Sleep Domains Research Articles

Sleep pattern and disorders among pregnant women in Ibadan, Southwest Nigeria

BackgroundSleep is essential for pregnant women’s and the offspring’s health and wellbeing. Poor sleep and disorders have been linked with adverse fetal outcomes and delivery conditions. However, pregnant women often experience several forms of sleep disruption, which has been scarcely reported in low and middle-income countries (LMIC), including Nigeria where the influence of lifestyle factors has also been lacking. We investigated sleep patterns and disorders and the associated factors among pregnant women in Southwest, Nigeria.MethodA cross-sectional study was conducted among five hundred (500) pregnant women attending Adeoyo Maternity Teaching Hospital. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to examine different domains of sleep and associated disorders, namely sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (> 5 and ≤ 5)), insomnia (Insomnia Severity Index (> 8 and ≤ 8)), restless leg syndrome (Restless Leg Syndrome Rating Scale (> 10 and ≤ 10). Significant covariates such as physical activity, minimum dietary diversity, smoking and alcohol intake were also assessed. We conducted bivariate and multivariate analysis at p < 0.05 significance level.ResultsThe mean age of participants was 30.4 ± 4.8 years. The pattern of sleep disorder in pregnant were poor sleep quality (50%), restless leg syndrome (58.2%) and insomnia (33.4%). Being currently married (AOR = 6.13; 95% CI: (1.65–22.23)), increasing gestational age: second trimester (AOR = 8.25;95% CI: (1.78–38.17)) to third trimester (AOR = 10.98; 95% CI: (2.44–49.48)) increased the odds of poor sleep quality. Factors associated with restless leg syndrome were marital status [AOR = 3.60; 95% CI; (1.25–10.35)], religion, rigorous physical activities [AOR = 1.52; 95% CI: (1.05–2.21)] and alcohol consumption [AOR = 3.51; 95% CI: (1.00–12.27)]. Factors associated with insomnia were maternal age [AOR = 1.83; 95% CI: (1.11–3.01)], income [AOR = 2.99 (1.26–7.16)] and rigorous physical activity [AOR = 2.55 (1.61–4.02)].ConclusionPoor sleep quality, restless leg syndrome and insomnia were typical among pregnant women in Ibadan, Southwest Nigeria. Thus, awareness and education on the importance of sleep and its risk and protective factors, such as alcohol consumption, smoking, rigorous activity and spousal and family support, should be increased to reduce poor sleep quality and sleep disorders (restless leg syndrome and insomnia) during the pregnancy period.

Remote Wearable Neuroimaging Devices for Health Monitoring and Neurophenotyping: A Scoping Review.

Digital health tracking is a source of valuable insights for public health research and consumer health technology. The brain is the most complex organ, containing information about psychophysical and physiological biomarkers that correlate with health. Specifically, recent developments in electroencephalogram (EEG), functional near-infra-red spectroscopy (fNIRS), and photoplethysmography (PPG) technologies have allowed the development of devices that can remotely monitor changes in brain activity. The inclusion criteria for the papers in this review encompassed studies on self-applied, remote, non-invasive neuroimaging techniques (EEG, fNIRS, or PPG) within healthcare applications. A total of 23 papers were reviewed, comprising 17 on using EEGs for remote monitoring and 6 on neurofeedback interventions, while no papers were found related to fNIRS and PPG. This review reveals that previous studies have leveraged mobile EEG devices for remote monitoring across the mental health, neurological, and sleep domains, as well as for delivering neurofeedback interventions. With headsets and ear-EEG devices being the most common, studies found mobile devices feasible for implementation in study protocols while providing reliable signal quality. Moderate to substantial agreement overall between remote and clinical-grade EEGs was found using statistical tests. The results highlight the promise of portable brain-imaging devices with regard to continuously evaluating patients in natural settings, though further validation and usability enhancements are needed as this technology develops.

Development of a Composite Score for the Clinical Assessment of Anti-IgLON5 Disease.

