Sleep

New research investigating novel ways to improve focus in sleep-deprived individuals has found a device that non-invasively sends electrical stimulation through the neck can boost alertness and reduce fatigue in subjects kept awake for up to 34 hours.

A new study testing smartphone night modes that eliminate blue light wavelengths is suggesting they make no difference to overall sleep outcomes and the only way to improve sleep at all is to completely abstain from screen use before going to bed.

A long-term observational study is reporting a link between short sleep durations in midlife and increased risk of dementia in old age. The research cannot offer evidence of a causal link but it is one of the longest studies to detect this association.

New research published in the Journal of Applied Psychology suggests employees are more engaged and less fatigued when given the freedom to take brief, impromptu "microbreaks" whenever they feel the need throughout a workday.

Research has found night shift work can alter the expression of tumor-related genes making one more vulnerable to the DNA damage the leads to cancer, building on a growing understanding of the role circadian rhythms play in our DNA repair processes.

Four independent experiments across the globe have found that it's possible to establish two-way communications with people in the weird, hallucinatory state of lucid dreaming, opening up a new field of real-time "interactive dreaming" research.

A new study has found caffeine consumption can reduce the volume of gray matter in the human brain. The researchers stress these findings do not imply caffeine negatively impacts the brain but the drug may induce a kind of temporary neural plasticity.

A new observational study is building on a body of data finding a correlation between afternoon naps and improved mental agility. The research hypothesizes afternoon naps may help moderate age-related neuroinflammation helping keep the brain healthy.

Along with things like drought and habitat loss, the widespread use of pesticides is a huge driving force behind dwindling bee numbers, and a new study has shone further light on the effects of the most common one of all.

Scientists have identified a protein implicated in the progression of Alzheimer's disease that appears highly regulated by the circadian rhythm, helping them join the dots between the two and providing a potential new therapeutic target.

If these take off, you can ditch your neck pillow. The bendy Boom Headrest, made by airline fitout specialists ABC International, promises to actually give passengers a comfortable, adjustable and supportive way to sleep on long-haul flights.

A new study out of Japan’s University of Tsukuba is shining yet more light on the relationship between the gut microbiome and sleep, describing how depleted diversity of the bacteria can disrupt sleep/wake cycles in mice.