MEDICAL EXPRESS - SLEEP APNEA

1. Recommendations on wearable sleep trackers aim to empower consumers and clinicians, and foster industry partnership

   Millions worldwide who turn to wearable devices for sleep insights are set to benefit from recommendations on the use of wearable consumer health trackers (CHTs) for sleep measurement released by the World Sleep Society. Uniquely, the international team of sleep experts from the US, Australia, Europe and Singapore took into consideration industry input, critique from clinicians and previous position papers.

2. Gamified sleep-tracking app improves sleep and reduces body mass index in some users

   In recent years, mobile applications designed to monitor health-related behaviors have gained popularity, with several incorporating game-like features to boost user engagement and effectiveness. This study investigated the impact of such a gamified app on sleep parameters and body mass index (BMI).

3. Tired teens more prone to injury, research suggests

   It's common knowledge teens need a good night's sleep to function well. But recent Brock University-led international research has raised the stakes on what could happen if their slumber is inadequate. The findings are published in the European Journal of Public Health.

4. Adolescents who sleep longer can perform better at cognitive tasks

   Adolescents who sleep for longer—and from an earlier bedtime—than their peers tend to have improved brain function and perform better at cognitive tests, researchers from the UK and China have shown.

5. Insomnia and sleep medication use connected to disability in older adults

   Insomnia is a significant health and quality of life concern for older adults, with up to half of all adults over the age of 65 experiencing insomnia symptoms. In a new study, researchers in the Penn State College of Health and Human Development and at Taipei Medical University have analyzed five years of data from older adults in the United States. They found that higher levels of both insomnia symptoms and sleep medication use were associated with higher risk of disability a year later.

6. Healthy sleep patterns decrease the risk of being hospitalized for infections, study finds

   Sleep is an essential biological process known to contribute to both mental and physical health. In addition to supporting memory processes and learning, boosting concentration, facilitating the body's recovery, and promoting cardiovascular health, good quality sleep for approximately 7–8 hours a day has been found to strengthen the body's immune system.

7. Research reveals patient attitudes toward devices like smartwatches

   Last year, two popular smartwatches—the Samsung Galaxy Watch and Apple Watch—received Food and Drug Administration approval for features that can potentially alert the wearer that they may have sleep apnea.

8. Exercise before bed is linked with disrupted sleep

   Exercise too close to bedtime may affect sleep duration, timing and quality, new research led by Monash University has found. More strenuous workouts closer to bedtime coincided with greater disruptions to sleep and nighttime cardiac activity.

9. Is your teen sleep-deprived? These expert bedtime tips could help

   Navigating bedtime with a teenager is, in many homes, a nightly battle with a constant refrain: Get off your phone! Go to bed!

10. Sleep training is no longer just for babies. Some schools are teaching teens how to sleep

    The topic of a new course at Mansfield Senior High School is one that teenagers across the country are having trouble with: How to Get to Sleep.

11. Sleep apnea research links gut health to new treatment possibilities

    A new scientific review from researchers at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine highlights emerging connections between gut health and sleep apnea, pointing to potential new therapeutic approaches for managing this common and serious disorder.

12. Stress, depression factor into link between insomnia, heavy drinking

    Insomnia and hazardous drinking are so closely intertwined that estimates suggest at least one-third, and as many as 91%, of people who have a hard time with sleep also misuse alcohol.

13. Rise and shine: Natural light lessens morning fatigue, study finds

    Sleep is a necessary part of people's daily routine, but modern lifestyles and technology have ushered in an era of decreased rest time and subsequent fatigue. Further, the bedroom environment, such as light, sound, and temperature, is important for a good night's sleep, though this is often neglected in residential architecture.

14. Sleep matters: Duration, timing, quality and more may affect cardiovascular disease risk

    Healthy sleep includes multiple components, such as number of hours of sleep per night, how long it takes to fall asleep, daytime functioning and self-reported sleep satisfaction, and addressing these different dimensions of sleep may help to reduce cardiometabolic health and related risk factors, according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

15. Beyond jet lag: Study unveils extent of travel-related sleep disruption from 1.5 million nights of data

    A collaborative study conducted by researchers at the Center for Sleep and Cognition at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS Medicine) and ŌURA found that while sleep duration recovers quickly, sleep timing and sleep architecture can take significantly longer to realign when traveling across time zones. The study titled "Insights about Travel-Related Sleep Disruption from 1.5 Million Nights of Data" was published in SLEEP on 24 March 2025.