To develop a composite score to assess the severity of the multiple symptoms present in anti-IgLON5 disease. The anti-IgLON5 disease composite score (ICS) was designed to evaluate 17 symptoms divided into 5 clinical domains (bulbar, sleep, movement disorders, cognition, and others). Each symptom was scored from 0 (absent/normal) to 3 or 6 (severe) depending on the contribution of the symptom to neurologic disability with a maximum ICS of 69. The ICS was tested in patients from 2 cohorts (Barcelona, Spain, and GENERATE, Germany) that included cases personally seen by the authors (internal) and patients whose ICS was obtained from information of questionnaires completed by the referring neurologists (external). Test-retest and interrater reliabilities of the ICS were assessed by the intraclass coefficient (ICC) and the correlation between the ICS and modified Rankin scale (mRS) with the nonparametric Spearman rank coefficient. The Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare the ICS at diagnosis of anti-IgLON5 disease and follow-up in a subset of patients with available clinical information. A total of 86 patients (46 from Barcelona cohort; 40 from GENERATE cohort) were included. The median ICS was 15 (range 2-31). The ICS was higher in the Barcelona cohort than in the German cohort (18 vs 12, p < 0.001), due to higher partial scores in sleep and movement disorder domains. There were no significant differences in the ICS between internal and external patients (15 vs 14, p = 0.96). The ICS correlated with the mRS score (r = 0.429, p < 0.001). Test-retest and interrater reliabilities were excellent with an ICC of 0.997 (95% CI 0.992-0.999) and 0.973 (95% CI 0.925-0.990), respectively. ICS was retested during follow-up in 27 patients, and it was similar to that at diagnosis in 10 clinically stable patients (median ICS at diagnosis 11.5 vs 11.5 at follow-up; p = 1), higher in 8 patients who worsened (12.5 vs 18; p = 0.012), and lower in 9 patients who improved after immunotherapy (14 vs 10; p = 0.007). The ICS is a valid method to assess the extension and severity of the different clinical manifestations of anti-IgLON5 disease.

Clinical Characteristics and Treatment Efficacy for Co-Morbid Insomnia and Sleep Apnea (COMISA): Evidence from Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis

ABSTRACT Objectives A multitude of physical and mental challenges are being faced in the population with Co-morbid Insomnia and Sleep Apnea (COMISA). Unfortunately, research about clinical characteristics and management of COMISA based on quantitative evidence is lacking. Method Standard procedures for literature retrieval, selection and quality assessment, data extraction, analysis, and interpretation were conducted step by step. For studying the sleep characteristics, common complications and widely recognized treatment options for COMISA, Weighted Mean Difference (WMD) and Odds Ratio (OR) were applied to assess the mean and risk differences between compared groups. Outcomes included sleep health parameters and secondary impairments in physical and mental well-being. Results COMISA showed worse sleep quality than OSA only by PSQI (WMD = 3.38 point) and heavier sleep fragmentation (WMD = 11.46 min) than insomnia only. Besides, COMISA patients showed a higher risk for depression (OR [95%CI] = 5.03[2.31, 10.93]) and PTSD (OR [95%CI] = 3.96[1.85, 8.46]) in comparison with OSA alone. Compared to insomnia alone, COMISA patients suffered from more than two times higher risk of cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, and diabetes. In treating COMISA patients, combining CBTI with PAP treatment can enhance the improvement of insomnia severity (ISI, WMD [95%CI] =-3.26[−4.51, −2.00] point) and sleep efficiency (WMD [95%CI] = 6.39[1.97, 10.81] %) compared to PAP alone. Conclusions Impaired sleep domains in COMISA cover sleep quality and sleep structure. Also, COMISA has a higher risk for cardiometabolic diseases and mental disorders. Combining CBTI with PAP can be a recommended treatment to relieve sleep impairments for COMISA.

Implementation and Evaluation of a National Well-Being Curriculum for KL2 Scholars.

