Sleep that knits the raveled sleeve of care

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/aaos-smb060209.php

Public release date: 11-Jun-2009
Contact: Kelly Wagner
American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Sleep may be important in regulating emotional responses

WESTCHESTER, Ill. – According to a research abstract that will be presented on Thursday, June11, at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, sleep selectively preservers memories that are emotionally salient and relevant to future goals when sleep follows soon after learning. Effects persist for as long as four months after the memory is created.

Results indicate that the sleeping brain seems to calculate what is most important about an experience and selects only what is adaptive for consolidation and long term storage. Across long delays of 24 hours, or even three–to-four months, sleeping soon after learning preserved the trade-off (compared to waiting an entire day before going to sleep).

According to lead author, Jessica Payne, PhD, of Harvard Medical School in Boston MA, It was surprising that in addition to seeing the enhancement of negative memories over neutral scenes, there was also selectivity within the emotional scenes themselves, with sleep only consolidating what is most relevant, adaptive and useful about the scenes. It was even more surprising that this selectivity lasted for a full day and even months later if sleep came soon after learning.
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http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/aaos-eos060209.php

Public release date: 11-Jun-2009
Contact: Kelly Wagner
American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Extended or shortened sleep duration linked to weight gain

WESTCHESTER, Ill. – Body Mass Index (BMI) varies as a function of habitual sleep duration, according to a research abstract that will be presented on Thursday, June 11, at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.

Results indicate that twins who slept between 7 and 8.9 hours each night had a lower mean BMI (25.0 kg/m2) compared to those who regularly slept either more (25.2 kg/m2) or less (26.4 kg/m2) per night. The relationship between sleep duration and BMI remained after controlling for genetics and shared environment.
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http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/aaos-sss060209.php

Public release date: 8-Jun-2009
Contact: Kelly Wagner
American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Study shows sleep extension improves athletic performance and mood

WESTCHESTER, Ill. – Athletes who extended their nightly sleep and reduced accumulated sleep debt reported improvements in various drills conducted after every regular practice, according to a research abstract that will be presented on Monday, June 8, at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.

Results of the study indicated that sleep extension in athletes was associated with a faster sprinting drill (approximately 19.12 seconds at baseline versus 17.56 seconds at end of sleep extension), increased hitting accuracy including valid serves (12.6 serves compared to 15.61 serves), and hitting depth drill (10.85 hits versus 15.45 hits).
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http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/aaos-srr060209.php

Public release date: 8-Jun-2009
Contact: Kelly Wagner
American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Sleep restriction results in weight gain despite decreases in appetite and consumption

WESTCHESTER, Ill. – According to a research abstract that will be presented on Monday, June 8 at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, in the presence of free access to food, sleep restricted subjects reported decrease in appetite, food cravings and food consumption; however, they gained weight over the course of the study. Thus, the finding suggests that energy intake exceeded energy expenditure during the sleep restriction

Results indicate that people whose sleep was restricted experienced an average weight gain of 1.31 kilograms over the 11 days of the study. Of the subjects with restricted sleep who reported a change in their appetite and food consumption, more than 70 percent said that it decreased by day 5 of the study. A group of well rested control subjects did not experience the weight gain.
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http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/aaos-iwo060209.php

Public release date: 8-Jun-2009
Contact: Kelly Wagner
American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Insomnia with objective short sleep duration in men is associated with increased mortality

WESTCHESTER, Ill. – Men with insomnia and sleep duration of six or fewer hours of nightly sleep are at an increased risk for mortality, according to a research abstract that will be presented on Monday, June 8, at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies

Results indicate that compared to people who sleep six hours or more, men with insomnia and less than six hours of nightly sleep were at highest risk of mortality. The mortality rate of the sample was 19.6 percent for men versus 10.3 percent for women.
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Other studies have also found serious medical risks associated with insomnia and objective short sleep duration; another study led by Vgontzas that will presented at SLEEP 2009 found that insomnia with objective short sleep duration is also associated with increased risk of diabetes.
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