neurophysiology

If you've tossed all night because you were hot, restless or uncomfortable, read on. Manufacturers are developing new ways to combat insomnia, including some technologies introduced at this fall's Las Vegas Furniture Market and High Point Market, two of the country's largest trade shows. The hottest trends:  

THE sleep disorder expert whose evidence was instrumental in securing the release of Brian Thomas said it was a clear-cut case of a night terrors induced killing. Psychologist Dr Chris Idzikowski, a specialist of 30 years' standing in the field, monitored Mr Thomas' sleep at Swansea Prison to test the defendant's claim he had a rare disorder that made him kill wife Christine. Dr Idzikowski, 59, said when he tested Mr Thomas he found "he had a diagnosable disorder associated with sleep walking".

The recordings showed that he had a condition that was consistent with night terrors.   -Chris Idzikowski

 

More than 75 percent of Americans are sleep deprived, according to the National Sleep Foundation. "Many people deprive themselves of sleep during the work week, losing an hour or more a night, and try to make up for it on the weekends," says Dr. Michael J. Breus, a clinical psychologist and diplomat of the American Board of Sleep Medicine. "But while you may be able to replace some of that lost sleep each weekend, you can still be sleep deprived, and your 'sleep debt' will just keep growing."

What we've seen so far is very similar to what we see with office workers who've spent most of their time at a computer   -Judith Gold

 

Rihanna has revealed that her pool boy has seen her naked five times. The "Russian Roulette" singer admits: "To be honest, I"m even hotter at home, because I"m always naked there. I"m from Barbados, that"s quite normal there. My pool boy saw me naked five times already. "At first it was so embarrassing. I always forget when he comes. I"m so confused when I have a day off, I usually sleep until noon and when I wake up, I don´t even know what day it is. "  

A soothing and consistent bedtime ritual is a key element when it comes to putting your child to bed. As a newborn, your child will sleep when they need to sleep so a bedtime ritual isn't necessary, but when they reach four months old you probably want to have one in place. By the time your child is a toddler having a consistent bedtime ritual is extremely important.  

MSc (Tech) Väinö Virtanen has developed a method for analysing snoring sounds by using a PC with a microphone connection and a wireless microphone. The objective was to create an application that could be used at home to monitor snoring. By utilizing this technology, researchers from Tampere University of Technology and the University of Helsinki have investigated sleep disorders and further refined related screening technologies.  

FOR most people, sleepwalking is a minor annoyance, affecting roughly 2 per cent of adults. But for some, the effects can range from the embarrassing to the outright dangerous. There are several cases where flight attendants – deprived of normal sleep patterns – have found themselves naked on the roof of stop-over hotels. and the chain even provides towels to night shift staff so that they can cover the modesty of nude sleepwalkers.  

I have always had a complicated relationship with sleep. Back before I had children I was a night owl, not going to bed until single digits in the morning, and sleeping as late as school, and then work, would allow. My brain didn't really fire on all cylinders unless it was dark outside.  

Wake your baby around the same time every morning. Try to adhere to set nap times: 9:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m., and possibly 5:30 p.m., if he seems drowsy. If that's too rigid for you, put your child to bed two hours after he wakes up, whenever that is throughout the day. *  

For anyone trying to remember a new skill, sleeping on it may be a good advice, says a new study. Scientists carried out an experiment in which sleeping volunteers were played sounds associated with a memorised task. When they awoke, they performed better in the tests, showing their memories had been reinforced.