Introduction: The study aimed to pilot test a well-being curriculum for KL2 scholars to be used across the Clinical and Translational Science Award consortium. Methods: Between November 2022, and May 2023, 36 KL2 scholars from 25 hubs participated in the program. The General Well-Being Index for U.S. Workers and the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS-29) were completed by scholars before and after the program. Results: Postparticipation, there was a trend of improvement in the domains of well-being, sleep, anxiety, and fatigue. Conclusion: Implementing a virtual synchronous well-being curriculum allowed the scholars to connect across the consortium and improve their well-being.

Comparing the Influences of Spouses or Partners With Other Family Members in the Ability of Young Asian Americans to Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

The relationship between family dynamics and health has been extensively studied, but the specific pathways involved are not yet fully understood. The role of intimate partner relationships in promoting and maintaining healthy lifestyle behaviors remains understudied, particularly in minority populations. This study addressed this gap by examining how frequent spousal and familial interactions affect healthy lifestyle behaviors in young Asian Americans. Survey data from Asian American adults aged 18 to 35, collected in March 2021, is used to compare two groups: one interacting most with an intimate partner and the other interacting most with other non-intimate family members. The results showed that young Asian Americans interact most with their spouses/partners and mothers. Participants who interacted most frequently with their spouses/partners reported a greater influence in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, particularly in the domains of exercise and sleep. Moreover, those who interacted more with their spouses/partners exhibited a greater sense of connectedness, which impacted spousal and personal influence on healthy lifestyle behaviors. The findings suggest that promoting interaction and fostering stronger spousal/partner relationships can positively influence the healthy lifestyle behaviors of young Asian Americans.

Long term outcomes of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in post covid condition: longitudinal follow-up of a randomized controlled trial

In our previous randomized controlled trial, we documented significant improvements in cognitive, psychiatric, fatigue, sleep, and pain symptoms among long Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID) patients who underwent hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). The primary objective of the present study was to evaluate the enduring 1 year long term effects of HBOT on long COVID syndrome. This longitudinal long-term follow-up included 31 patients with reported post COVID-19 cognitive symptoms, who underwent 40 daily sessions of HBOT. Participants were recruited more than one year (486 ± 73) after completion of the last HBOT session. Quality of life, assessed using the short form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire revealed, that the long-term results exhibited a similar magnitude of improvement as the short-term outcomes following HBOT across most domains. Regarding sleep quality, improvements were observed in global score and across five sleep domains with effect sizes of moderate magnitude during the short-term evaluation, and these improvements persisted in the long-term assessment (effect size (ES1) = 0.47–0.79). In the realm of neuropsychiatric symptoms, as evaluated by the brief symptom inventory-18 (BSI-18), the short-term assessment following HBOT demonstrated a large effect size, and this effect persisted at the long-term evaluation. Both pain severity (ES1 = 0.69) and pain interference (ES1 = 0.83), had significant improvements during the short-term assessment post HBOT, which persisted at long term. The results indicate HBOT can improve the quality of life, quality of sleep, psychiatric and pain symptoms of patients suffering from long COVID. The clinical improvements gained by HBOT are persistent even 1 year after the last HBOT session.

The association between Superwoman schema and subjective sleep quality among Black women

