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Sleep onset following three kinds of evening activities was investigated. These activities were six hours of strenuous physical work, six hours of intensive studying and mental work, and six hours of relaxation, i.e., watching TV, listening to records and reading magazines. Ss were 15 young men, each of whom participated in one activity per night for three non-consecutive nights. Results showed that studying delayed sleep onset by an average of about six minutes, but Ss took similar times to fall asleep after exercise and after relaxation. At the moment of sleep onset, heart rate, respiratory rate, rectal temperature and peripheral pulse volume all were significantly elevated after exercise, when compared to studying and relaxation. Both of these results combined were interpreted as indicating that the level of physiological, systemic activity is relatively unimportant for sleep onset, while the level of mental stimulation seems to play a more important role.

UNLABELLED Sleep disturbances are common in pregnancy. Insomnia is a frequent sleep disturbance experienced by pregnant women which can be primary or due to co-morbid conditions. The differential diagnosis of insomnia in pregnancy includes anxiety disorders, mood disorders, breathing related sleep disorders and restless legs syndrome. Early interventions to treat the sleep disturbance are recommended to avoid adverse pregnancy outcomes. Management strategies include improving sleep hygiene, behavioral therapies, and pharmacotherapy. The risks of pharmacotherapy must be weighed against their benefits due to the possible risk of teratogenicity associated with some medications. METHODS We searched PubMed and Google Scholar employing a combination of key words: pregnancy, sleep disturbances, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Sleep disorders and insomnia. We included original studies, review articles, meta-analysis and systematic reviews in our search prioritizing articles from the last 10-15 years. Articles older than 15 years were only included if their findings had not been superseded by more recent data. Further selection of articles was done from bibliographies and references of selected articles. CONCLUSION Sleep disturbances in pregnancy are common and cause considerable morbidity. Management includes a combination of non-pharmacological and pharmacological treatments carefully weighing the risks and benefits of each for the expectant mother and fetus.