Role Of Sleep Research Articles

The role of sleep in the activity of lupus erythematosus: an overview of this possible relationship.

The role of sleep in the activity of lupus erythematosus: an overview of this possible relationship.

Investigation of the human pineal gland 3D organization by X-ray phase contrast tomography

Pineal gland (PG) is a part of the human brain epithalamus that plays an important role in sleep, circadian rhythm, immunity, and reproduction. The calcium deposits and lesions in PG interfere with normal function of the organ and can be associated with different health disorders including serious neurological diseases. At the moment, the detailed mechanisms of PG calcifications and PG lesions formation as well as their involvement in pathological processes are not fully understood. The deep and comprehensive study of the structure of the uncut human PG with histological details, poses a stiff challenge to most imaging techniques, due to low spatial resolution, low visibility or to exceedingly aggressive sample preparation. Here, we investigate the whole uncut and unstained human post-mortem PGs by X-ray phase contrast tomography (XPCT). XPCT is an advanced 3D imaging technique, that permits to study of both soft and calcified tissue of a sample at different scales: from the whole organ to cell structure. In our research we simultaneously resolved 3D structure of parenchyma, vascular network and calcifications. Moreover, we distinguished structural details of intact and degenerated PG tissue. We discriminated calcifications with different structure, pinealocytes nuclei and the glial cells processes. All results were validated by histology. Our research clear demonstrated that XPCT is a potential tool for the high resolution 3D imaging of PG morphological features. This technique opens a new perspective to investigate PG dysfunction and understand the mechanisms of onset and progression of diseases involving the pineal gland.

Neurocognitive Effects of Sleep Disruption in Children and Adolescents.

A main childhood task is learning. In this task, the role of sleep is increasingly demonstrated. Although most literature examining this role focuses on preadolescence and middle adolescence, some studies apply napping designs in preschoolers. Studies overall conclude that without proper sleep a child's cognitive abilities suffer, but questions on how and to what extent linger. Observational studies show the hazards of potential confounders such as an individual's resilience to poor sleep as well as developmental risk factors (eg, disorders, stressors). A better understanding of cognitive sleep neuroscience may have a big impact on pediatric sleep research and clinical applications.

From bit player to key mechanism: the role of sleep in exercise

Citation:McCrae CS, Curtis AF. From bit player to key mechanism: the role of sleep in exercise. J Clin Sleep Med. 2020;16(suppl_1):19S–20S.

Sleeping late is a risk factor for myopia development amongst school-aged children in China

Myopia, a leading cause of distance vision impairment, is projected to affect half of the world’s population in 30 years. We analysed the relationship between certain demographic, environmental, and behavioural factors and myopia from a 2-year school-based, prospective trial conducted in Shanghai, China. This trial enrolled 6295 school-aged children at baseline and followed them up for 24 months. The relationship between abovementioned factors and myopia was examined and the role of sleep in childhood myopia development was highlighted. Our results suggest that ‘sleeping late’ is a risk factor for myopia prevalence at baseline (odds ratio [OR] = 1.55, p = 0.04), 2-year myopia incidence (odds ratio [OR] = 1.44, p = 0.02) and progression over 24 months (p = 0.005), after adjusting for residency area, age, gender, sleep duration, and time spent outdoors. The identification and consistency of results with late sleepers being a susceptible group to both myopia onset and progression suggests a complex relationship between circadian rhythm, indoor environment, habitual indoor activities and myopia development and progression. These results can offer new insights to future myopia aetiology studies as well as aid in decision-making of myopia prevention strategies.

The Role of Sleep and Impact on Brain and Learning

<p>There are many interventions which may enhance learning. Many techniques are used in education to empower memory, which is a basic cognitive ability to ensure learning. A question arises: if learning is a natural process, is there a natural mechanism which supports learning? In this review, it is supported that sleep is such a mechanism. Research results on sleep and learning are presented and support different effects on the brain and learning, according to the age of the population. Sleep is a fundamental process for brain function and cognition. More studies should follow to make good use of this information, so as to design new interventions for the field of education.</p>

Superwomen and Sleep: an Assessment of Black College Women Across the African Diaspora.

