This week in sleep news…
Weighted blankets may boost melatonin
Fans of the weighted blanket appreciate it for comfort and improved rest, and now a small new study finds that weighted blankets also boost melatonin production. Melatonin, a hormone that helps with the timing of circadian rhythm and sleep, naturally occurs in the body. In the study, 26 young men and women with no sleep problems or other medical conditions were asked to sleep in the laboratory with a weighted blanket one night and with a light blanket another night. Researchers took samples every 20 minutes over the course of an hour, between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m., to measure changes in melatonin levels. They found that when using a weighted blanket, the increase in melatonin was 32%.
The scientists recommend that future studies investigate whether the stimulatory effect on melatonin secretion remains when using a weighted blanket over more extended periods.
Sleep can help new moms avoid postpartum depression
An op-ed in The Washington Post today by Nicole Leistikow, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, as well as a reproductive psychiatrist at the University of Maryland Medical Center, details the benefits of sleep for mitigating postpartum depression in new moms. “Could restored sleep swiftly and sustainably resolve postpartum depression? My patients have been proving the efficacy of this remedy for years,” Leistikow writes. The piece includes tips for partners to help create time and opportunity for quality sleep.
Pathway within brain cells responsible for how long and how deeply we sleep
What exactly determines how much we need to sleep, and what can cause us to sleep more deeply? In a new study, researchers from the University of Tsukuba think they’ve found an answer: a signaling pathway within brain cells that regulates the length and depth of sleep. “We examined genetic mutations in mice and how these affect their patterns of sleep,” Hiromasa Funato, the senior author of the study, told Neuroscience News. “We identified a mutation that led to the mice sleeping much longer and more deeply than usual.” The results the researchers found was caused by low levels of an enzyme (HDAC4) that is known to suppress the expression of sleep-promoting genes.
How sleep deprivation affects the brain
With a new high-tech MRI machine, we may be able to see the effects of sleep deprivation on the brain. As a part of a study being conducted by the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, researchers will use General Electric’s MRI system, Microstructure Anatomy Gradient for Neuroimaging with Ultrafast Scanning ― or MAGNUS ― to watch the brains of both healthy sleepers and the chronically sleep-deprived to see if the process the brain undergoes to clear out “waste” every night is affected by insomnia. After this is done, they look to investigate how sleep disturbances, including those known to accompany traumatic brain injury, affect the brain’s ability to wash away waste products at the end of the day, the way the lymphatic system does for the body’s other tissues.
In calming sleep news…
Singer and mom of two Jhene Aiko unveiled her second lullaby album, Sleep Soul Vol. 2, today. The YouTube page for the project touts the music as “soothing R&B melodies combined with white, brown and pink noise…the perfect videos to lull you and your baby into a deep, relaxing sleep.” Aiko hopes the new album can soothe children and their parents alike to sleep.
