Search Results (1,284)

Background/Objectives: Sleep is pivotal for recovery, immunity, and energy restoration; however, sleep problems exist in elite athletes. Nutrition and supplementation strategies can play both a positive and negative role in sleep quality and quantity. Elite athletes experience unique psychological and physiological demands above non-elite athletes and may require different nutrition strategies to promote sleep. Nutrient interventions and their effect on sleep in elite athletes is an emerging area, with further research warranted. Methods: Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) extension for Scoping Reviews and Joanna Brigg’s Institute Reviewer’s Manual for Scoping Reviews were utilised to assess the available evidence on nutrition strategies used to promote sleep in elite athlete cohorts, and we tried to identify the interventions that could be best researched in the future. NUtrition QUality Evaluation Strengthening Tools (NUQUEST) was used to enhance rigour and assess risk of bias in studies. The Paper to Podium (P2P) Matrix was used to offer practitioners practical recommendations. Results: 12 studies met the inclusion criteria for nutrition interventions or exposures to promote sleep in elite athletes. The median participant group size was 19 and study designs were considered together to ascertain potential sleep promoting strategies. Kiwifruit, Tart Cherry Juice and high dairy intake, limited to females, have demonstrated the highest potential to promote sleep in elite athletes, despite limited sample sizes. A-lactalbumin, carbohydrate pre-bed, casein, tryptophan, probiotic and meeting energy demands showed varying results on sleep quality in elite athletes. Conclusions: Kiwifruit, Tart Cherry Juice and dairy consumption offer potential nutritional interventions to promote sleep in elite athletic populations, while protein-based interventions may have a ceiling effect on sleep quality when elite athletes are already consuming >2.5 g·kg⁻¹ body mass (BM) or are already meeting their sleep duration needs. Full article

Lunar dust remains one of the most critical unresolved challenges to long-duration lunar missions. Its sharp, abrasive, and electrostatically charged particles are easily inhaled and can penetrate deep into the lungs, reaching the bloodstream and the brain. Despite airlocks and HEPA filtration systems, dust will inevitably infiltrate lunar habitats and threaten astronaut health. We present a novel patent protected helmet design. This system uses a multilayered, synergistic mitigation approach combining mechanical and electrostatic defenses. The mechanical system delivers HEPA-filtered, ionized air across the user’s face, while the electrostatic barrier repels charged particles away from the respiratory zone. These two systems work together to prevent dust from entering the user’s breathing space. Designed for use inside lunar habitats, this helmet represents a potential solution to an unaddressed, life-threatening problem. It allows astronauts to eat, talk, and sleep while maintaining a protected respiratory zone and provides targeted inhalation-level protection in an environment where dust exposure is otherwise unavoidable. This concept is presented at Technology Readiness Level 2 (TRL 2) to prompt early engagement and feedback from the scientific and engineering communities. Full article

Menopausal symptoms can substantially impair women’s quality of life, yet large-scale, population-based data from German-speaking regions are lacking. We used data of a cross-sectional online survey among 26,338 women in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, using validated instruments such as the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS II), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C). Additional questions covered weight change, employment, nutrition, and physical activity. We investigated correlations and group differences using descriptive statistics and univariate tests. The average MRS score was 16.94, with 51% classified as severe discomfort and 15% as requiring treatment. Insomnia was common, with 90.3% reporting at least some degree of sleep disturbance and nearly half (48%) meeting criteria for clinical insomnia. Sleep problems were significantly associated with menopausal symptom severity. No correlations were found between MRS scores and reported nutrition and exercise. Unemployment and weight gain were significantly associated with higher symptom burdens. These findings highlight the considerable health burden faced by menopausal women in the DACH region and suggest a substantial unmet need for clinical and public health interventions. Full article