Women and racial/ethnic minority groups in the U.S. report poor sleep health. While stress and alcohol use may contribute to sleep problems, few studies have examined the roles of stress and alcohol use on sleep among Black college women. Gender-racial ideology of Black womanhood may also play a role in sleep. This exploratory study sought to examine the relationships between stress, alcohol, ethnic-gender identity, and sleep. Guided by the biopsychosocial model and intersectionality theory, a cross-sectional study design recruited undergraduate women (18-24years) attending a Historically Black College and University(HBCU) who self-identified as Black (N = 110). Participants completed the Insomnia Severity Index, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Perceived Stress Scale, Alcohol Use Disorders Test, and Giscombe Superwoman Schema Questionnaire. Univariate and multiple linear regressions were conducted to examine independent and multiple effects of stress, alcohol, and ethnic-gender identity on insomnia and sleep quality. Participants (mean age 19.4years) represented diverse ethnic groups, 53% American, 25% African, and 20% Caribbean. Nearly 23% reported moderate to severe levels of insomnia. Scores from the Perceived Stress Scale, the Alcohol Use Disorders Test, and the Giscombe Superwoman Schema Questionnaire were independently associated with insomnia and sleep quality. In multivariate analyses, only perceived stress exhibited a significant association with insomnia and sleep quality. This exploratory study demonstrated that stress, excessive alcohol use, and ethnic-gender identity have relational impact on sleep health. Yet, stress may have greater importance and further research is needed to explore factors that mediated the relationship between stress and sleep.

Melatonin promotes sleep by activating the BK channel in C. elegans

Melatonin (Mel) promotes sleep through G protein-coupled receptors. However, the downstream molecular target(s) is unknown. We identified the Caenorhabditis elegans BK channel SLO-1 as a molecular target of the Mel receptor PCDR-1-. Knockout of pcdr-1, slo-1, or homt-1 (a gene required for Mel synthesis) causes substantially increased neurotransmitter release and shortened sleep duration, and these effects are nonadditive in double knockouts. Exogenous Mel inhibits neurotransmitter release and promotes sleep in wild-type (WT) but not pcdr-1 and slo-1 mutants. In a heterologous expression system, Mel activates the human BK channel (hSlo1) in a membrane-delimited manner in the presence of the Mel receptor MT1 but not MT2 A peptide acting to release free Gβγ also activates hSlo1 in a MT1-dependent and membrane-delimited manner, whereas a Gβλ inhibitor abolishes the stimulating effect of Mel. Our results suggest that Mel promotes sleep by activating the BK channel through a specific Mel receptor and Gβλ.

Sleep and self-regulation in early childhood.

What is the role of sleep in children's behavioral, emotional, and cognitive regulation? This chapter considers theoretical and conceptual links between sleep and self-regulation, with special attention to sleep and self-regulation in early childhood. We selectively review the growing body of research on associations between sleep and self-regulation, mentioning some methodological issues. We also consider how child characteristics and sociocontextual factors may interact with sleep in the development of self-regulation in early childhood. We provide some relevant empirical examples from our own research.

Role of sleep and stress in metabolic syndrome: a community based cross sectional study in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand

Background: Sleep disturbances and stress may intervene with the physiological processes in human body and act as a modulator of metabolic homeostasis. The aim and objectives of the study were to estimate the person’s average sleep propensity; to estimate the stress level in the study subjects; and to determine the association of sleep and stress with metabolic syndrome.Methods: A community based cross sectional study was conducted in an urban area of Rishikesh. Sample size was calculated to be 478. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS Version 20.0. Chi-square test was used to examine the association between categorical variables. A p value of <0.05 was considered significant.Results: It was observed that different levels of stress did not have any significant association with metabolic syndrome (MetS) though the odds among individuals with moderate stress were 1.1 times (95% CI 0.6-2.2) higher than those with low stress. The overall sleepiness grading was not significantly associated with Metabolic Syndrome. However, people with mild excessive daytime sleepiness have 4.7 times (95% CI 1.2-18) higher odds of MetS as compared to those with low normal daytime sleepiness. Those with moderate excessive day sleepiness had 1.59 times (95% CI 0.3-8) higher odds of MetS, however it was not statistically significant.Conclusions: Mild excessive daytime sleepiness was associated with an increased risk of metabolic syndrome. People with perceived stress are having higher chance of getting MetS.