16. Social media before bedtime wreaks havoc on our sleep: Screens alone aren't the main culprit

    "Avoid screens before bed" is one of the most common pieces of sleep advice. But what if the real problem isn't screen time—it's the way we use social media at night?

17. Excessive screen time tied to sleep disruptions and depression in teen girls

    Excessive screen time among adolescents negatively impacts multiple aspects of sleep, which in turn increases the risk of depressive symptoms—particularly among girls. That is the conclusion of a new study in PLOS Global Public Health by Sebastian Hökby of Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, and colleagues.

18. Multitasking exercise found to enhance objective sleep quality in older women

    Researchers at the University of Tsukuba have discovered that the so-called "multi-task exercise," which combines cognitive activity with physical movement, enhances sleep quality in older women by activating the prefrontal cortex after exercise. These findings may support the development of exercise programs designed to improve sleep in older populations.

19. Study links lower proportions of certain sleep stages to brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease

    New research reveals that lower proportions of specific sleep stages are associated with reduced brain volume in regions vulnerable to the development of Alzheimer's disease over time.

20. One hour's screen use after going to bed increases your risk of insomnia by 59%, scientists find

    Scientists have found another reason to put the phone down: a survey of 45,202 young adults in Norway has discovered that using a screen in bed drives up your risk of insomnia by 59% and cuts your sleep time by 24 minutes. However, social media was not found to be more disruptive than other screen activities.

21. Exosomes linked to blood-brain barrier dysfunction in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea

    A new study by researchers from Marshall University and the University of Missouri highlights how exosomes—tiny vesicles released by cells—may play a key role in blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction in children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), particularly those with neurocognitive deficits.

22. Research shows link between the start of the working day and time preferences

    Those who start work earlier express more discomfort with the seasonal time change. This is the main conclusion of a study that the lecturers at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) and the University of Seville (US), Jorge Mira Pérez and José María Martín Olalla, have published in the journal Chronobiology International, in which they analyze in detail the results of the public consultation organized by the European Commission in 2018 in the then 28 member states, which obtained 4 million responses.

23. Poor sleep linked to advanced stages of a complex heart and kidney disease syndrome

    People with a complex heart, kidney and metabolic-related condition who got better quality sleep were less likely to have an advanced stage of the illness than those getting poor sleep, according to a new study.

24. Sleep keeps memories fresh: Study finds neural patterns reorganize during sleep to boost recollection

    A good night's sleep helps us remember recently learned information, "engraving" our memories. This is also true for animals, as remembering, for example, the location of food resources is essential for their survival. Scientists can examine this role of sleep in the lab by training lab mice or rats about their environment using various memory tasks.

25. Don't snooze on sleep apnea

    Does your partner keep leaving for the guest bedroom because of your thunderous snoring? Don't call the divorce lawyer. Instead, consider calling your doctor.

26. Insomniac fruit fly mutants show enhanced memory despite severe sleep loss

    Fruit fly mutants that have severe sleep deficits perform better at olfactory learning and memory tasks, according to a study published in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Sheng Huang and Stephan Sigrist from Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, and colleagues. The paradox of enhanced memory despite sleep loss could be explained by protein kinase A (PKA) signaling in the mushroom body of the fly brain.

27. Chronic jet lag disrupts metabolism differently in male and female mice, study finds

    Jet lag is one of the worst parts of long-distance traveling or shift work—it makes us tired and cranky, and also plays havoc with our metabolism (and therefore our weight). Now, new research on mice suggests that the way jet lag impacts our metabolism may depend on our sex.

28. Insomnia can lead to heart issues: Psychologist recommends changes that can improve sleep

    About 10% of Americans say they have chronic insomnia, and millions of others report poor sleep quality. Ongoing research has found that bad sleep could lead to numerous health problems, including heart disease.

29. Q&A: What's keeping you up at night?

    Struggling to sleep after the time change? You're not alone—daylight saving time causes temporary insomnia symptoms in as many as 35% of adults due to the sudden change in schedule, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Roughly a third of those adults will suffer insomnia symptoms year-round.

30. Spring resolutions: Why it's the best time of year to make healthy changes

    In the middle of winter, when lack of sunlight can lead to low energy and low mood, we are expected to make new year's resolutions. But why not wait till March, for spring, when the returning sunlight gives us the energy and improved mood to tackle fundamentally difficult things like starting a new diet or exercise regimen? We need spring resolutions, not new year's resolutions.