Are you one of the thousands who have been dealing with flight delays this holiday season? Once you finally make your way onto your flight, catching up on sleep on a plane doesn’t have to be a struggle. Try our tips for getting quality Zzz’s while soaring through the sky.
This week in sleep news:
The dangers of noise
Noise pollution has become a serious concern over the past couple years for many people, especially for those living in a city. This year, California legislators passed two laws in hopes of quieting the environment. One directs the California Highway Patrol to test noise-detecting cameras, which may eventually issue automatic tickets for cars that produce noise above a certain level. The other forces drivers of illegally modified cars to fix them before they can be re-registered. Lawmakers hope other states follow suit as research shows that constant exposure to noise increases the risk of heart disease by 8% and diabetes by 6%.
Sleep problems persistent in patients who suffer concussions
Head injuries can be a scary injury to deal with. A new study shows that it can be made even more difficult due to persistent sleep problems in those who suffer concussions. The study, published in the Journal of Neurotrauma, found that concussion symptoms that persist can be exceptionally harmful to sleep. The study included 378 patients who had sustained concussions and were treated at one of two emergency departments. They were tracked for one year following their injury. They found that 136 participants experienced a sleep or daytime problem two weeks after injury. And of these, 72 patients had problems lasting three months or longer.
Reducing sleep disturbance in cancer patients
Acupuncture and acupressure have been thought to be beneficial for reducing sleep disturbance in cancer patients. While acupuncture is invasive involving needle insertion, acupressure is noninvasive. A new study suggests acupressure is better at reducing sleep disturbances. Researchers looked at six interventions: manual acupuncture, electroacupuncture, acupressure, sham, enhanced usual care, and no treatment. Looking at 24 randomized controlled trials, which included about 2,000 cancer patients, the researchers found that acupressure demonstrated the largest effect on reducing sleep disturbance.
In sleep-centric social media...
As the year finishes up, we hope your 2022 was filled with great, uninterrupted nights.