Background: The use of technological devices by children has increased in recent years, as several Italian studies have shown, even if limited studies assessed the possible effects on sleep and psychological wellbeing in preschool and schoolchildren. Objectives: This cross-sectional study seeks to examine the prevalence and typology of usage, as well as the potential socio-demographic factors associated with it. Additionally, it aims to assess emotional behavior and sleeping difficulties, and their possible correlations with children’s attitudes towards technological devices. Methods: The study included 314 children (52.2% males), with an average age of 7.86 years (SD = 2.02) and mainly their mothers (80.2%). Participants were given a series of self- and proxy-report questionnaires about the digital age, type of activities, hours of sleep, and their behavioral/emotional difficulties (CBCL and SDQ questionnaires). The analyses were descriptive and correlational because of the explorative nature of this study. Results: Parents declared tablets as the device most used by children (49.8%), with an average daily use time of 22.86 min (SD = 33.62). Their digital starting age was on average 5.91 years (SD = 2.25) with mostly recreational activities (Mean = 3.15; SD = 0.72). Parents and children agreed on the time spent with the technological devices reports, while they discorded on the means of creative activities use (t₁₀₉ = −8.86; p < 0.001), with children reporting a higher frequency (M = 2.45; SD = 0.69) than their parents (M = 1.89; SD = 0.76). The tablet time was significantly different by gender (t₃₀₉ = −2.34; p = 0.02), with boys using tablets for a longer mean time than girls (27.8 versus 18.22) and having more ADHD problems (t₃₁₂ = −3.11; p = 0.002; 2.68 versus 1.74). Parents declared an average of 9.55 (SD = 0.55) hours of sleep per night for their children. A significant correlation was found between PC usage time and sleep hours duration (r = −0.13; p = 0.019). The frequency of tablet use was correlated with both the Behavioral Problems Scale (r = 0.15; p = 0.010) and the ADHD Scale (r = 0.11; p = 0.049). Conclusions: Based on these empirical results, preventive programmes and educational activities should be established. Full article

With the rapid development of modern industry, people’s living pressures are gradually increasing, and an increasing number of individuals are affected by sleep disorders such as insomnia, hypersomnia, and sleep apnea syndrome. Many cardiovascular and psychiatric diseases are also closely related to sleep. Therefore, the early detection, accurate diagnosis, and treatment of sleep disorders an urgent research priority. Traditional manual sleep staging methods have many problems, such as being time-consuming and cumbersome, relying on expert experience, or being subjective. To address these issues, researchers have proposed multiple algorithmic strategies for sleep staging automation based on deep learning in recent years. This paper studies MASleepNet, a sleep staging neural network model that integrates multimodal deep features. This model takes multi-channel Polysomnography (PSG) signals (including EEG (Fpz-Cz, Pz-Oz), EOG, and EMG) as input and employs a multi-scale convolutional module to extract features at different time scales in parallel. It then adaptively weights and fuses the features from each modality using a channel-wise attention mechanism. The integrated temporal features are integrated into a Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (BiLSTM) sequence encoder, where an attention mechanism is introduced to identify key temporal segments. The final classification result is produced by the fully connected layer. The proposed model was experimentally evaluated on the Sleep-EDF dataset (consisting of two subsets, Sleep-EDF-78 and Sleep-EDF-20), achieving classification accuracies of 82.56% and 84.53% on the two subsets, respectively. These results demonstrate that deep models that integrate multimodal signals and an attention mechanism offer the possibility to enhance the efficiency of automatic sleep staging compared to cutting-edge methods. Full article

Background/Objectives: Infertility imposes substantial psychosocial burdens on affected individuals, often resulting in a decline in quality of life comparable to that experienced in chronic diseases. Exploring lifestyle and health awareness-related factors is essential to develop complex, multidisciplinary approaches. This study investigated the associations between the components of 24-h movement behaviour (physical activity, sedentary lifestyle, sleep), health literacy, fertility awareness, and general and infertility-specific quality of life. Additionally, the study assessed whether these factors could predict quality of life outcomes in women living with infertility. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using questionnaire-based data collection in four fertility centres in Hungary. The convenience sample included 361 women aged 18–45 years with a documented infertility diagnosis. Validated questionnaires were used to assess health literacy (BRIEF), fertility awareness (FAS), physical activity (GPAQ-H), sleep quality (AIS), and quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF and FertiQoL). Data analysis included Kolmogorov–Smirnov tests, Spearman correlations, and generalised linear modelling (GLM), with statistical significance set at p < 0.05. Results: Based on the FAS, 77.8% of participants (n = 274) self-reported being adequately informed; however, objective knowledge scores accounted for only 48.5% of the possible total, indicating limited knowledge. Fertility awareness positively correlated with recreational physical activity (ρ = 0.156; p = 0.003). Recreational physical activity showed low but significant positive associations with all quality-of-life dimensions (e.g., psychological well-being: r = 0.177; p ≤ 0.002), whereas sedentary time was negatively associated with psychological well-being (r = −0.109) and social relationships (r = −0.118). Sleep duration correlated positively while sleep quality problems correlated negatively with FertiQoL scores (r = −0.339; p ≤ 0.001). Better sleep quality, lower sedentary time, and higher health literacy were positive predictors of infertility-specific quality of life, whereas higher fertility awareness showed a paradoxical adverse effect. Conclusions: These findings highlight the role of 24-h movement behaviour and health awareness in improving quality of life among women with infertility. The study supports the need for tailored, multi-component lifestyle interventions to promote physical, mental, and psycho-social well-being. Full article