ObjectivesSimilar to women overall, Black women are socialized to be communal and “self-sacrificing,” but unlike women from other racial/ethnic backgrounds, Black women are also socialized to be “strong” and “invulnerable.” This phenomenon is labeled Superwoman schema. This study examined associations between Superwoman schema endorsement and subjective sleep quality. MethodsParticipants included 405 Black women (ages 30-46). Superwoman schema was measured using a 35-item scale capturing five dimensions: obligation to present strength, suppress emotions, resistance to vulnerability, motivation to succeed, and obligation to help others. Superwoman schema overall and the five dimensions/subscales were analyzed. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to investigate overall subjective sleep quality (range: 0-19), poor sleep quality (PSQI >5), and specific sleep domains (eg, sleep duration, sleep disturbances). We fit linear and binary logistic regression models, adjusting for health-related and sociodemographic factors. ResultsSuperwoman schema dimension obligation to help others was associated with lower overall subjective sleep quality (β: .81, 95%CI=0.29, 1.32) and poor sleep quality (OR: 1.55, 95%CI=1.10, 2.19), as well as bad subjective sleep quality (OR: 1.76, 95%CI=1.18, 2.66), sleep disturbances (β: .73, 95%CI =0.07, 1.41), and daytime sleepiness (OR: 2.01, 95%CI=1.25, 3.26). Suppress emotions (OR: 1.41, 95%CI=1.01, 1.99) was associated with poor subjective sleep quality. Superwoman schema overall was associated with daytime sleepiness (OR: 2.01, 95%CI=1.06, 3.82). ConclusionSuperwoman schema endorsement, especially obligation to help others and suppress emotions, may be important psychosocial risk factors for Black women’s sleep health.

Exploring Structure Incentive Domain Adversarial Learning for Generalizable Sleep Stage Classification

Sleep stage classification is crucial for sleep state monitoring and health interventions. In accordance with the standards prescribed by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, a sleep episode follows a specific structure comprising five distinctive sleep stages that collectively form a sleep cycle. Typically, this cycle repeats about five times, providing an insightful portrayal of the subject’s physiological attributes. The progress of deep learning and advanced domain generalization methods allows automatic and even adaptive sleep stage classification. However, applying models trained with visible subject data to invisible subject data remains challenging due to significant individual differences among subjects. Motivated by the periodic category-complete structure of sleep stage classification, we propose a Structure Incentive Domain Adversarial learning (SIDA) method that combines the sleep stage classification method with domain generalization to enable cross-subject sleep stage classification. SIDA includes individual domain discriminators for each sleep stage category to decouple subject dependence differences among different categories and fine-grained learning of domain-invariant features. Furthermore, SIDA directly connects the label classifier and domain discriminators to promote the training process. Experiments on three benchmark sleep stage classification datasets demonstrate that the proposed SIDA method outperforms other state-of-the-art sleep stage classification and domain generalization methods and achieves the best cross-subject sleep stage classification results.

Omalizumab improves sleep and health status for patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps: An analysis of randomized clinical trials.

Patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) have high incidence of sleep impairment. We evaluated the impact of omalizumab treatment on sleep characteristics and associated health status in patients with CRSwNP. Prespecified exploratory analysis assessed outcomes from patients included in the POLYP 1 and POLYP 2 phase 3 clinical trials and the open-label extension. Sleep was assessed by the sleep domain of the Sino-Nasal Outcome Test-22 (SNOT-22; MCID>4 in patients with CRS) and the Medical Outcomes Study Sleep Scale (MOS-Sleep). Health status was assessed by Healthy Days Core Module (HDCM) and sinonasal-specific Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC). Omalizumab improved sleep as assessed by the SNOT-22 sleep domain. At week 24, adjusted mean (95%CI) SNOT-22 sleep scores had reduced from baseline by -8.5 (-9.9 to -7.1) with omalizumab versus -2.7 (-4.1 to -1.3) with placebo. At week 52 (all patents on OMA), adjusted mean (95%CI) SNOT-22 sleep scores had reduced from baseline by -10.1 (-11.4 to -8.7) with omalizumab. Improvements were observed in all eight items of the SNOT-22 sleep domain: difficulty falling asleep, fatigue, frustration/restlessness/irritability, lack good night's sleep, reduced concentration, reduced productivity, wake up tired, and wake up at night. In addition, omalizumab improved six of eight sleep outcomes on the MOS-Sleep scale. There were concurrent improvements in HDCM and PGIC. Omalizumab improved sleep and self-reported health status in patients with CRSwNP. This contributes to evidence that omalizumab provides value for patients beyond the reduction of sinonasal symptoms.

