A two-week course of transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation improves global sleep: Findings from a randomised trial in community-dwelling adults.

Short sleep duration and poor sleep quality are common in the general population. This study tested if a 2-week course of daily transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation (tVNS) improves sleep in community-dwelling adults. Participants were n = 68 men and women aged 18-75 years randomised into four groups: early and sham tVNS and late and sham tVNS.

How serious are health impacts in one of the most polluted regions of Central Europe?

Background: The long-term exposure to pollutants in ambient air is associated with higher mortality and occurrence of respiratory and cardiopulmonary diseases. The longitudinal cross-section study focuses on the associations between long-term exposures to carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic pollutants and the prevalence and incidence of such specific diseases including immunodeficiencies.

Methods: The data on health status from industrial and non-industrial regions were obtained from health documentation for a 5-year period from 2007 to 2011 and represent the whole population living in polluted (1,249,323 inhabitants) and unpolluted (631,387 inhabitants) regions.