Latest news with #CharlottesvilleNeurologyandSleepMedicine
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Sex Before Bed May Help You Sleep Better, According to Science
A new pilot study suggests having sex before bed could help you sleep better. This isn't the first study to link sex before bed to better sleep. Sex creates a surge of oxytocin, which is a natural sedative, and provides stress relief, all of which might explain boosted sleep performance. Finding the perfect recipe for a good night's sleep can feel pretty complicated. Experts have recommended everything from keeping your bedroom cool at night, to sticking with consistent sleep and wake times, to avoiding screens for hours before bed. But you can now add a much simpler sleep-enhancing hack to the list: Have sex. That's the major takeaway from a new study published in the journal Sleep Health. This is a pilot study, so the findings are preliminary, but they raise a lot of questions about how sexual activity may help us sleep better and whether you should consider this move for yourself. Here's what the study found, plus what doctors want you to keep in mind. Meet the experts: W. Christopher Winter, MD, a neurologist and sleep medicine physician with Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine and host of the Sleep Unplugged podcast; Jessica O'Reilly, PhD, relationship expert and Astroglide's sexologist; Jennifer Wider, MD. For the study, researchers recruited seven heterosexual couples who were healthy, sexually active, and living together in Australia. The participants, who were in their mid-20s, all reported that they had sex at least twice a week. The researchers monitored the participants over 11 nights, and asked them to do three different things: Have no sexual activity, engage in solo sex that ended in an orgasm, and have partnered sex that ended in an orgasm. To measure their sleep, the participants wore a wireless headband to track their brain activity, movement, and breathing overnight. They also filled out diaries every morning to track their sexual activity, sleep quality, mood, and feelings of readiness for the day ahead. The researchers discovered all kinds of interesting things. On nights when the participants had sex, they went to bed later than on nights with no sex. But they also spent about seven minutes less being awake during the night after they conked out, and spent a larger amount of their time in bed actually sleeping (basically, they had good sleep efficiency). In general, sleep efficiency was 93.2 percent after masturbation and 93.4 percent after partnered sex, while it was 91.5 percent on nights when people didn't have sex. Worth noting: The participants didn't notice any big differences in how well they thought they slept—this is just what the sleep tracking data found. That said, the participants reported feeling more motivated and ready for their day the morning after having partnered sex than when they abstained. It's important to point out that this isn't the first study to link sex before bed to better sleep. A study published in the Journal of Sleep Research had people keep a diary for 14 days and found that those who had partnered sex that ended in orgasm fell asleep faster and reported having better sleep quality than those who didn't have sex before bed. But the latest study actually showed that there were improvements in sleep quality. There are probably a few things going on to result in this positive sleep effect, according to W. Christopher Winter, MD, a neurologist and sleep medicine physician with Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine and host of the Sleep Unplugged podcast. 'The first is probably related to the chemical changes brought about by orgasm,' he says. 'The hormone oxytocin—which is released after you have an orgasm—acts as a natural sedative,' he says. In addition to oxytocin, the hormone prolactin is released after orgasm, leading to a relaxed feeling, says women's health expert Jennifer Wider, MD. All of those factors combined 'can definitely enhance sleepiness,' she says. From a more holistic view, sex is usually a stress-relieving activity, so it may be that people felt more ready to fall asleep afterward, Dr. Winter says. And it may also just quiet down your mind, says Jessica O'Reilly, PhD, relationship expert and Astroglide's sexologist. 'Post-orgasm, decreased activity in brain regions like the amygdala and cingulate cortex reduces arousal and emotional stimulation,' she says. That can also make it easier to fall asleep, she points out. A lot, actually. 'During arousal and orgasm, you may experience elevated levels of dopamine, oxytocin and endorphins, which can elevate mood, reduce stress and assuage anxiety,' O'Reilly says. 'Natural opioids released during sex can also make you more resilient to pain, like headaches and cramps.' Ultimately, if you have the option to have sex or not and you want to ensure you'll get a good night's sleep, it may be best to get down with a partner before bed. 'Sex in general contributes to positive emotional feelings and contentment, which is where you want to be in the moment before sleep,' Dr. Winter says. 'Feeling that sense of being connected is a great way to head to sleep.' You Might Also Like Can Apple Cider Vinegar Lead to Weight Loss? Bobbi Brown Shares Her Top Face-Transforming Makeup Tips for Women Over 50
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Doing This One Fun Thing Before Bed Will Help You Sleep A Lot Better, Per Study