COVID-19: what are the risks for patients with sleep disorders?

Coronavirus pandemic significantly changed our lives, leading to long-lasting medical, social, economic, psychological consequences. Currently, when the COVID-19 morbidity growth is less galloping, the more important are the issues of long-lasting prognosis, rehabilitation, immunity stability, risk of recurrent infection etc. An increased incidence of stress-induced somatic and mental diseases is envisaged. Among them, sleep disorders appear to be significant and can result from various reasons: change in habitual life style, work regimen, decrease in physical activity during self-isolation, lesser daylight exposure and greater exposure to artificial light (including screens of electronic devices). The evidence confirms an important role of sleep in human health and wellbeing. The paper summarizes data on the role of sleep in immune system regulation. We pay special attention to sleep-disordered breathing which is associated with the higher risk of infection by SARS-CoV-2 and more severe COVID-19. Other sleep disorders, including changes in sleep quality and duration during the pandemic, are also discussed. The paper reviews the existing approaches to manage stress-induced sleep disorders which are applicable in the pandemic and can be implemented in rehabilitation procedures.

Glutamatergic Neurons of the Paraventricular Nucleus are Critical for the Control of Wakefulness

Normal sleep–wake behavior is extremely important for humans to maintain basic physiological and cognitive activities. However, the neural mechanisms underlying sleep–wake regulation are not fully understood. The paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus has been classically defined as a region for the regulation of the hypothalamoneurohypophysial system and autonomic nervous system. Here, we identify the glutamatergic neurons in the PVN that play a unique role in sleep–wake regulation. Firstly using in vivo fiber photometry, we found altered calcium activities of PVN glutamatergic neurons during three sleep state transitions in freely behaving mice. The calcium activities of PVN glutamatergic neurons began to increase before non-rapid-eye movement (NREM) sleep to wake transitions and NREM sleep to rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep transitions and began to decrease before wake to NREM sleep transitions. Then we used chemogenetic manipulations together with polysomnographic recordings, activation of PVN neurons increased wakefulness and decreased NREM sleep, while inhibition of PVN neurons caused a reduction in wakefulness and an increase in NREM sleep. Altogether, our findings revealed an important role for PVN glutamatergic neurons in the regulation of wake state.

Discriminating between sleep and exercise-induced fatigue using computer vision and behavioral genetics

Following prolonged swimming, Caenorhabditis elegans cycle between active swimming bouts and inactive quiescent bouts. Swimming is exercise for C. elegans and here we suggest that inactive bouts are a recovery state akin to fatigue. It is known that cGMP-dependent kinase (PKG) activity plays a conserved role in sleep, rest, and arousal. Using C. elegans EGL-4 PKG, we first validate a novel learning-based computer vision approach to automatically analyze C. elegans locomotory behavior and an edge detection program that is able to distinguish between activity and inactivity during swimming for long periods of time. We find that C. elegans EGL-4 PKG function impacts timing of exercise-induced quiescent (EIQ) bout onset, fractional quiescence, bout number, and bout duration, suggesting that previously described pathways are engaged during EIQ bouts. However, EIQ bouts are likely not sleep as animals are feeding during the majority of EIQ bouts. We find that genetic perturbation of neurons required for other C. elegans sleep states also does not alter EIQ dynamics. Additionally, we find that EIQ onset is sensitive to age and DAF-16 FOXO function. In summary, we have validated behavioral analysis software that enables a quantitative and detailed assessment of swimming behavior, including EIQ. We found novel EIQ defects in aged animals and animals with mutations in a gene involved in stress tolerance. We anticipate that further use of this software will facilitate the analysis of genes and pathways critical for fatigue and other C. elegans behaviors.

Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and behavioral outcomes in adolescents with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder: The role of sleep

BackgroundAttention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that has a worldwide prevalence of 7.2%. Individuals with ADHD often have sleep and behavioral problems. ObjectiveThis cross-sectional survey aims to investigate the relationships between moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), sleep, bullying, and school engagement in adolescents with ADHD. MethodsData were obtained from the 2011–2012 National Survey of Children’s Health. A subsample (n = 272) that fit the inclusion criteria was included. Path analysis was used to test the hypothesized model (i.e., MVPA → sleep → bullying/school engagement). ResultsThe proposed model fit the data well. MVPA was found to be associated with sleep, bullying, and school engagement. In addition, sleep mediated the relationship between MVPA and bullying/school engagement. ConclusionsMVPA and sleep play an important role in understanding behavioral outcomes in adolescents with ADHD. Longitudinal or intervention studies are needed to support the present findings.

The Role of Sleep in the Relationship Between ADHD Symptoms and Stop Signal Task Performance

Background: ADHD commonly occurs with sleep problems and secondary cognitive impairments such as inhibitory control. Sleep problems may explain attentional lapses and inhibition performance variability in children with ADHD. This study applied Bayesian analyses to examine the relationship between ADHD symptoms, sleep problems, and inhibition. Methods: Participants included 73 children with ADHD and 73 non-ADHD controls, aged 10.5 to 13.5 years. The Stop Signal Task measured inhibition. Sleep problems were measured with the Adolescent Sleep Wake Scale and parent-report. Results: ADHD symptoms are associated with sleep problems and reaction time variability, however, sleep problems accounted for more variance in inhibition performance than both hyperactive and inattentive symptoms. Conclusion: Sleep problems account for inhibition performance over and above ADHD symptom severity in children with and without ADHD diagnoses. This suggests clinical utility in assessing sleep in children with manifestations of ADHD, and interventions targeting sleep problems concurrently with behavioral symptoms. This further adds to the discussion on overdiagnosis of ADHD due to behavioral presentations of underlying sleep disorders. Treatment for phenotypes of ADHD could be enhanced by targeting sleep problems, in addition to inhibition deficits and attentional lapses.

Consistent sleep onset and maintenance of body weight after weight loss: An analysis of data from the NoHoW trial.

BackgroundSeveral studies have suggested that reduced sleep duration and quality are associated with an increased risk of obesity and related metabolic disorders, but the role of sleep in long-term weight loss maintenance (WLM) has not been thoroughly explored using prospective data.Methods and findingsThe present study is an ancillary study based on data collected on participants from the Navigating to a Healthy Weight (NoHoW) trial, for which the aim was to test the efficacy of an evidence-based digital toolkit, targeting self-regulation, motivation, and emotion regulation, on WLM among 1,627 British, Danish, and Portuguese adults. Before enrolment, participants had achieved a weight loss of ≥5% and had a BMI of ≥25 kg/m2 prior to losing weight. Participants were enrolled between March 2017 and March 2018 and followed during the subsequent 12-month period for change in weight (primary trial outcome), body composition, metabolic markers, diet, physical activity, sleep, and psychological mediators/moderators of WLM (secondary trial outcomes). For the present study, a total of 967 NoHoW participants were included, of which 69.6% were women, the mean age was 45.8 years (SD 11.5), the mean baseline BMI was 29.5 kg/m2 (SD 5.1), and the mean weight loss prior to baseline assessments was 11.4 kg (SD 6.4). Objectively measured sleep was collected using the Fitbit Charge 2 (FC2), from which sleep duration, sleep duration variability, sleep onset, and sleep onset variability were assessed across 14 days close to baseline examinations. The primary outcomes were 12-month changes in body weight (BW) and body fat percentage (BF%). The secondary outcomes were 12-month changes in obesity-related metabolic markers (blood pressure, low- and high-density lipoproteins [LDL and HDL], triglycerides [TGs], and glycated haemoglobin [HbA1c]). Analysis of covariance and multivariate linear regressions were conducted with sleep-related variables as explanatory and subsequent changes in BW, BF%, and metabolic markers as response variables. We found no evidence that sleep duration, sleep duration variability, or sleep onset were associated with 12-month weight regain or change in BF%. A higher between-day variability in sleep onset, assessed using the standard deviation across all nights recorded, was associated with weight regain (0.55 kg per hour [95% CI 0.10 to 0.99]; P = 0.016) and an increase in BF% (0.41% per hour [95% CI 0.04 to 0.78]; P = 0.031). Analyses of the secondary outcomes showed that a higher between-day variability in sleep duration was associated with an increase in HbA1c (0.02% per hour [95% CI 0.00 to 0.05]; P = 0.045). Participants with a sleep onset between 19:00 and 22:00 had the greatest reduction in diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (P = 0.02) but also the most pronounced increase in TGs (P = 0.03). The main limitation of this study is the observational design. Hence, the observed associations do not necessarily reflect causal effects.ConclusionOur results suggest that maintaining a consistent sleep onset is associated with improved WLM and body composition. Sleep onset and variability in sleep duration may be associated with subsequent change in different obesity-related metabolic markers, but due to multiple-testing, the secondary exploratory outcomes should be interpreted cautiously.Trial registrationThe trial was registered with the ISRCTN registry (ISRCTN88405328).

