Parasomnias in Post-Secondary Students: Prevalence, Distress, and Coping Strategies.

Parasomnias are a group of sleep disorders characterized by abnormal and unpleasant motor, verbal, or behavioral events that occur during sleep or during transitions between wake and sleep states. They disrupt sleep and can have a detrimental impact on the individual experiencing them. Our goal was to identify types of parasomnias and their prevalence in the current and recent post-secondary student population and to explore their coping strategies for parasomnias they found distressing.

Brainwide hemodynamics predict neural rhythms across sleep and wakefulness in humans.

The brain exhibits rich oscillatory dynamics that play critical roles in vigilance and cognition, such as the neural rhythms that define sleep. These rhythms continuously fluctuate, signaling major changes in vigilance, but the brainwide dynamics underlying these oscillations are unknown. Using simultaneous EEG and fast fMRI in humans drifting between sleep and wakefulness, we developed a machine learning approach to investigate which brainwide fMRI networks predict alpha (8-12 Hz) and delta (1-4 Hz) fluctuations.

Sleep and Well-Being during the COVID-19 Remote and In-Person Periods: Experiences of College Faculty and Staff with and without Disabilities.

We explored the impacts of the remote and return-to-in-person work periods on sleep and well-being as reported by faculty ( = 22) and non-teaching staff ( = 21) with and without disabilities. Participants were recruited through college platforms and personal contacts. Our results show that contrary to expectations, the COVID-19 remote teaching/working period resulted in better sleep, as well as greater well-being, than the return-to-in-person work period.

Resting-state fMRI signals contain spectral signatures of local hemodynamic response timing.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has proven to be a powerful tool for noninvasively measuring human brain activity; yet, thus far, fMRI has been relatively limited in its temporal resolution. A key challenge is understanding the relationship between neural activity and the blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) signal obtained from fMRI, generally modeled by the hemodynamic response function (HRF). The timing of the HRF varies across the brain and individuals, confounding our ability to make inferences about the timing of the underlying neural processes.

Resting-state fMRI signals contain spectral signatures of local hemodynamic response timing.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has proven to be a powerful tool for noninvasively measuring human brain activity; yet, thus far, fMRI has been relatively limited in its temporal resolution. A key challenge is understanding the relationship between neural activity and the blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) signal obtained from fMRI, generally modeled by the hemodynamic response function (HRF). The timing of the HRF varies across the brain and individuals, confounding our ability to make inferences about the timing of the underlying neural processes.

Distinct cardiac-locked brain pulsations in Alzheimer's disease.

This scientific commentary refers to ‘Cardiovascular brain impulses in Alzheimer’s disease’ by Rajna . (doi:10.1093/brain/awab144).

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on obstructive sleep apnea: recommendations for symptom management.

Study Objectives: In the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic situation, we address the following important questions: (1) How can patients be identified for possible OSA while sleep clinic testing is temporarily unavailable or limited? and (2) What measures can be suggested to improve sleep health until proper diagnosis and treatment become safe and available again?

Methods: As a proxy for home or in-laboratory testing, validation of a symptom-based measure of OSA risk is presented, based on an ongoing larger prospective study of 156 family medicine patients with OSA (88 women, 68 men; mean age, 57 years) and 60 control participants (36 women, 24 men; mean age, 54 years) recruited from the community. Participants completed the Sleep Symptom Checklist (SSC) and a range of other self-report measures; primary care patients also underwent a polysomnographic sleep study.

Results: Results showed that (1) individuals with OSA reported more symptoms on the SSC related to insomnia, daytime symptoms, sleep disorders, and psychological maladjustment than did the control group (all P < .

Sleep in the Postpartum: Characteristics of First-Time, Healthy Mothers.

Goals for the present study were to (a) describe the sleep of healthy new mothers over a 6-month postpartum period, (b) examine how sleep quality relates to daytime levels of fatigue and sleepiness, and (c) evaluate the relationship between mothers' and infants' sleep parameters. The sample consisted of 37 healthy, partnered, first-time mothers who had experienced full-term vaginal birth and had a healthy infant. We investigated infants' sleep parameters and mothers' sleep, mood, and daytime functioning 2 and 6 months postpartum.

Determinants of policy decisions for non-commercial drivers with OSA: An integrative review.

Excessive daytime sleepiness and reduced cognitive functioning secondary to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have been identified as an important health-related risk in commercial transportation with, possibly, an increased chance of road accidents. This has resulted in a variety of policies and restrictions imposed on commercial drivers. Here we review current knowledge to assess whether available data are sufficient to guide policy decisions concerning restrictions for non-commercial drivers.

CPAP Treatment Adherence in Women with Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Untreated obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) has numerous negative health-related consequences. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is generally considered the treatment of choice for OSA, but rates of nonadherence are high. It is believed that OSA is more prevalent among men; therefore understanding how OSA presents among women is limited and treatment adherence has received little research attention.

