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While light at night (LAN) and noise levels have been linked to suboptimal sleep outcomes, little is known about the link between these factors and long-term suboptimal sleep trajectories. The current study examined the association of neighborhood LAN and nighttime noise with long-term sleep trajectories in a cohort of Black individuals and White individuals predominantly from low-income communities. We used data from the Southern Community Cohort Study (N = 28,759 Black individuals and 16,276 White individuals). Sleep duration was self-reported at baseline and after an average of five years of follow-up, based on which we constructed nine sleep trajectories: normal–normal (optimal, reference), short–short, long–long, short–long, long–short, normal–short, normal–long, short–normal, and long–normal. LAN and nighttime noise were derived from satellite imagery and model-based estimates, respectively. Multinomial logistic regression was used to determine the relationship between LAN and noise exposures and sleep trajectories. Higher exposures to LAN and nighttime noise were associated with multiple suboptimal long-term sleep trajectories. In the total sample, higher LAN was associated with higher odds of long–long (OR Q5 vs. Q1 = 1.23 (CI = 1.02, 1.48)) and long–short (OR = 1.35 (CI = 1.06, 1.72)) trajectories, while higher nighttime noise was associated with short–short (1.19 (1.07, 1.31)), long–short (1.31 (1.05, 1.64)), and normal–song (1.16 (1.01, 1.34)) trajectories. Black and White individual-specific results showed qualitatively similar patterns between Black individuals and White individuals, although we also observed suggestive evidence for Black–White individual differences. In conclusion, elevated LAN and nighttime noise levels were associated with various suboptimal long-term sleep trajectories. However, it is noteworthy that the light and noise measures in our study may not accurately reflect individual-level exposures, and residual confounding from other factors is a concern. Future studies should use more accurate exposure measurements, collect information on and control for a wider range of factors, and examine whether reductions in neighborhood light and noise levels may contribute to improved long-term sleep health.

While light at night (LAN) and noise levels have been linked to suboptimal sleep outcomes, little is known about the link between these factors and long-term suboptimal sleep trajectories. The current study examined the association of neighborhood LAN and nighttime noise with long-term sleep trajectories in a cohort of Black individuals and White individuals predominantly from low-income communities. We used data from the Southern Community Cohort Study (N = 28,759 Black individuals and 16,276 White individuals). Sleep duration was self-reported at baseline and after an average of five years of follow-up, based on which we constructed nine sleep trajectories: normal–normal (optimal, reference), short–short, long–long, short–long, long–short, normal–short, normal–long, short–normal, and long–normal. LAN and nighttime noise were derived from satellite imagery and model-based estimates, respectively. Multinomial logistic regression was used to determine the relationship between LAN and noise exposures and sleep trajectories. Higher exposures to LAN and nighttime noise were associated with multiple suboptimal long-term sleep trajectories. In the total sample, higher LAN was associated with higher odds of long–long (OR Q5 vs. Q1 = 1.23 (CI = 1.02, 1.48)) and long–short (OR = 1.35 (CI = 1.06, 1.72)) trajectories, while higher nighttime noise was associated with short–short (1.19 (1.07, 1.31)), long–short (1.31 (1.05, 1.64)), and normal–song (1.16 (1.01, 1.34)) trajectories. Black and White individual-specific results showed qualitatively similar patterns between Black individuals and White individuals, although we also observed suggestive evidence for Black–White individual differences. In conclusion, elevated LAN and nighttime noise levels were associated with various suboptimal long-term sleep trajectories. However, it is noteworthy that the light and noise measures in our study may not accurately reflect individual-level exposures, and residual confounding from other factors is a concern. Future studies should use more accurate exposure measurements, collect information on and control for a wider range of factors, and examine whether reductions in neighborhood light and noise levels may contribute to improved long-term sleep health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human need for sleep is universal and unquestioned; however, humans vary in their sleep needs according to age, individual differences, as well as cultural and social norms and practices. Therefore, what is "normal" in infant sleep and the development of sleep architecture in humans is highly dependent on biological and sociocultural variables as well as socially constructed assumptions about what infant sleep "should" look like. This paper uses a multidisciplinary approach to review papers from fields including pediatrics, anthropology, psychology, medicine, and sociology to understand "normal" infant sleep. Because human culture and behavioral practice changes much more quickly than evolved human biology, and because human evolutionary history occurred in the context of breastfeeding and cosleeping, new work in the field of infant sleep architecture development would benefit from a multidisciplinary approach. To come to a consensus about what is "normal" infant sleep, researchers must agree on underlying basic assumptions of infant sleep from which to ask question and interpret findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sleeping is a brain activity state characterized by temporary interruption of conscient touch with the exterior and interior, being a reverse state. The passing to sleep state and the other way around is made easily, in a few seconds, and wakeful state coincides with night-day cycle, that’s why it is also called circadian. During sportsmen spontaneous restoration, profound and resting sleep, which has an important role in the intellectual and physical abilities, will lead to the development of psycho-motile performances during trainings and competitions.