Sleep Quality and Sleep Disturbance Perception in Dual Disorder Patients.

Background: Sleep problems are particularly frequent in psychiatric disorders, but their bidirectional intersection is poorly clarified. An especial link between substance use and sleep seems to exist. While dual disorder patients are certainly at higher risk of experiencing sleep problems, very limited research is available today. Methods: Forty-seven dual disorder hospitalized patients were included in this first study. A complete psychiatric evaluation was performed, and sleep habits, patterns and potential disorders were evaluated with specific sleep scales, as well as anxiety. Results: The global prevalence of insomnia symptoms was considerably higher compared with the general population. Different abuse patterns as a function of concurrent psychiatric diagnosis were found, with no significant gender differences. The association between the investigated sleep parameters and any specific substance of abuse was minor. The addict behavior started in more than half of the patients prior to the main psychiatric diagnosis and close to the beginning of sleep problems. Men had a higher prevalence of insomnia symptoms, together with a higher incidence of anxiety. Overall, subjective daytime functioning was not altered as a consequence of poor sleep. Conclusion: Dual disorder patients face significant sleep disturbances, with low sleep quality. The role of sleep in addiction and dual disorders deserves greater research.

0082 Hippocampal Gray Matter Volume in Healthy Adult Population is Associated with Habitual Sleep Duration

Abstract Introduction The hippocampus is well known for its role in sleep and memory consolidation in adolescents, and has been shown to demonstrate neural plasticity and neuronal regeneration. However, the relationship between sleep and hippocampal gray matter volume in healthy adults remains to be fully characterized. We hypothesized that total sleep time (TST), as measured by actigraphy, would correlate positively with gray matter volume (GMV) in the hippocampus, a key memory region of the brain. Methods Forty-five healthy normal sleeping adults between 20–45 years of age wore an actigraph for seven days to quantify habitual sleep duration and underwent magnetic resonance imaging during the actigraphy period. Voxel based morphometry in SPM12 was used to estimate GMV at the whole brain level. A region-of-interest mask was used to constrain data analysis to the left and right hippocampi. Results Habitual sleep duration per night correlated positively with gray matter volume within part of the left hippocampus (x=-36,y=-20,z=-18; k=32, pFWE-corr=0.093), controlling for age, sex, total intracranial volume, intelligence scores and mood. No correlation was found between TST and hippocampal GMV in the right hippocampus. Conclusion Longer sleep time was associated with greater gray matter volume in the left hippocampus. This finding is consistent with what has been observed in healthy children and extend these findings to healthy normal sleeping adults. While TST and GMV are correlated, the causal association cannot be established here. Further research may explore the effects of sleep extension on GMV and how these volume differences associate with various aspects of cognition, particularly memory. It should be noted that this study only included healthy adults with sleep durations between 6–9 hours per night. Future studies would benefit from including adults with a greater variance in their sleep patterns to better understand the relationship between sleep and hippocampal volume, and its potential effects on memory performance. Support Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Young Faculty Award: DARPA-12-12-11-YFA11-FP-029