Sleep health among medical students in Abakaliki Nigeria: A descriptive study

BackgroundSleep health focuses on those measurable characteristics of sleep that are most clearly associated with physical, mental, and neurobehavioral well-being, and not necessarily the absence of sleep disorder. Sleep health is characterised by subjective satisfaction, appropriate timing, adequate duration, high efficiency, and sustained alertness during waking hours. Adequate and restful sleep is particularly crucial for medical students, who face unique challenges due to the demanding nature of their academic and clinical responsibilities. There is limited data on sleep health among medical students in Nigeria. ObjectivesThis research study investigated the pattern of sleep health among medical students in Abakaliki Nigeria. MethodsThis cross-sectional observational study was undertaken among the medical students of 2 public institutions in Abakaliki Nigeria from 16th to 23rd June 2023. ResultsOut of the 288 medical students (males- 53.1 %, females- 46.9 %), good sleep health was recorded in 6.6 %. The mean SATED sleep score was 4.9 ± 1.7 (male- 4.9 ± 1.8, female- 4.9 ± 1.6) (p-value = 1) and it was significantly lower among the final-year students. Age difference, sex difference, and presence of chronic headache did not significantly affect the SATED sleep score. The mean sleep duration was 6.1 ± 1.5 hours (male- 6.1 ± 1.6, female- 6.0 ± 1.4). Sleep duration (54.5 %) had the best rating while sleep efficiency (44 %) had the lowest rating among the assessed sleep domains. ConclusionSleep health is poor among medical students in Abakaliki Nigeria and significantly poorer among final-year medical students.

Comparison of time to clinically meaningful improvement in quality of life in neurological disorders in patients treated with natalizumab versus ocrelizumab.

Aim: To assess time to improvement in Quality of Life in Neurological Disorders (Neuro-QoL) domains for patients treated with natalizumab versus ocrelizumab. Methods: Patients enrolled in the MS PATHS network who initiated treatment with either natalizumab or ocrelizumab rated the Neuro-QoL domains of physical function, symptoms, emotional health, cognitive function and social ability. Results: Time to clinically meaningful improvement was significantly shorter with natalizumab versus ocrelizumab for cognitive function (event time ratio [95% CI]: 0.37 [0.24-0.57]; p<0.001), sleep disturbance (0.45 [0.28-0.72]; p=0.001), social role participation (0.37 [0.21-0.66]; p=0.001) and social role satisfaction (0.5 [0.31-0.8]; p=0.004). Conclusion: Natalizumab had shorter time to clinically meaningful improvement in cognitive, sleep, and social role Neuro-QoL domains versus ocrelizumab.

Unraveling the associations between unhealthy lifestyle behaviors and mental health in the general adult Chinese population: A cross-sectional study

BackgroundThis study examined the cumulative risk of unhealthy lifestyle behaviors and the associations between overall lifestyle and common mental disorders (CMDs), insomnia, stress, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and functional impairment. Additionally, the treatment preferences for managing CMDs and insomnia were examined. MethodsA survey was conducted on 1487 Chinese Hong Kong adults, assessing their lifestyle behaviors (i.e., diet and nutrition, substance use, physical activity, stress management, restorative sleep, social support, and environmental exposures), mental health-related outcomes, and treatment preferences via a vignette. ResultsThe findings revealed significant additive relationships between the number of ‘worse’ lifestyle domains and the risk of all outcomes. A healthier overall lifestyle was significantly associated with reduced risks of all outcomes (AORs = 0.88 to 0.93). Having healthier practices in diet and nutrition, substance use, stress management, restorative sleep, and social support domains were significantly associated with lower risks of all outcomes (AORs = 0.93 to 0.98), except that substance use was not significantly associated with stress. Physical activity was inversely associated with only depressive symptoms (AOR = 0.98), anxiety symptoms (AOR = 0.99), and stress (AOR = 0.99). Environmental exposures were not significantly associated with functional impairment but with all other outcomes (AORs = 0.98 to 0.99). Besides, lifestyle interventions (55 %) were significantly more preferred for managing CMDs and insomnia relative to psychotherapy (35.4 %) and pharmacotherapy (9.6 %). ConclusionsOur findings underscore the importance of considering lifestyle factors when managing CMDs, insomnia, stress, HRQOL, and functional impairment, with a particular emphasis on adopting a multicomponent treatment approach.