The challenge of identifying family medicine patients with obstructive sleep apnea: addressing the question of gender inequality.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the sleep characteristics, metabolic syndrome disease and likelihood of obstructive sleep apnea in a sample of older, family medicine patients previously unsuspected for sleep apnea.

Methods: A total of 295 participants, minimum age 45, 58.7% women, were recruited from two family medicine clinics.

Refreshing Sleep and Sleep Continuity Determine Perceived Sleep Quality.

Sleep quality is a construct often measured, employed as an outcome criterion for therapeutic success, but never defined. In two studies we examined appraised good and poor sleep quality in three groups: a control group, individuals with obstructive sleep apnea, and those with insomnia disorder. In Study 1 we used qualitative methodology to examine good and poor sleep quality in 121 individuals.

Use of Simulation to Gauge Preparedness for Ebola at a Free-Standing Children's Hospital.

On October 10, 2014, a health care worker exposed to Ebola traveled to Akron, OH, where she became symptomatic. The resulting local public health agencies and health care organization response was unequalled in our region. The day this information was announced, the emergency disaster response was activated at our hospital.

Evaluating the Effect of Flow and Interface Type on Pressures Delivered With Bubble CPAP in a Simulated Model.

Background: Bubble CPAP, used for spontaneously breathing infants to avoid intubation or postextubation support, can be delivered with different interface types. This study compared the effect that interfaces had on CPAP delivery. We hypothesized that there would be no difference between set and measured levels between interface types.

Manifestations of Insomnia in Sleep Apnea: Implications for Screening and Treatment.

The aims of this study were to examine the presence, type, and severity of insomnia complaints in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients and to assess the utility of the Sleep Symptom Checklist (SSC) for case identification in primary care. Participants were 88 OSA patients, 57 cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) patients, and 14 healthy controls (Ctrl). Each completed a sleep questionnaire as well as the SSC, which includes insomnia, daytime functioning, psychological, and sleep disorder subscales.

Doxepin and cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia in patients with Parkinson's disease -- a randomized study.

Introduction: Although a variety of pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatments are effective for insomnia in the general population, insomnia in Parkinson's disease differs in important ways and may need different treatments. No studies have conclusively demonstrated effective insomnia treatments in Parkinson's disease.

Methods: We conducted a three-arm six-week randomized pilot study assessing non-pharmacologic treatment (cognitive behavioural therapy with bright light therapy) or doxepin (10 mg daily), compared to an inactive placebo in Parkinson's patients with insomnia.

Do all individuals with sleep apnea suffer from daytime sleepiness? A preliminary investigation.

We derived descriptive characteristics related to habitual sleep duration and insomnia for individuals newly diagnosed with sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome and evaluated how sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome, insomnia, depression, and sleep duration relate to sleepiness and fatigue. In total, 100 participants were divided into three sleep groups: short (<7 hours), long (≥ 8 hours), and midrange (7-7.9 hours).

Fatigue in COPD: prevalence and effect on outcomes in pulmonary rehabilitation.

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) complain of dyspnea and fatigue. We sought to estimate the prevalence of high fatigue in this population and to determine whether individuals with high fatigue had a different response to pulmonary rehabilitation. This observational study was embedded within a randomized trial.

Fatigue: The forgotten symptom of sleep apnea.

Objective: The present investigation was designed to explore the role and implications of both daytime sleepiness and fatigue in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome with respect to sleep, perceived health quality, and psychological functioning.

Methods: Our participants consisted of two groups: 124 older community volunteers who completed a polysomnographic sleep study and were diagnosed with sleep apnea, and 19 healthy controls. All participants completed self-report measures of sleepiness, fatigue, sleep quality, health quality, and psychological functioning.

Classifying medication use in clinical research.

Background: Medication use data are usually collected in clinical research. Yet no standardized method for categorizing these exists, either for sample description or for the study of medication use as a variable.

Objective: The present investigation was designed to develop a simple, empirically based classification scheme for medication use categorization.

Impaired sleep in chronic fatigue syndrome: how is it best measured?

The goal was to examine comparative efficacy of polysomnography, actigraphy, and self-report in evaluating the sleep/wake experience of individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Sleep parameters were evaluated by the three measurement modalities for the same night in 49 participants with CFS. Psychological and daytime functioning were measured by self-report.

Sleep apnea and psychological functioning in chronic fatigue syndrome.

Objectives were to explore: (1) whether sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (SAHS) should be considered a chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) comorbidity, rather than a diagnostic exclusion criterion; and (2) to compare sleep/wake/ psychopathology in individuals with CFS, controls and another illness. Participants (CFS, SAHS, controls) completed questionnaires and were evaluated for SAHS; 68 percent were subsequently diagnosed with SAHS. CFS participants with and without SAHS did not differ.

Sleep disorder symptoms are common and unspoken in Canadian general practice.

Objective: Primary care patients were surveyed for what sleep disorder symptoms they discussed with their physicians. Their responses were compared with those of new Sleep clinic patients. The goal was to discover what symptom presentation leads to a successful referral to a sleep clinic.