Background: Sleep problems are frequently observed in breast cancer patients. However, the relationship between sleep quality and overall quality of life (QoL) and the specificity of different sleep-related questionnaires have not yet been adequately studied in breast cancer patients. Methods: The sample of this cross-sectional study consisted of 533 breast cancer patients, recruited in a German rehabilitation clinic, with a mean age of 52.3 years (SD = 12.5 years). The following three sleep-related questionnaires were used: the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), and the Jenkins Sleep Scale (JSS). In addition, we used the QoL instrument EORTC QLQ-C30. Results: Sleep quality was poor in this sample of breast cancer patients. The effect sizes d, indicating the difference in sleep quality between the patient sample and the general population, were between 0.97 and 1.76 (p < 0.001). QoL was impaired in all components (p < 0.001); the impairment in the dimension of sleep quality (d = 1.70) was among the highest. Sleep quality was correlated with all components of QoL. The comparison of the three sleep-related questionnaires showed that the results obtained in oncological studies partly depend on the instrument used. Conclusion: As the burden of sleep problems is high, screening for sleep problems in breast cancer patients is important. Full article

Background/objective: Class III malocclusion is a relatively common clinical problem among Asian patients, which is caused by skeletal discrepancies and involves complex factors. In growing patients, early intervention with myofunctional appliances can help correct jaw relationships more effectively. This case report presents the use of prefabricated myofunctional appliances (EF and MRC) to address Class III malocclusion through growth modification. Case description: A 9-year-old girl was diagnosed with skeletal Class III and a complete anterior crossbite. She underwent treatment with the prefabricated myofunctional appliances, worn during sleep and an additional two hours during the day for 51 months. The outcomes resulted from a combination of skeletal and dental changes, including a decrease in skeletal discrepancy (ANB: −5° to −2°), upper incisor proclination (U1 to SN: 112.5° to 123°), uprighting of the lower incisor (L1 to MP: 93.5° to 90°), and an increase in cranial flexure angle (123° to 125°) with a vertical mandibular growth pattern. The treatment improved facial profile, reduced skeletal discrepancy, corrected the anterior crossbite, and enhanced interdigitation. Conclusions: Prefabricated myofunctional appliances are effective options for managing skeletal Class III malocclusion in pediatric patients with vertical mandibular growth patterns, producing favorable skeletal and dentoalveolar changes. Full article

The circadian rhythm controls the sleep/wake cycle and a wide variety of metabolic and physiological functions. Clock genes regulate it in response to both external and endogenous stimuli, and their expression may change because of aging, leading to an increased risk of health problems. Despite the well-described benefits of physical exercise as a circadian synchronizer, there is a lack of literature regarding the role of chronic exercise intensity in clock gene expression during aging. This article aims to analyze the differential expression of genes that regulate the biological clock under the effects of variable-intensity aerobic swimming training in aging mice, determining whether these exercise regimens interfere with the genomic regulation of the circadian rhythm. For this purpose, the mice were exposed to low- and high-intensity exercise and had their heart and gastrocnemius tissues molecularly analyzed by cDNA synthesis and qPCR to determine the expression levels of the selected genes: Clock, Arntl, Per1, Per2, Cry1, Cry2, and Nr1d1. The results showed that low-intensity exercise, performed at workloads below the anaerobic threshold, significantly changed their expression in the gastrocnemius muscle (p < 0.05), while high-intensity exercise had no statistically significant effects (p > 0.05), with the heart being immune to exercise influence except when it comes to the Per1 gene, for which expression was increased (p = 0.031) by low-intensity exercise. Additionally, both body weight and lactate thresholds had no change during the experiment (p > 0.05), while the maximum supported workload was maintained for high-intensity exercise (p > 0.05) and increased for low-intensity exercise (p < 0.01), with the control group experiencing a decay instead (p < 0.05). Thus, the present study highlights the importance of chronic exercise in modulating clock genes and opens exciting possibilities for circadian medicine, such as improvements in exercise capacity, heart condition, and lipid metabolism for subjects of low-intensity regimens. Full article

