deep sleep tagged posts

Researchers at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the HI-STEM Stem Cell Institute have discovered a group of particularly long-lived blood stem cells in mice. These cells remain in a dormant state for an exceptionally long time while retaining their ability to generate new blood cells. This newly discovered cell population may be responsible for sustaining blood regeneration and immune defense throughout a mouse’s entire life.

Our bodies produce billions of new blood cells every day. These cells transport oxygen, fight pathogens and help stop bleeding. Blood stem cells in the bone marrow are responsible for this vital replenishment. They can renew themselves and produce all types of blood cells—for a lifetime.

To prevent this ability from being exhausted prematurely,...

Deep sleep, also known as non-REM slow-wave sleep, can act as a ‘cognitive reserve factor’ that may increase resilience against brain protein beta-amyloid that is linked to memory loss caused by dementia.

Disrupted sleep has previously been associated with faster accumulation of beta-amyloid protein in the brain...

Pistachios are among the nuts the improve brain function. Credit: Loma Linda University Health

A new study has found that eating nuts on a regular basis strengthens brainwave frequencies associated with cognition, healing, learning, memory and other key brain functions. In the study titled “Nuts and brain: Effects of eating nuts on changing electroencephalograph brainwaves,” researchers found that some nuts stimulated some brain frequencies more than others.  Some nuts stimulated some brain frequencies more than others. Pistachios, for instance, produced the greatest gamma wave response, which is critical for enhancing cognitive processing, information retention, learning, perception and REM sleep...

This image shows neural activity during sleep differs between older and younger adults. Credit: Courtesy of Matthew Walker and Bryce Mander

Restorative, sedative-free slumber can ward off mental and physical ailments. As we grow old, our nights are frequently plagued by bouts of wakefulness, bathroom trips and other nuisances as we lose our ability to generate the deep, restorative slumber we enjoyed in youth. But does that mean older people just need less sleep? Not according to UC Berkeley researchers, who argue in an article published April 5 in the journal Neuron that the unmet sleep needs of the elderly elevate their risk of memory loss and a wide range of mental and physical disorders.

“Nearly every disease killing us in later life has a causal link to lack of sleep,” said Matthew Wa...