Objective: Sleep difficulties are highly prevalent and often persistent in young children, but sometimes parents are worried about sleep symptoms that belong to the normative range rather than to actual disturbances. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe the normative development of sleep at the ages of 3, 6, 8, 12, 18 and 24 months in healthy children.Methods: The present study is based on two birth cohorts that comprise representative samples of families recruited systematically during pregnancy. In the CHILD-SLEEP cohort, the sample sizes were 1427 at three, 1301 at eight, 1163 at 18, and 950 at 24 months. In the Finnbrain cohort, the sample sizes were 2002 at six months and 1693 at 12 months. Healthy term-born children were eligible for this study. To assess the infants' sleep duration and sleep quality, the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire was used in both cohorts and additionally the Infant Sleep Questionnaire in the CHILD-SLEEP cohort. The distributions of the study variables were reported using standard parameters.Results: We found that sleep quality is highly variable particularly during the first two years of life, but this variability decreased markedly towards the second year. First, sleep latency decreased by the age of six months, while night-time sleep began to consolidate during the second year. However, parent-reported sleeping problems were common during the entire study period.Conclusion: As many families struggle with infants' sleeping problems, the reference values reported in this article can be valuable tools in various clinical settings to define clinically significant deviances in the sleep development and to identify individuals benefitting from counselling and clinical interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Age-specific relationship of sleep-wake pattern with night sleep satisfaction was examined to address a question of why sleep satisfaction does not accurately reflect the age-associated worsening of subjective and objective indicators of night sleep quality. Sleep history for 1 week prior to the experiment was reported by 160 participants of the sleep deprivation experiments. Sleep satisfaction score was calculated by averaging responses to the question: "Did you have a good sleep? (No = 1... [I slept] Very well = 5)" across the pre-experimental days. It was tested whether this score can be predicted by other self-reports (sleepiness after sleepless night, nap frequency, sleep latency, total sleep duration, times for going to bed and awakening, and scores on scales for assessing morning and evening lateness, anytime and nighttime sleepability, and anytime and daytime wakeability). The characteristics of the sleep-wake pattern exhibited the expected changes on the interval of ages from early to late adulthood. Sleep satisfaction score was significantly associated with some of them in any of the three age groups (≤ 25, 26-45, and 46-67 years). Particularly, the strongest predictor of this score in the youngest participants was late awakening, while morning earliness was the strongest predictor of this score in older participants. Therefore, perception of a good night's sleep remains adjusted across the lifespan to the typical for each age's sleep-wake pattern. The ability for such adjustment can persist in middle-aged adults and elderly people due to the age-associated strengthening of their wake drive relative to the weakening drive for sleep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundAccording to recent studies, sleep restriction and disruption both have a prominent negative influence on glucose metabolism. This could also be shown in sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea and the restless legs syndrome. However, similar studies regarding insomnia have not been that consistent, yet. Moreover, most previous studies did not include objective polysomnography (PSG) data.MethodsPatients with primary insomnia (N = 17) and healthy controls (N = 15) were investigated using psychometric tests such as the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI). Two nights of full PSG were performed in all subjects, and after the first PSG night subjects underwent a standard oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). PSG-, arousal-, and glucose metabolism-parameters were compared between groups.ResultsPatients with insomnia were, as expected, sleepier than healthy controls and showed higher PSQI values. All PSG parameters, however, including parameters related to nocturnal arousals, did not differ between groups. Moreover, OGGT results and all other parameters of glucose tolerance were not different between insomniac patients and healthy controls.ConclusionOur findings suggest that glucose tolerance is not impaired in patients with chronic insomnia and normal PSG-findings. Therefore, impaired glucose metabolism and diabetes related to insomnia in earlier studies might be restricted to those patients who have objectively disturbed sleep.