Background: Central sensitization syndromes (CSSs) are associated with a high incidence of traumatic events; however, few studies have examined the potential mechanisms linking post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and pain. Objectives: The present research aims to clarify this association by exploring the presence of trauma, PTSD, and related clinical variables in participants with CSSs compared to healthy controls and those with medical problems. Methods: A large sample of both sexes of the Spanish general population (n = 1542; aged 18–84 years) completed an online survey assessing the presence of traumatic experiences (psychological trauma, physical trauma, physical and sexual abuse), PTSD, and other clinical measures (central sensitization, pain, sleep quality, anxiety, depression, perceived stress, and emotional regulation). Results: The CSS group (n = 467) showed a higher incidence of repeated trauma, PTSD, and dissociative symptoms compared to the medical pathologies (n = 214) and healthy (n = 861) groups. The CSS group also showed greater clinical impairment than the other groups, especially the CSS subgroup with PTSD. In this subgroup, PTSD symptoms were significantly correlated with the remaining clinical measures, and sleep dysfunction, pain catastrophizing, and emotional dysregulation mediated the relationship between PTSD and pain, accounting for 55.3% of the variance. Conclusions: CSS represents a major therapeutic challenge. An integrated treatment addressing both trauma and pain, with an emphasis on sleep quality, pain catastrophizing, and emotional regulation, could improve the effectiveness of the current therapeutic approaches. Full article

Background: Prader–Willi Syndrome (PWS) is a genetic neurodevelopmental disorder caused by an alteration of the paternal chromosome 15q11-q13. Youth with PWS present hyperphagia, increased fat/decreased muscle mass, hypotonia, and decreased metabolic rate with risk of obesity. Thermoregulation problems have been previously reported with hypothermia in adults or hyperthermia in children/infants with PWS. Methods: We retrospectively examined a cohort of 44 youths with PWS, 8–16 years old, presenting with a medical history of temperature dysregulation (TD), hypothermia or hyperthermia. Participants with (n = 10) and without (n = 34) a history of TD were compared for anthropometrics, body composition, medical history, and motor characteristics. Results: Youth with TD presented with hypothermia (n = 8), hyperthermia (n = 2), or both conditions (n = 2). Non-parametric statistics showed no significant differences in age, anthropometrics, body composition, or motor characteristics between the groups (p ≥ 0.064). Those with TD presented with a higher frequency of sleep apnea versus those without (50% vs. 18%; p = 0.038). Conclusions: The prevalence of TD in the cohort was one in five youth with PWS, suggesting that the problem is not isolated. The results do not suggest that anthropometrics, body composition, or motor characteristics explain differences in temperature excursions in youths with PWS. Possible physiological mechanisms and future research are discussed. Full article

Exposure to light is an important factor in regulating sleep and sleep quality, especially for elderly people with a high risk of sleep problems. A systematic literature review was conducted to explore the current understanding of the relationship between light and sleep quality of the elderly, and to identify methodological gaps and soundness of existing studies to inform the design of future experimental studies. Specific focus is given to healthcare centres and similar settings due to their controlled environment and the high prevalence of sleep disturbances. Out of 406 publications screened from four databases—namely Google Scholar, Semantic Scholar, Lens.Org, and Scopus—380 studies remained after removing duplicates, and 19 studies published after 2002 that were relevant to the review topic were selected based on the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. The selected studies were analysed using six key aspects, which reflect typical components of experimental design such as participants’ characteristics, experiment and exposure duration, mode of light exposure, lighting and light interventions, experiment procedure, and data collection methods. The results indicated that many studies have limitations in terms of the accuracy and generalisability of findings in representing the entire elderly population due to issues with experimental design or control of the participants’ attendance. The results suggest that future studies should increase the duration of light intervention to around 21–35 days and the number of participants to around 14 and 47. The issues identified from the experimental designs of the selected studies provide valuable insights for establishing guidelines and recommendations for future studies. Full article

