Most people wish they could sleep more, but find that work, family, school and hobbies cut into their rest. Learn how much sleep is necessary, and how to make slumber more worthwhile.
For two years after a hip surgery that didn't work out as well as he'd hoped, pain shot down Jim Heckler's leg like electrical shocks. Several doctors, eager to help Heckler feel better, prescribed various narcotic painkillers.
The snooze button on your alarm clock may not be the only casualty of a sleepless night.
The blare of the burglar alarm catapulted Kathleen Manzo out of bed. Her heart beating wildly, Manzo feared for the safety of her two kids.
Gregory Jones begins his day when his family and the rest of the world winds down and gets ready for bed.
Your preferred p.m. pose could be giving you back and neck pain, tummy troubles, even premature wrinkles. Here are the best positions for your body -- plus the one you may want to avoid.
Sleep deprivation can leave you feeling drowsy and slow-witted, but that's not all: New research suggests it may also rev up your appetite.
For most of us, setting the clock forward in the spring is a sad occasion, a sign that we're losing an hour of sleep.
Drinking alcohol may help put you to sleep, but as the night wears on -- and the booze wears off -- you may find yourself tossing and turning. This may be especially true if you're a woman, according to a new study.
People who snore loudly, have difficulty falling asleep, or often wake up feeling tired may have more to worry about than dozing off at work. A new study suggests they may also be at increased risk of developing heart disease and other health problems down the road.
You already know that pregnancy pains and hot flashes can keep you tossing and turning at night. But there's a host of other, less-heralded health concerns that may be silently interfering with your shut-eye. Here's how to deal with these stealth sleep stealers, decade by decade.
The bounce in your step has become a plod. Climbing stairs feels like summiting Mount Everest. Your brain's mired in fog. Whatever your personal energy crisis might be, it's time to act.
All those late nights spent trolling Facebook, texting friends, and cramming for tests may be taking a toll on teenagers' diets, a new study suggests.
Permission granted: You can officially stop feeling guilty about those little "bad-for-you" habits you can't seem to break. Turns out, many of life's greatest indulgences bring big health benefits -- helping you stay slim, fight off the blues, and kick disease to the curb.
You've done all the obvious stuff -- cut out late-night caffeine, made sure your bedroom is dark and cozy, avoided scary movies or struggling with your to-do list right before bed. So why are you still tossing and turning?
Scientific research has finally caught up with the lifework of my family. For three generations, we have been exploring, questioning, experimenting, passing along our findings from parent to child. We are not neuroscientists or psychologists, like those who have come after us. We are simply...nappers. A nap, where I come from, is sacred.
Sleep-deprived high school students who doze off in class aren't just risking the wrath of their teachers. They're also three times more likely to be depressed than their alert classmates who get enough sleep, a new study has found.
Cancer survivors often feel fatigued and have trouble sleeping for months -- or even years -- after their last chemotherapy or radiation session. Now, a new study shows that yoga can help them sleep better, feel more energized, and cut back on sleeping medications.
When Carol Weiher was having her right eye surgically removed in 1998, she woke up hearing disco music. The next thing she heard was "Cut deeper, pull harder."
A man accused of disrupting a trans-Atlantic flight by claiming he was carrying explosives also told the federal marshal onboard that he had taken the popular sleep aid Ambien, according to court documents.
Sleep has long been known to improve performance on memory tests. Now, a new study suggests that an afternoon power nap may boost your ability to process and store information tenfold -- but only if you dream while you're asleep.
Ethan Merbaum knows all too well the feeling of not getting a good night's rest, of lying in bed with nothing happening and being tired without being able to fall asleep. He knows all about watching his grades plummet and even about falling asleep in class.
Your racial and ethnic background can shape many aspects of your life: the type of food you eat, where you live, and your political views.
Babies who died from sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, show lower amounts of the brain chemical serotonin, says a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
If only your body were a little more honest, figuring out what's wrong when you don't feel right would be so much easier. But often a symptom -- maybe it's a sore back, cracked lips, tingling in your legs -- has an odd or unexpected explanation.
