior Vice President, Market Xcel Data Matrix, in a statement on the Friday. "Multitasking and playing many roles simultaneously is gradually becoming hectic. Working mothers have to compromise with their exercise and sleep. Managing office and home school (of kids) at the same time at the same pace is definitely not easy and we need to give some extra care for the caregivers," Arora added. For the survey, 1,200 working mothers, aged between 25-45 were surveyed in 17 states across the country.

New York, May 5 (IANS) Stress levels of mothers with preschoolers soared during the Covid-19 pandemic, with twice as many of the mothers reporting loss of sleep during the virus outbreak than before it, finds a study.The study, published in the scientific journal 'Women's Health', supports the necessity of providing mothers with reliable, affordable childcare options and a clear path to maintain a healthy work-life balance."Moms of young children are already less likely to get the recommended amount of sleep and physical activity than women who don't have children. These shortfalls could raise the risk for obesity and poor health, and the lockdown worsened the situation by increasing the levels of stress and household chaos," said Chelsea Kracht, post-doctoral researcher in the Pediatric Obesity and Health Behaviour Laboratory at the Pennington Biomedical Research Centre in the US.Mothers who worked remotely during the Covid-19 shutdown reported more household chaos than those who were not teleworking. This is likely because the first group of mothers had to supervise their children's remote schooling and telework at the same time.Having fathers or other family members take on some of the childcare and housework would help the mothers balance the demands of their careers and personal lives, Kracht said."There are a number of ways moms can reduce stress, such as taking a break from the news and spending a few minutes unwinding before they go to sleep. But what moms really need is more support, from their family, workplaces and communities. They need systemic change," said Amanda Staiano, Associate Professor and Director at the Laboratory.The study looked at the relationship between household chaos -- disorder, noise, crowding stress, physical activity -- and sleep for moms. Researchers surveyed more than 1,700 mothers of 3-to-5-year olds during May 2020.--IANSrvt/arm