A new pilot study suggests having sex before bed could help you sleep better. This isn't the first study to link sex before bed to better sleep. Sex creates a surge of oxytocin, which is a natural sedative, and provides stress relief, all of which might explain boosted sleep performance. Finding the perfect recipe for a good night's sleep can feel pretty complicated. Experts have recommended everything from keeping your bedroom cool at night, to sticking with consistent sleep and wake times, to avoiding screens for hours before bed. But you can now add a much simpler sleep-enhancing hack to the list: Have sex. That's the major takeaway from a new study published in the journal Sleep Health. This is a pilot study, so the findings are preliminary, but they raise a lot of questions about how sexual activity may help us sleep better and whether you should consider this move for yourself. Here's what the study found, plus what doctors want you to keep in mind. Meet the experts: W. Christopher Winter, MD, a neurologist and sleep medicine physician with Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine and host of the Sleep Unplugged podcast; Jessica O'Reilly, PhD, relationship expert and Astroglide's sexologist; Jennifer Wider, MD. For the study, researchers recruited seven heterosexual couples who were healthy, sexually active, and living together in Australia. The participants, who were in their mid-20s, all reported that they had sex at least twice a week. The researchers monitored the participants over 11 nights, and asked them to do three different things: Have no sexual activity, engage in solo sex that ended in an orgasm, and have partnered sex that ended in an orgasm. To measure their sleep, the participants wore a wireless headband to track their brain activity, movement, and breathing overnight. They also filled out diaries every morning to track their sexual activity, sleep quality, mood, and feelings of readiness for the day ahead. The researchers discovered all kinds of interesting things. On nights when the participants had sex, they went to bed later than on nights with no sex. But they also spent about seven minutes less being awake during the night after they conked out, and spent a larger amount of their time in bed actually sleeping (basically, they had good sleep efficiency). In general, sleep efficiency was 93.2 percent after masturbation and 93.4 percent after partnered sex, while it was 91.5 percent on nights when people didn't have sex. Worth noting: The participants didn't notice any big differences in how well they thought they slept—this is just what the sleep tracking data found. That said, the participants reported feeling more motivated and ready for their day the morning after having partnered sex than when they abstained. It's important to point out that this isn't the first study to link sex before bed to better sleep. A study published in the Journal of Sleep Research had people keep a diary for 14 days and found that those who had partnered sex that ended in orgasm fell asleep faster and reported having better sleep quality than those who didn't have sex before bed. But the latest study actually showed that there were improvements in sleep quality. There are probably a few things going on to result in this positive sleep effect, according to W. Christopher Winter, MD, a neurologist and sleep medicine physician with Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine and host of the Sleep Unplugged podcast. 'The first is probably related to the chemical changes brought about by orgasm,' he says. 'The hormone oxytocin—which is released after you have an orgasm—acts as a natural sedative,' he says. In addition to oxytocin, the hormone prolactin is released after orgasm, leading to a relaxed feeling, says women's health expert Jennifer Wider, MD. All of those factors combined 'can definitely enhance sleepiness,' she says. From a more holistic view, sex is usually a stress-relieving activity, so it may be that people felt more ready to fall asleep afterward, Dr. Winter says. And it may also just quiet down your mind, says Jessica O'Reilly, PhD, relationship expert and Astroglide's sexologist. 'Post-orgasm, decreased activity in brain regions like the amygdala and cingulate cortex reduces arousal and emotional stimulation,' she says. That can also make it easier to fall asleep, she points out. A lot, actually. 'During arousal and orgasm, you may experience elevated levels of dopamine, oxytocin and endorphins, which can elevate mood, reduce stress and assuage anxiety,' O'Reilly says. 'Natural opioids released during sex can also make you more resilient to pain, like headaches and cramps.' Ultimately, if you have the option to have sex or not and you want to ensure you'll get a good night's sleep, it may be best to get down with a partner before bed. 'Sex in general contributes to positive emotional feelings and contentment, which is where you want to be in the moment before sleep,' Dr. Winter says. 'Feeling that sense of being connected is a great way to head to sleep.' You Might Also Like Jennifer Garner Swears By This Retinol Eye Cream These New Kicks Will Help You Smash Your Cross-Training Goals
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
A New Study Reveals The #1 Sleep Mistake That Harms Brain Health—And It Has Nothing To Do With Your Bedtime