Glycogen storage disease type III: a mixed-methods study to assess the burden of disease.

Glycogen storage disease type III (GSD III) is a rare inherited disorder that results from a glycogen debranching enzyme deficiency. The purpose of this research was to collect data on the signs, symptoms, and impacts of GSD III from the perspective of adult patients and caregivers of individuals with GSD III. Online survey and qualitative interviews. Following institutional review board approval, adult patients and caregivers of children with GSD III were recruited through advocacy networks and clinical sites. If eligible, participants were consented, screened, and sent a survey and/or participated in a 60-min interview. The survey and interview included questions about family history, diagnosis, signs and symptoms, impacts, and management of GSD III. Conceptual models were developed following the analysis of results. In all, 29 adults and 46 caregivers completed the online survey and/or the interviews with 73 survey and 19 interview respondents. Adults and caregivers reported digestive, musculoskeletal, growth and physical appearance, and cardiac signs and symptoms. Liver conditions were reported by most respondents (83%). Adults and caregivers frequently reported impacts such as difficulty keeping up with peers (77%) and difficulty exercising/difficulty with physical activity (53%). Hypoglycemia was frequently reported in both adults and children, with more than half reporting hospitalizations due to hypoglycemia. Caregivers focused on hypoglycemia when reporting signs/symptoms that most interfere with their child's life and prevention of hypoglycemia as a desired outcome for an effective therapy. Adults most often reported muscle weakness as a top interfering symptom and the most important goal of a potential therapy. Impacts were also reported in activities of daily living, cognitive, emotional, work/school, and sleep domains. Individuals with GSD III experience a broad spectrum of symptoms and disease impacts. There is an unmet need for therapies that improve metabolic control, reduce the burden of dietary management, reduce fatigue and liver problems, and improve muscle strength and function.

Leisure-time physical activity as a key protective factor against cognitive decline in older adults: an isotemporal substitution analysis.

This study aimed to test hypothesized effects of replacing sedentary behavior with moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, sleep, and different domains of physical activity by equivalent amounts on suggestive cognitive decline in an older adult population. This was a cross-sectional study including 473 older adults aged ≥ 60 years. Cognitive decline was assessed using the Mini-Mental Health Examination. Physical activity, its different domains and the time of exposure to sedentary behavior were assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. For data analysis, two isotemporal substitution models were constructed using Poisson regression. The first model tested the effect of sleep time, sedentary behavior, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on cognitive decline. The second model was used to determine the effect of physical activity domains (leisure, work, transport, and home), sleep time, and sedentary behavior on cognitive decline. Physical activity during leisure time was protective against cognitive decline among all domains tested, replacing sedentary behavior, sleep, and transport. Conversely, substitution of the leisure domain for sedentary behavior, sleep, and transport was considered a risk factor for cognitive decline. Leisure time proved to be a strong protective factor in reducing the risk of cognitive decline, and it is necessary to encourage and stimulate public policies that include it.

Comparative effects of moderate-intensity interval training on sleep quality and functional capacity in atrial fibrillation patients with two types of sleep apnea