It's time to "fall back" again. At 2 a.m. Sunday, you'll have to turn your clock back one hour, because it's the end of daylight saving time.
Whether they blame it on the kids, stress, or the lure of the Internet, most Americans feel like they're not getting enough sleep.
Instead of feeling crisp and refreshed, Jesse Wu wakes up sluggish after 12 hours of sleep.
A few weeks ago, 22-year-old Tatiana Gulenkina felt bad. Tired with a headache and high fever, Gulenkina knew she was coming down with something. Yet she wasn't sure with what.
Most of us have experienced those maddening midnight moments when, no matter how tired we are, we either can't fall asleep, can't stay asleep or our sleep is of such poor quality it feels as if we were awake. For anyone who has tossed and turned at night, here's some expert advice for solving nine sleep problems.
Sneezing and wheezing may stamp out those flames of desire. A new study reveals that allergies could be getting in the way of amorous activities.
When Genevieve and Brian Skory were new to parenting, they allowed their two young kids to read or watch TV until they fell asleep.
Insomnia, the inability to fall or stay asleep, can make the days feel fuzzy and the nights never-ending.
Richard Rose used to challenge his wife, Joyce, if he thought she was misstating something, but these days he lets it go.
People in their 60s and 70s who have high blood pressure may want to make sure they get enough sleep. A new study suggests that if they log fewer than 7.5 hours under the covers every night, they're at greater risk of heart attack, stroke, and sudden cardiac death than their peers who get more shut-eye.
If you have a hard time crawling out of bed in the morning, it could be that your body is biologically programmed to start the day later.
It's been nine years since Kim and Curtis Christiansen were married. Since then they've had their ups and downs, but they've remained close. But when Curtis began snoring about three years ago, Kim began sleeping on the couch.
Listen up, insomniacs! Tossing and turning into the wee hours may be more harmful than you think.
Yes, Americans are stressed over the economy.
Are you getting enough sleep? If not, it could be hurting your health.
Any parent with a teenager is familiar with how difficult it may be for them to get enough sleep. But some parents are finding help in a little pill: melatonin, a dietary supplement that helps regulate the body's sleep cycle. But should they?
A May 2008 study in the Journal of Neuroscience finds that losing just one night of sleep makes the brain unstable and prone to sudden shutdowns.
It started around 1 a.m. My son, Liam, was 14 months old, and the noises coming from his room didn't seem completely human: There was a sort of honking bark followed by a whistle-y kind of breathing.
Daily television viewing for two or more hours during early childhood can lead to behavioral problems and poor social skills. The study, which is published in the October 2007 issue of Pediatrics, was conducted by Johns Hopkins researchers on children aged 2 to 5.
Naptime at our house used to be a recurring mystery: When would Lucy go down today? I'd be on the lookout for clues and remain suspicious through dim lights, books, and droopy eyelids.
Regular physical activity may lower a woman's overall risk of cancer, suggests a new government study -- but only if her workouts don't cut into a good night's sleep. Otherwise, lack of shut-eye appears to cancel out much of exercise's protective benefits.
The thought of gaining an extra hour of sleep at the end of daylight-saving time may make you giddy with excitement -- but the time switch could also be a trigger for nighttime sleep and daytime alertness problems. Whether you have an existing sleep condition or you've always gotten regular shut-eye, there's a chance you could be hurting once the clock falls back on Sunday.
Chances are, someone you know takes a sleeping pill. One in four Americans takes a sleep aid every year, according to the National Sleep Foundation, and the numbers are even higher for women -- one in three uses some sort of sleep medication a few times a week.
When Melissa and Rudy Haberzettl's son Jacob was born in November 2006, he was perfect in every way -- full-term, healthy weight, and a champion eater. Like many new moms, Melissa was determined to follow doctor's orders: She breastfed Jake exclusively, put him to sleep on his back, never exposed him to cigarette smoke, and kept soft toys and bedding out of his crib. And Jake thrived. "He was such a happy baby, always looking around and cooing," remembers the Colorado Springs, Colorado, mom.