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Gerontologie und Geriatrie is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: According to recent studies, sleep restriction and disruption both have a prominent negative influence on glucose metabolism. This could also be shown in sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea and the restless legs syndrome. However, similar studies regarding insomnia have not been that consistent, yet. Moreover, most previous studies did not include objective polysomnography (PSG) data. Methods: Patients with primary insomnia (N = 17) and healthy controls (N = 15) were investigated using psychometric tests such as the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI). Two nights of full PSG were performed in all subjects, and after the first PSG night subjects underwent a standard oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). PSG-, arousal-, and glucose metabolism-parameters were compared between groups. Results: Patients with insomnia were, as expected, sleepier than healthy controls and showed higher PSQI values. All PSG parameters, however, including parameters related to nocturnal arousals, did not differ between groups. Moreover, OGGT results and all other parameters of glucose tolerance were not different between insomniac patients and healthy controls. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that glucose tolerance is not impaired in patients with chronic insomnia and normal PSG-findings. Therefore, impaired glucose metabolism and diabetes related to insomnia in earlier studies might be restricted to those patients who have objectively disturbed sleep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We completed a systematic review of literature related to parent knowledge of children's sleep, to determine how much parents know about typical child sleep and symptoms related to sleep problems in childhood and how parent knowledge has been assessed. We also examined whether relationships have been reported between parent knowledge of children's sleep, parent education, child sleep problems, sleep duration, and sleep hygiene. An extensive literature search of five electronic databases was conducted, and of 615 articles identified, eight met inclusion criteria for review: four descriptive studies and four educational interventions. These studies varied considerably in the number of items included in scales, the specific content measured, the response scales used, and the populations included, limiting the conclusions that could be drawn across studies. In general, parent knowledge of child sleep was poor. Greater accuracy was reported for items pertaining to healthy sleep practices at sleep onset and daytime symptoms, in comparison with items pertaining to child sleep problems during the night. More knowledgeable parents were more likely to report that their children exhibited healthy sleep practices; associations with sleep duration were mixed. Small interventions demonstrated an increase in parental knowledge in the short-term, but effects were not maintained at follow-up. Future work is needed to clarify relations between parental knowledge and child sleep, and to design and evaluate effective methods of promoting education about child sleep in a range of parent populations. The further development of validated tools to assess parent knowledge of child sleep will be required to underpin this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Médica Clínica Las Condes is the property of Editorial Sanchez y Barcelo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Summary: This is a systematic review of the scientific literature with regard to normal sleep patterns in infants and children (0–12years). The review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Mean and variability data for sleep duration, number of night wakings, sleep latency, longest sleep period overnight, and number of daytime naps were extracted from questionnaire or diary data from 34 eligible studies. Meta-analysis was conducted within age-bands and categories. In addition, fractional polynomial regression models were used to estimate best-fit equations for the sleep variables in relation to age. Reference values (means) and ranges (±1.96 SD) for sleep duration (hours) were: infant, 12.8 (9.7–15.9); toddler/preschool, 11.9 (9.9–13.8); and child, 9.2 (7.6–10.8). The best-fit (R 2 =0.89) equation for hours over the 0–12 year age range was 10.49–5.56×[(age/10)^0.5−0.71]. Meta-regression showed predominantly Asian countries had significantly shorter sleep (1h less over the 0–12 year range) compared to studies from Caucasian/non-Asian countries. Night waking data provided 4 age-bands up to 2 years ranging from 0 to 3.4 wakes per night for infants (0–2 months), to 0–2.5 per night (1–2 year-olds). Sleep latency data were sparse but estimated to be stable across 0–6 years. Because the main data analysis combined data from different countries and cultures, the reference values should be considered as global norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Despite significant contributions made in the area of persistent/chronic insomnia, especially with regard to the underlying mechanisms driving its maintenance, the area of acute insomnia has received comparatively little attention. The aim of this paper is to review the literature with regard to understanding the situational and personaological circumstances that surround the development of acute insomnia. The review begins by examining how the existing diagnostic systems conceptualise acute insomnia. Theoretical models that explain, or inferentially explain, the