0119 The Role of Aging and Working Memory in Emotional-Long Term Memory Formation

Abstract Introduction It is widely accepted that “offline” processes during sleep contributes to memory. Working Memory (WM) capacity, which reflects “online” memory processing, is an important factor influencing cognitive functioning, which declines with age. In younger individuals, a positive association is reported between WM-capacity and declarative memory improvement. Methods We examined the relation between WM and long-term memory consolidation, among younger [N=105, 18-25yr] and older adults (N=119, 60-85yr). Subjects completed an OSPAN WM task, encoded a Word-Paired Association (WPA) task in the morning (Test1), and were tested on the WPA in the afternoon (Test2) after a 90-minute polysomnographically-recorded nap or wake. Half of the subjects were exposed to negatively valenced word-pairs (EWPA) while the other half were exposed to neutral word-pairs (NWPA). Subjects rated valence of the word-pairs at Test1 and Test2. We compared the four groups (young-EWPA, young-NWPA, old-EWPA and old-NWPA) on WM and WPA in both wake and sleep. Results In both wake and sleep, in the WPA, ageXword-condition interaction was found (p=.004). Post-hoc analysis revealed that in wake, younger-EWPA had higher performance (p=.03) than younger-NWPA, however, older-EWPA had lower performance (p=.03) than older-NWPA. Additionally, we found an ageXword-condition interaction whereby youngers showed no change in ratings, while older adults rated word-pairs more positively both in wake (p=.03) and sleep (p=.002) at Test 2. Youngers had higher WM performance (p=.007), also their WM performance was positively associated with WPA both for Neutral (p=.03) and Emotional (p=.01). WM and WPA among older adults was not related. In younger-EWPA, Stage2-sleep-minutes was positively associated to WPA improvement (p=.03) where this association was negative among older-EWPA (p=.02). In older-NWPA, Stage2-sleep-minutes was positively associated with WPA (p=.004). Conclusion Our findings indicate an association between WM and emotionally-salient memory formation that is modulated by age. Older adults, but not younger, showed the emotional bias previously reported. WM was higher in younger adults related to memory improvement. Stage2-sleep was related to memory improvement in both groups, but in opposite directions. In sum, the role of sleep in memory consolidation changes with aging and WM may play a role in this process. Support Fenn et al.,2012

1103 Understanding the Role of Sleep as a Risk Factor for Suicidal Ideation in Active Duty Service Members

Abstract Introduction Suicide is an important public health concern with many factors contributing to increased risk. Sleep is one such factor that may elevate risk, yet this association is not well understood. By identifying the strongest sleep-related predictors of suicidal ideation (SI), providers may be able to better intervene and reduce risk of suicide. Methods Data were obtained from the clinical database at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE). Patients were active duty service members, predominantly male, and with a mean age of 38. As part of standard care, patients receive a polysomnography sleep study and complete a battery of intake measures offering a comprehensive view of sleep. Individual symptoms were analyzed in an effort to understand the role of each sleep symptom within the context of the many other factors that may contribute to SI in service members. Results Of the many data points collected during polysomnography, only rapid eye movement (REM) sleep latency and minimum sleeping heart rate were related to SI. REM latency was associated with increased odds of SI, while minimum sleeping heart rate was related to decreased odds. Subjective reports of bad dreams, trauma-specific bad dreams, sleepiness, and sleep quality were related to increased odds of SI. Notably, subjective reports of sleep were associated with greater odds than objective measures. Traumatic nightmares had the greatest odds, with these patients being much more likely to have SI. Conclusion These results support the importance of considering sleep factors when evaluating SI in service members. Subjective sleep reports, specifically, appear to be particularly important, as they were associated with increased odds of SI. These findings focus on the role of individual sleep factors in increasing the odds of SI and suggest it is important to evaluate sleep in combination with comorbid conditions when conducting risk assessments. Support N/A