Introduction: Children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often present sleep and eating problems. However, the relationship between these two factors has seldom been studied. Objective: This paper aimed to examine the association between sleep disturbances and feeding problems in children and adolescents with ASD. Methods: This cross-sectional observational study assessed feeding behaviors using the Behavioral Pediatrics Feeding Assessment Scale (BPFAS) and assessed sleep problems with the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (Bruni scale). Bivariate analyses and multivariate logistic and linear regression analyses were performed. Results: Sleep disturbances were significantly associated with autism severity (p = 0.003), but not with BPFAS subscale scores. Multivariate logistic regression indicated that sleep disturbances were independently associated with autism severity (p = 0.01; OR = 0.23; 95% CI: 0.06–0.77) and the BPFAS frequency subscale score (p = 0.01; OR = 1.04; 95% CI: 1.01–1.07). A secondary logistic regression identified five BPFAS items significantly associated with sleep disturbances: difficulty chewing (p = 0.02, OR = 0.12, 95% CI 0.02–0.74), voluntary attendance at meals (p = 0.01, OR = 0.60, 95% CI 0.39–0.90), tantrums during meals (p < 0.001; OR = 2.08, 95% CI 1.21–3.56), poor appetite (p < 0.001; OR = 2.63, 95% CI 1.43–4.82), and the caregiver’s perception that the child’s eating habits negatively affected their health (p = 0.03; OR = 1.53, 95% CI 1.03–2.40). No significant associations were found with age, sex, medical comorbidities, behavioral disorders or genetic factors. Conclusions: The findings suggest that greater autism severity and more pronounced feeding behaviors are independently associated with an increased risk of sleep disturbances in children and adolescents with ASD. Specific maladaptive mealtime behaviors, such as poor appetite, tantrums, and chewing difficulties, may serve as predictors of sleep problems, highlighting the need for integrated screening and early intervention strategies. Full article

Relevance: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a major public health problem with significant social and economic consequences. With increasing prevalence associated with urbanization and aging, untreated OSA is a considerable burden to the healthcare system, work productivity, and accident costs. Objectives: To analyze the global socioeconomic burden of OSA and evaluate epidemiological, economic, and healthcare policy perspectives across different regions and income levels. Materials and Methods: We conducted a narrative comprehensive review of published studies and WHO reports, covering direct medical costs, indirect social costs, and the cost-effectiveness of both existing and emerging diagnostic and therapeutic techniques. Results: OSA is estimated to afflict some 936 million adults around the world, and if it remains untreated, OSA results in 2.5 times higher healthcare costs compared to non-OSA individuals. The annual societal cost of untreated OSA in the U.S. now exceeds USD 150 billion, when considering direct medical expenses, productivity losses, and accident-related costs. Recent studies also highlight significant global costs, with annual per-patient estimates up to EUR 28,000 in the U.S. and EUR 1700–5000 in Europe. The inequality of treatment access continues between the affluent and the poor regions. Novel approaches as AI diagnostics and telemedicine, hold promise for reducing costs and improving treatment adherence among underserved populations with limited access to conventional care. Discussion: This review underscores the importance of uniform care throughout the world, timely diagnosis initiatives using portable technology, and scalable technological solutions to help reduce the social toll of OSA. Policymaker support, public education campaigns, and insurance changes are necessary to optimize both the cost and effectiveness of OSA management worldwide. Full article

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder that not only affects attention and behavior but is also intricately linked with sleep disturbances and immune system dysregulation. Recent research highlights that individuals with ADHD frequently experience sleep problems, which in turn exacerbate ADHD symptoms and contribute to cognitive and emotional difficulties. Immunological alterations, including elevated proinflammatory cytokines and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis dysfunction, have been observed among ADHD patients, suggesting a biological interplay between inflammation, sleep, and neurodevelopment. Genetic and environmental factors further modulate these relationships, influencing the onset and progression of the disorder. Thus, there is a need to find a key connecting such topics and the most vulnerable subjects in order to contribute towards a more personalized approach. This review examines the complex relationships between sleep, immunology, and ADHD, and explores the underlying mechanisms that involve circadian rhythm genes, neuroinflammation, and neurotransmitter imbalances. Our review outlines therapeutic strategies, emphasizing the importance of integrated pharmacological, behavioral, and lifestyle interventions to improve sleep quality, regulate immune responses, and ultimately enhance the overall management of ADHD. Full article