We already know sleep is super important, but new research suggests too much of it can, actually, be a bad thing. The study found that 'long sleepers' were more likely to report symptoms of depression and worse cognitive performance. Here's what you should know about how long you should sleep, with insight from experts. When you're struggling to get the recommended seven-plus hours of sleep each night, logging anything more than that sounds like a dream come true. But new research suggests that there is actually a sleep sweet spot you should aim for—and that making sure you don't sleep *too* much could affect how well your brain works. The study, which was published in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia, specifically discovered that sleeping too much was linked with worse cognitive performance. Here's why and what the tipping point was, plus how to figure out the best amount of sleep for you. Meet the experts: Vanessa Young, MS, lead study author and clinical research project manager at the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio; W. Christopher Winter, MD, a neurologist and sleep medicine physician with Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine and host of the Sleep Unplugged podcast For the study, researchers analyzed data on cognition and how long people slept in more than 1,800 people without dementia who participated in the Framingham Heart Study, a community-based cohort study of residents in Framingham, Massachusetts. The study specifically focused on people between the ages of 27 and 85. The researchers found that people who slept for nine hours or more a night had worse cognitive performance. That was especially pronounced in participants with depression, regardless of whether they used antidepressants. The researchers also discovered that so-called 'long sleepers' were more likely to report symptoms of depression and that sleep might be a modifiable risk factor for cognitive decline in people who have depression. This isn't the first study to find a link between sleeping for longer periods and lower cognitive performance. 'Regularly sleeping more than nine hours a night has been linked to lower cognitive performance in some studies—including ours,' says Vanessa Young, MS, lead study author and clinical research project manager at the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio. There is a 'J' curve relationship between sleep and health, points out W. Christopher Winter, MD, a neurologist and sleep medicine physician with Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine and host of the Sleep Unplugged podcast. What this means is that more sleep isn't always better. 'Generally, the best health outcomes in adults are at seven hours," he says. As for why that is, Young says sleeping for longer periods of time is likely 'a sign that something else is happening beneath the surface.' That could mean vascular issues, depression, changes in brain health, or something else, she says. 'While we can't say for certain whether longer sleep leads to worse cognition—or if people with emerging cognitive issues start sleeping more—our findings suggest that unusually long sleep might be worth paying attention to, especially if it's a change from your normal routine,' Young says. First of all, everyone is different and requires different amounts of sleep, but research generally suggests that getting between seven and nine hours of sleep a night is best for cognitive performance. Still, Dr. Winter stresses that sleep needs are individual and it's a good idea to pay attention to certain elements of your sleep routine to see what your needs are. He suggests looking at how long it takes for you to conk out at night, along with how you feel during the day. 'If it takes a while to fall asleep, you might be seeking too much time in bed,' Dr. Winter says. 'But if you struggle to stay awake during the day or fall asleep rapidly at night, you may not be sleeping enough.' But Young says you shouldn't automatically assume that more sleep is better. 'Like many things in health, balance is important—and sleep may be just one part of a larger puzzle when it comes to brain health,' she says. You Might Also Like Jennifer Garner Swears By This Retinol Eye Cream These New Kicks Will Help You Smash Your Cross-Training Goals
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
What regularly going to sleep after midnight says about your health
There's no universal rule that says you have to go to bed at a certain time when you're an adult, but you've likely heard the common refrain that it's best to fall asleep before midnight. But how bad is it if you don't hit the sheets until the clock strikes 12? While sleep medicine specialists say you don't need to freak out if you're a night owl, having a very late bedtime can indicate that something isn't quite right with your sleep, Christopher Winter, a neurologist and sleep medicine specialist with Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine in Virginia, and the host of the Sleep Unplugged podcast, tells Yahoo Life. Here's what the research shows about going to bed after midnight and what sleep experts think about this habit. Also, we've included a few tips for making your bedtime a bit earlier, just in case you're considering trying to conk out sooner at night. There's not a ton of research that looks into the impact of going to bed after midnight, but there is some — and, unfortunately, for those who tend to stay up late, it's not great news. A study published earlier this month in JAMA Network Open analyzed data from