Sleep

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Sleep is a natural state of bodily rest observed in humans and other animals. It is distinguished from quiet wakefulness by a decreased ability to react to stimuli, and it is more easily reversible than hibernation or coma. It is common to all mammals and birds, and is also seen in many reptiles, amphibians, and fish. In humans, other mammals, and a substantial majority of other animals that have been studied (such as some species of fish, birds, ants, and fruit flies), regular sleep is essential for survival.

The purposes and mechanisms of sleep are only partly clear and are the subject of intense research.

For more information about Sleep, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with sleep

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Sleep apnea may cause heart disease in kidney transplant patients

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Nov 19, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Sleep apnea is common in individuals who receive a kidney transplant and is associated with increased risk of high blood pressure, heart disease or stroke, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Jo ...


Waking up memories while you sleep

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Nov 19, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (9) | comments 2

They were in a deep sleep, yet sounds, such as a teakettle whistle and a cat's meow, somehow penetrated their slumber. The 25 sounds presented during the nap were reminders of earlier spatial learning, though the Northwestern ...


A mobile phone or an MP3 player tells if you're sleeping soundly

Medicine & Health / Research

created Nov 19, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Finnish researcher 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 ...


Research: Baby's sleep position is major factor in 'flat-headedness'

Medicine & Health / Health

created Nov 19, 2009 | popularity 2 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- A baby's sleep position is the best predictor of a misshapen skull condition known as deformational plagiocephaly ? or the development of flat spots on an infant's head -- according to findings reported by ...


Briton killed wife in sleep, court hears

Medicine & Health / Other

created Nov 17, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

British man killed his wife in his sleep, after dreaming that she was an intruder in their camper van, a court heard on Tuesday.


Night beat, overtime and a disrupted sleep pattern can harm officers' health

Medicine & Health / Health

created Nov 17, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

A police officer who works the night shift, typically from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m., already is at a disadvantage when it comes to getting a good "night's" sleep.


Sleep deprivation negatively affects split-second decision making, study shows

Medicine & Health / Health

created Nov 16, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Sleep deprivation adversely affects automatic, accurate responses and can lead to potentially devastating errors, a finding of particular concern among firefighters, police officers, soldiers and others who work in a sleep-deprived ...


Motor vehicle crashes more common among young drivers who engage in self-harm behaviors

Medicine & Health / Other

created Nov 16, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Drivers who engaged in self-harm were at increased risk of motor vehicle crashes, even after controlling for psychological distress and substance abuse, found a study of 18 871 Australian drivers published in CMAJ (Canadian Me ...


elephant seal

Elephant seals take naps while diving

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Nov 13, 2009 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study may have solved the long-standing question of how elephants sleep during their long migrations at sea, when they can be away from land for up to eight months.


A child sleeping (Sleep)

Dreams may have an important physiological function

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Nov 12, 2009 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (27) | comments 12

(PhysOrg.com) -- Dreams have long been assumed to have psychological functions such as consolidating emotional memories and processing experiences or problems, but according to a Harvard psychiatrist and sleep ...


Snoring sounds may hold the key to a good night's sleep

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Nov 10, 2009 | popularity 2.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Hours of analysing snoring sounds have paid off for a group of researchers from The University of Queensland and Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital.


Computerized support keeps prominence of name brand drugs at bay

Medicine & Health / Other

created Nov 09, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Simple computerized alerts can help curb the impulse to prescribe unnecessarily expensive, heavily marketed drugs. A study in the August issue of Journal of General Internal Medicine found that when clinicians received comput ...


Study to explore if more sleep will help teens shake off depression

Medicine & Health / Health

created Nov 05, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- After a late night of texting or updating Facebook, it's hardly surprising that many teenagers show up groggy for school, which studies have shown can diminish academic performance. To address this troubling ...


Melatonin, a hormone segregated by human body, regulates sleep better than somniferous

Medicine & Health / Research

created Nov 05, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Melatonin, a natural hormone segregated by the own human body, is an excellent sleep regulator expected to replace somniferous, which are much more aggressive, to correct the sleep/wakefulness pace when human biological clock ...


Java and nighttime jobs don't mix: study

Medicine & Health / Health

created Nov 03, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Night-shift workers should avoid drinking coffee if they wish to improve their sleep, according to research published in the journal Sleep Medicine. A new study led by Julie Carrier, a Université de Montréal psycho ...