Sleep Medicine News

Patients with high-risk obstructive sleep apnea and COVID-19 may be at increased risk for delayed improvement, clinical worsening and need for supplemental oxygen compared with patients with low-risk OSA, researchers reported.

A traumatic brain injury diagnosis increased the risk for incident sleep disorders over 14 years, according to the results of a longitudinal cohort study of nearly 200,000 veterans published in Neurology.

Cognitive behavioral therapy offered via a telephone call improved sleep, fatigue and, “to a lesser degree,” pain among older adults with insomnia and osteoarthritis, according to researchers. “Scalable delivery models of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), an effective treatment, are needed for widespread implementation, particularly in rural and underserved populations lacking ready access to insomnia treatment,” Susan M. McCurry, PhD, a research professor at the University of Washington School of Nursing, and colleagues wrote in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Sleeping fewer than 5 hours per night was associated with increased risks for incident dementia and death among older adults in the United States, according to research published in Aging.

According to a survey led by Itamar Medical, 89% of respondents believe they know what sleep apnea is, but their understanding is superficial, with awareness lacking of the wider implications of sleep apnea.

Children with epilepsy experienced more sleep-related problems such as night waking, parasomnias and sleep-disordered breathing than children without epilepsy, according to a meta-analysis published in Sleep Medicine Reviews.

Both conventional exercise and tai chi were associated with modest sleep improvements, which were sustained for 24 months, according to results of a randomized clinical trial published in JAMA Network Open.

Now is a time of transition in our nation. As physicians, regardless of our background or upbringing, we hold positions of power and privilege in society. We must use our power to give voice to our patients and communities.

Poor sleep quality and duration can drive inflammatory and antiviral immune responses, which, in turn, often exacerbate sleep disturbances, according to a speaker at the Basic and Clinical Immunology for the Busy Clinician symposium.

Short sleep duration appeared to increase the effects of frailty on depressive symptoms, according to results of a prospective cohort study published in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.