nearly 1,200 people and found that those who consistently fell asleep after midnight had higher glycemic variability. (In case you're not familiar with it, glycemic variability is how much blood glucose levels go up and down. In a perfect world, they're stable.) The study's authors pointed out that glycemic variability is a risk factor for chronic disease and early death, which makes it reasonable to wonder if going to bed after midnight puts you at risk for those bad outcomes. Falling asleep past midnight can also affect your mental health. A 2024 study published in the journal Psychiatric Research found that people who go to bed after 1 a.m. were at a higher risk of having depression and generalized anxiety disorder, regardless of whether they identified as being a morning person or night owl. Some older research also links going to bed late and struggling to wake up in the morning to having a shorter lifespan, along with a higher risk of health complications like diabetes and psychological disorders. It depends. If you regularly go to sleep after midnight, but you also don't have to be anywhere until later the next morning, your bedtime is unlikely to be an issue, Jade Wu, a behavioral sleep medicine specialist and author of Hello Sleep: The Science and Art of Overcoming Insomnia Without Medications, tells Yahoo Life. 'There is nothing magical about midnight,' she says. But Wu says that going to bed after midnight depends on a number of factors, including your chronotype (i.e., your biologically hardwired body clock), when you get up in the morning, how much sleep you need, what you do during the day and evening and how consistent your sleep timing is. Wu also recommends keeping this in mind when it comes to midnight bedtimes: 'When a research study shows harmful associations with going to bed after midnight, it's not because midnight is a special time, but because when you do a research study and ask people about their sleep habits, you have to categorize their answers somehow,' she says. 'If, on average, people are healthier and happier when they consistently go to bed before midnight, it's likely because people, on average, need to get up early enough for work/family that routinely going to bed after midnight means they routinely don't get enough sleep.' That said, going to bed after midnight often suggests that you may be less likely to be getting enough sleep, Dr. Beth Malow, director of the Vanderbilt Sleep Division at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, tells Yahoo Life. It also means you may be messing with your circadian rhythm, which is your body's natural 24-hour cycle, she adds. Your circadian rhythm helps regulate multiple physiological and behavioral processes in your body, including signaling to your body that it's time to wake up or wind down for bed, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 'Our natural circadian rhythms usually have us going to bed earlier, before midnight,' Malow says. Going to bed past midnight here and there can mess with your health too. Falling asleep after 12 a.m. if you typically go to bed around 10 p.m. may mean that you don't get as much deep sleep as you need, Winter says. 'Deep sleep happens predominantly in that first one to two hours. So, for the average sleeper, that's probably 10 p.m. to 12 a.m.,' he explains. 'Going to bed after midnight means missing out on the bulk of deep sleep/slow wave sleep.' This phase of sleep is when growth hormone and other chemicals are secreted — missing out can inhibit those and increase levels of the stress hormone cortisol, according to Winter. 'Both negatively affect blood sugar and mood,' he adds. If you consistently go to bed at midnight or even later, but you don't have to be up early the next morning, your standard bedtime may not be an issue. But if you feel like you have trouble going to bed before midnight and you have to be somewhere in the morning, sleep specialists say there are a few things you can do to try to move up your bedtime. Get a big dose of bright light in the morning. Wu recommends going outside for 20 minutes or so, if you can fit it into your morning. This helps signal to your body that it's time to wake up and helps to keep your circadian rhythm in line with the daylight. If that's not doable, Winter suggests eating breakfast or getting ready next to a window to expose yourself to natural light. Don't nap during the day. This can be difficult to achieve if your sleep wasn't great the night before. But Winter points out that naps can throw your sleep schedule out of whack and push your bedtime back even more. Consider wearing blue light glasses before bed. Screens emit blue light, which can interfere with your circadian rhythm and your ability to wind down before bed. That's why doctors usually recommend staying off screens before bed. Unfortunately, that's not possible for everyone, and for that reason, Wu suggests wearing blue-light-blocking sunglasses for several hours before bed. Work out regularly. Having an exercise routine in place can help support good sleep, Malow says. She recommends maximizing physical activity during the day so that you're ready to crash when bedtime rolls around. If you feel as though you've tried everything and still your sleep isn't as healthy as it should be, it's worth consulting a health care professional to help determine what might be going on. But, if you regularly go to bed at midnight and wake up feeling refreshed, more power to you!