transition between normal sleep and acute insomnia are then explored and evaluated. The review then examines the current evidence base in terms of the pathogenesis of acute insomnia from naturalistic and experimental studies. Overall, the findings from the review confirm the paucity of evidence available but perhaps more importantly highlight the need for a structured diagnosis of acute insomnia as the first step in a research and treatment strategy. To this end a diagnostic system, drawing on the existing literature on stress and the systems used to diagnose depression, is forwarded and justified and a research agenda advanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: This meta-analysis was designed to estimate the average magnitude of ethnic differences between African-Americans and Caucasian-Americans in normal sleep and to identify moderators of these differences. Methods: Included studies had to have (1) sufficient information to estimate the difference between African-Americans and Caucasian-Americans on measures of subjective or objective sleep, (2) adult samples, and (3) samples of normal sleepers. Fourteen studies representing 1010 African-Americans and 3156 Caucasian-Americans aged 18years and older met these criteria. Results: Significant ethnic differences were found, with mean effect sizes ranging from −.23 to .57. African-Americans had poorer sleep continuity and duration, less slow wave sleep, and a greater proportion of stage 2 sleep. Differences in sleep continuity and duration variables were moderated by several biopsychosocial factors, whereas sleep architecture differences were not influenced by any examined moderating factor. Conclusions: African-Americans slept worse objectively and subjectively than Caucasian-Americans. Sleep continuity and duration were moderated by biopsychosocial factors whereas sleep architecture was not. Implications and future research are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objective: Cyclic alternating pattern (CAP) A1 subtypes, characterized by high-voltage slow waves, are generated by the frontal cortex and are suspected to have a role in cognitive processing during NREM sleep. Conversely, CAP A2 and A3 subtypes are characterized by variable amounts of rapid EEG potentials arising from the parietal–occipital areas and often coincide with arousals. We tested the hypothesis that CAP subtypes differentially correlate with cognitive functions. Subjects and methods: Eight healthy participants were recruited. Two nocturnal polysomnography studies and a series of neuropsychological tests were obtained in the subjects during the morning and afternoon of the first day and on the morning of the second day. Results: In agreement with our original hypothesis, we found that CAP A1 subtypes were correlated with better neuropsychological functioning the day after, for verbal fluency, working memory, and both delayed recall and recognition of words. These same neuropsychological test results were found to be negatively correlated with CAP A2 subtypes. CAP A3 subtypes were negatively correlated with the Trial Making test Parts A and B. Conclusions: The results suggest that CAP A1 might be related to better cognitive functioning, whereas CAP A2 and A3 correlated with worse cognitive functioning. Further studies are needed to better understand how CAP influences cognitive performance, especially frontally-dependent functions and memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To present sleep patterns in elderly individuals and factors associated with short sleep and long daytime and nighttime sleep.Methods: A total of 8091 subjects aged between 55 and 101 years representative of the noninstitutionalized general population of seven European countries (France, Finland, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Spain, and UK) were interviewed by telephone about their sleep habits and sleep disorders.Results: The average sleep duration was 6 h and 57 min. Sleep duration was longer in men than in women. Five percent of the sample slept 5 h or less and 5% slept 9 h or more per night. Factors associated with short sleep (lower fifth percentile) were age, living in UK, no physical exercise, drinking six cups of coffee or more per day, taking a medication for sleep, difficulty initiating sleep, disrupted sleep, early morning awakening, and presence of an anxiety disorder. Factors associated with long sleep (≥95th percentile) were age, living in France, Portugal, or Spain, being underweight, no physical exercise, disrupted sleep, taking a medication for sleep, and presence of an anxiety disorder. Long daytime sleep (54 min or more) were age, being a man, being overweight or obese, physical disease, being dissatisfied with one''s social life, smoking, drinking alcohol, and having a major depressive disorder.Conclusion: Sleep patterns considerably varied among the countries in the elderly population. Extreme values of sleep duration (short and long sleep) were associated with several sleep and mental health problems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Presents abstracts of research papers presented at the combined Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australasian Sleep Association and the Australasian Sleep Technologists Association in Auckland, New Zealand in October 2003. "Assessment of an Automated Slow Eye Closure Monitor During Driving Simulation in Sleep Deprived Professional Drivers"; "Sleep Disordered Breathing in Stable Methadone Maintenance Treatment Patient"; "Intramyocellular Lipid Decreases With CPAP Treatment in Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA)."