Sleep and Health Journal

There are two views about sleeping with your pets. The first is the belief that animals are not humans and shouldn’t be treated as if they were human in any regard. The thought of having a pet in your house or worse yet sleeping in bed with people can be both; offensive and unacceptable, if you hold this valid viewpoint. The second is the belief that pets are more than animals in our lives and is the expressed bias opinion of this paper.

Study: A happy marriage can help mend physical wounds

Whereas a happy marriage apparently is good medicine for both partners, hostile spouses may be harmful to one’s health. Couples in conflict-ridden marriages take longer than the happily married to heal from all kinds of wounds, acquired from minor scrapes or athletic injuries to major surgery, suggests a recent study. In a similar fashion, the health toll takenby a stressful job seems to be eased when the worker has a pleasurable home life. This new research, reported at the American Psychosomatic Society meeting, adds to growing evidence that marriage has an impact on health. "Even a simple discussion of a disagreement slows wound healing," says psychologist Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, who did the study with co-author Ronald Glaser of Ohio State University College of Medicine.

Obesity May Be Linked to Sleeping Times

A trend for children and adolescents to stay up later and sleep less may be linked to rising levels of obesity, according to a review of existing research published on Thursday. Bristol University researcher Shahad Taheri said televisions, computers, mobile phones and other gadgets should be banned from children's bedrooms to enable them to get a good night's sleep. Writing in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood, Taheri cited increasing evidence that shortened sleeping times result in metabolic changes that may contribute to obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes and heart disease.

Imaginary Friends and Enemies All Good, Scientists Say

Corey Binns
Special to LiveScience
LiveScience.com
Tue Dec 5, 10:15 AM ET

The imaginary friends a child dreams up, naughty or nice, are good to have around. They have emotional, social, and cognitive benefits, and they help prepare children for real life, scientists say.

Good Early Family Life May Counter Depression Gene

By Amy Norton

A loving, supportive family can be enough to override a genetic vulnerability to depression, new research suggests. Studies have found that people who carry a "short" version of the serotonin transporter gene -- known as 5-HTTLPR -- tend to be more susceptible to depression than people without this gene variant.

By Ed Symonson, MD

A cute 6 year old boy was invited to a birthday party and after an hour is still standing in the corner holding his mother’s. The mother is trying to convince the boy to go and play with the other kids who he knows well. But the boy is staring at the floor and repeating one sentence, “Let’s go home--I don’t like this--there’s too much noise.”

Bedtime wars between adults and children are painful battles in 10 to 20% of families with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Many treatment recommendations are confusing and not very helpful.

The Standard of Practice Committee of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recently reviewed the available scientific literature and studies and came forward with reasonable recommendations about non-medication management of bedtime problems and night time waking in infants and young children. Bedtime problems include protests, crying, and getting out of bed. Attention seeking behavior may include frequent and prolonged night awakenings, running to the parents’ bed, needs for rocking, pressing, singing etc.

GO WITH THE FLOW-The first few weeks of your baby's life are all about adjustment -for your baby and for you. It's simply too soon to expect structured sleep patterns, so it makes sense to take your cues from your baby. Do what works for your baby now, and before long you'll have the beginnings of a sleep routine.

By: Margo Schafer

Nobody places more value on a good night's sleep than new parents. It won't take long for them to discover that mom's hormones are raging, the baby is crying, and nobody in the household is getting any sleep. Let's face it, these people are tired.

Bill Antilla, RPSGT, Cadwell Labs, Kennewick, Washington

Awareness of the importance of healthy sleep is increasing due to the efforts of many in the field of sleep medicine.