Studying the scent of the jasmine flower, researcher Hanns Hatt and his colleagues at Heinrich Hane University in Susseldorf have found that it has practically the same effect as certain sedatives and anesthetics: it relieves anxiety and indexes sleep.
Sleep deprivation triggers the immune system, reflecting the same type of response that occurs after exposure to stress, according to a study published in the journal Sleep. The greatest changes were seen in white blood cells known as granulocytes, which showed a loss of day-night rhythm.
Dopamine has a well-known role in motivation, pleasure, and desire. Now, a group of scientists from the University of Barcelona and the Center for Network Biomedical Research for Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED) have discovered that this hormone also participates, together with norepinephrine, in the regulation of sleep.
U.S. citizens from Africa, Asia, and Latin America sleep less and are more sleepy during the day than whites, according to two studies presented at SLEEP 2012, the annual meeting of the Associations of Sleep Professionals (APSS) held these days in Boston.
Researchers from Toronto (Canada) have shown that one of the factors that contributes to the high number of insomniacs in today's society is that many adults are afraid of the dark, although they do not admit it. In their research with insomniacs and people who slept soundly, Taryn Moss and her colleagues at Ryerson University found that when an unexpected sound occurred, insomniacs tended to detect and react earlier with the light off than with the light on.
A hallucination involves the perception of something (a vision, a sound, a smell) that is not physically present. They exist of many types. There are hypnagogic hallucinations, which occur when a person begins to fall asleep and include sensations of falling and tripping on a ladder, while others appear on waking (hypnopompic).
Older people suffer fewer sleep disorders, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania (USA). The work dismantles the popular belief that as we age we sleep less, and worse.
What happens in our body when we fall asleep? A study with fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) has found a gene, dubbed "insomniac" that regulates much of the process. The work is published in the journal Neuron and its authors state that sleep mechanisms can be very similar in humans and flies.
Danni Büchner is invited to Sam Dylan's Halloween party. But the "Goodbye Germany" emigrant has no desire for many other party guests. And find clear words.