IntroductionThis study aimed to examine the effects of moderate-intensity interval training (MIIT) on the quality of sleep and functional capacity in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients with different presentations of sleep apnoea after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.Methods18 participants with AF and sleep apnoea aged 45–65 years were assigned into two groups: AF with obstructive sleep apnoea group (group A, n1 = 9) and AF with mixed sleep apnoea group (group B, n2 = 9). Both groups received MIIT for ten weeks (3 sessions / week) and medical treatment (i.e., Continuous Positive Airway Pressure and drug therapy). Exclusion criteria were unstable cardiac comorbidities and neurological/musculoskeletal limitations to exercise intervention. Outcome measures included sleep parameters collected from the actigraphy, overall sleep quality rating domain of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and six-minute walk distance (6-MWD).ResultsSignificant changes were present in the means of all outcomes in group A (p &lt; 0.05) and two outcomes (i.e., cut points &amp; 6-MWD) in group B compared to baseline (p &lt; 0.05). Also, there were significant differences in the absolute mean changes from baseline (∆) between the two groups, in favour of group A, in sleep latency (p &lt; 0.001), total sleep duration (p = 0.026), sleep efficiency (p &lt; 0.001), overall sleep quality rating item of the PSQI (p = 0.001), and 6-MWD (p = 0.008).ConclusionsMIIT can be a supplementary therapeutic intervention that could contribute to greater positive changes in sleep quality and functional capacity in AF patients with obstructive sleep apnoea rather than in AF patients with mixed sleep apnoea post-CABG. MIIT could enhance the functional capacity independent of improving sleep quality in patients with AF and mixed sleep apnoea post-CABG.

The Erratic History of Electroencephalography

The history of electroencephalography begins around 1850 with a supposition of Emil du Bois-Reymond concerning the transfer of information by electric currents over the nerve to the effector. Luigi Galvani in Bologna showed with his frog legs experiments 1786 indeed the existence of animal electricity. Richard Caton in Liverpool placed in 1875 as the first electrodes on the brains of rabbits and was able to record the electrical brain activity. Caton received little attention for his research and left with his animal experiment aversion the field. In contrast to Caton, Adolf Beck in Kraków, got a huge attention for his recordings of the electrical activities of the frog brain. The most interesting response to his important paper of 1890 came from Vasili Danilewski from Charkov, mentioning his unpublished doctoral thesis of 1877. He did his dog recordings before Beck, but one year after Caton who send him his abstract, remaining that he discovered before him electric brain waves. Colleagues of Danilewski such as Práwdicz- Neminski from Kyiv performed also adequate work in this field, but due to Stalin's dogmatic regime, electrophysiology became prohibited and disappeared in Russian. Jewish Adolf Beck, now professor in Lwów, experienced there in war time in 1940 dangerous times and ultimately the Nazi’s came for him. His son succeeded to hand him a cyanide capsule to save him from the gas chamber. By the tragedies of the war in Poland and the split between East and West Europe, Beck and his work go lost. Hans Berger began in Jena with brain recordings in humans and in 1927 he exclaimed ‘I can record brain actvity from an intact human skull’. This was replicated abd agreed upon by Edgar Adrian in 1934, and Berger received international fame, but not in Germany. The often authoritative Berger hated the Nazi’s and was suspended by the regime. He came in a severe depression and ended his life by hanging in June 1941. In this heavy war time, electrophysiology moved to the USA. Frederic and Erna Gibbs at Harvard got, with their studies of epilepsy in 1934 a breakthrough in clinical electroencephalography, Alfred Loomis and Herbert Jasper used the electrical brain actvity to identify several stages of sleep. Later, Jasper performed in Montreal, with neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield, important research on focal epilepsies. After the second world war, around 1950, electroencephalography blossomed up, in the USA as well as in Europe. Recording electroencephalograms for studying the functioning of the brain and in particular investigating domains of sleep and epilepsy. It became common that almost every university and hospital had a resording device. That electroencephalography was a mature methodology, was demonstrated by great discoveries for example through the finding of REM sleep by Kleitman and Aserinski in 1953.

EXPLORING THE ASSOCIATION OF SLEEP WITH COGNITIVE DOMAINS AMONG PEOPLE LIVING WITH DEMENTIA

Abstract People living with dementia (PWD) commonly experience sleep disruptions, which impacts mental alertness, increases daytime sleepiness, and results in poorer quality of life. While sleep preserves cognitive function among PWD, the relationship between sleep and different cognitive domains is unclear. Our objective was to explore the association between sleep and cognition domains among PWD. Twenty-three PWD completed a battery of cognitive tests (global cognition: Montreal Cognitive Assessment; executive function: Trail-Making Test (TMT), Digit Span Forward Test; perception and orientation: Benton Judgement of Line Orientation Test (BJLO); language: Boston Naming Test; learning and memory: Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test; complex attention: Digit Symbol Substitution Test) at two residential care facilities. Participants wore a motion watch on their wrist for 7 days to monitor sleep. Participants were primarily male (74%), white (87%), and 48% had unspecified dementia. The average number of hours of sleep per night was 4.6±1.2 hours. The overall regression model for sleep was significant (R2=0.80, F(10,12)=4.68, RMSE=42.32, p&amp;lt; 0.05). More sleep was associated with better perception and orientation (BJLO:β=0.57, p=0.03), greater sleep efficiency (β=0.93, p=0.01), longer wake after sleep onset (β=1.19, p 0.002), and there was a trend for better executive function (TMT:β=-0.34, p=0.09). PWD have inadequate sleep. Greater amounts of sleep seem to preserve perception and orientation and may play a protective role for executive function, but more evidence is needed. Regularly assessing sleep may be useful in screening and monitoring cognitive changes among PWD in residential care facilities.

War exposure prior to conception: Longitudinal associations between maternal emotional distress and child sleep 10 years later

Exposure to war is known to impact children’s physical and mental health. Recent research reveals that war exposure might even affect the developmental outcomes of children who are yet to be conceived. In this study, we sought to extend such prior work by investigating longitudinal associations between pre-conception war exposure and the accompanying maternal emotional distress on child sleep. Israeli mothers, who conceived within a year after the Lebanon war in 2006 (N = 68), were followed until their children reached 10 years of age. At that age, child sleep problems were measured through mother and child reports. Results from analyses of covariances (ANCOVAs) showed that war exposure prior to conception itself did not predict child sleep. However, hierarchical regression analyses showed that higher levels of maternal emotional distress, as a result of pre-conception war exposure, predicted more sleep problems in girls. Further exploratory analyses revealed that these associations showed themselves in both maternal and child reports on various sleep domains. In boys, no evidence was found for associations between maternal emotional distress during wartime and sleep 10 years later. These results indicate that war-related pre-conception stress might have long-term, sex-specific effects on child sleep, though replication with larger samples is needed to corroborate the findings.

An acute bout of high-intensity exercise affects nocturnal sleep and sleep-dependent memory consolidation.

Acute exercise has been shown to affect long-term memory and sleep. However, it is unclear whether exercise-induced changes in sleep architecture are associated with enhanced memory. Recently, it has been shown that exercise followed by a nap improved declarative memory. Whether these effects transfer to night sleep and other memory domains has not yet been studied. Here, we investigate the influence of exercise on nocturnal sleep architecture and associations with sleep-dependent procedural and declarative memory consolidation. Nineteen subjects (23.68 ± 3.97 years) were tested in a balanced cross-over design. In two evening sessions, participants either exercised (high-intensity interval training) or rested immediately after encoding two memory tasks: (1) a finger tapping task and (2) a paired-associate learning task. Subsequent nocturnal sleep was recorded by polysomnography. Retrieval was conducted the following morning. High-intensity interval training lead to an increased declarative memory retention (p = 0.047, d = 0.40) along with a decrease in REM sleep (p = 0.012, d = 0.75). Neither procedural memory nor NREM sleep were significantly affected. Exercise-induced changes in N2 showed a positive correlation with procedural memory retention which did not withstand multiple comparison correction. Exploratory analyses on sleep spindles and slow wave activity did not reveal significant effects. The present findings suggest an exercise-induced enhancement of declarative memory which aligns with changes in nocturnal sleep architecture. This gives additional support for the idea of a potential link between exercise-induced sleep modifications and memory formation which requires further investigation in larger scaled studies.