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
What regularly going to sleep after midnight says about your health
There's no universal rule that says you have to go to bed at a certain time when you're an adult, but you've likely heard the common refrain that it's best to fall asleep before midnight. But how bad is it if you don't hit the sheets until the clock strikes 12? While sleep medicine specialists say you don't need to freak out if you're a night owl, having a very late bedtime can indicate that something isn't quite right with your sleep, Christopher Winter, a neurologist and sleep medicine specialist with Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine in Virginia, and the host of the Sleep Unplugged podcast, tells Yahoo Life. Here's what the research shows about going to bed after midnight and what sleep experts think about this habit. Also, we've included a few tips for making your bedtime a bit earlier, just in case you're considering trying to conk out sooner at night. There's not a ton of research that looks into the impact of going to bed after midnight, but there is some — and, unfortunately, for those who tend to stay up late, it's not great news. A study published earlier this month in JAMA Network Open analyzed data from nearly 1,200 people and found that those who consistently fell asleep after midnight had higher glycemic variability. (In case you're not familiar with it, glycemic variability is how much blood glucose levels go up and down. In a perfect world, they're stable.) The study's authors pointed out that glycemic variability is a risk factor for chronic disease and early death, which makes it reasonable to wonder if going to bed after midnight puts you at risk for those bad outcomes. Falling asleep past midnight can also affect your mental health. A 2024 study published in the journal Psychiatric Research found that people who go to bed after 1 a.m. were at a higher risk of having depression and generalized anxiety disorder, regardless of whether they identified as being a morning person or night owl. Some older research also links going to bed late and struggling to wake up in the morning to having a shorter lifespan, along with a higher risk of health complications like diabetes and psychological disorders. It depends. If you regularly go to sleep after midnight, but you also don't have to be anywhere until later the next morning, your bedtime is unlikely to be an issue, Jade Wu, a behavioral sleep medicine specialist and author of Hello Sleep: The Science and Art of Overcoming Insomnia Without Medications, tells Yahoo Life. 'There is nothing magical about midnight,' she says. But Wu says that going to bed after midnight depends on a number of factors, including your chronotype (i.e., your biologically hardwired body clock), when you get up in the morning, how much sleep you need, what you do during the day and evening and how consistent your sleep timing is. Wu also recommends keeping this in mind when it comes to midnight bedtimes: 'When a research study shows harmful associations with going to bed after midnight, it's not because midnight is a special time, but because when you do a research study and ask people about their sleep habits, you have to categorize their answers somehow,' she says. 'If, on average, people are healthier and happier when they consistently go to bed before midnight, it's likely because people, on average, need to get up early enough for work/family that routinely going to bed after midnight means they routinely don't get enough sleep.' That said, going to bed after midnight often suggests that you may be less likely to be getting enough sleep, Dr. Beth Malow, director of the Vanderbilt Sleep Division at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, tells Yahoo Life. It also means you may be messing with your circadian rhythm, which is your body's natural 24-hour cycle, she adds. Your circadian rhythm helps regulate multiple physiological and behavioral processes in your body, including signaling to your body that it's time to wake up or wind down for bed, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 'Our natural circadian rhythms usually have us going to bed earlier, before midnight,' Malow says. Going to bed past midnight here and there can mess with your health too. Falling asleep after 12 a.m. if you typically go to bed around 10 p.m. may mean that you don't get as much deep sleep as you need, Winter says. 'Deep sleep happens predominantly in that first one to two hours. So, for the average sleeper, that's probably 10 p.m. to 12 a.m.,' he explains. 'Going to bed after midnight means missing out on the bulk of deep sleep/slow wave sleep.' This phase of sleep is when growth hormone and other chemicals are secreted — missing out can inhibit those and increase levels of the stress hormone cortisol, according to Winter. 'Both negatively affect blood sugar and mood,' he adds. If you consistently go to bed at midnight or even later, but you don't have to be up early the next morning, your standard bedtime may not be an issue. But if you feel like you have trouble going to bed before midnight and you have to be somewhere in the morning, sleep specialists say there are a few things you can do to try to move up your bedtime. Get a big dose of bright light in the morning. Wu recommends going outside for 20 minutes or so, if you can fit it into your morning. This helps signal to your body that it's time to wake up and helps to keep your circadian rhythm in line with the daylight. If that's not doable, Winter suggests eating breakfast or getting ready next to a window to expose yourself to natural light. Don't nap during the day. This can be difficult to achieve if your sleep wasn't great the night before. But Winter points out that naps can throw your sleep schedule out of whack and push your bedtime back even more. Consider wearing blue light glasses before bed. Screens emit blue light, which can interfere with your circadian rhythm and your ability to wind down before bed. That's why doctors usually recommend staying off screens before bed. Unfortunately, that's not possible for everyone, and for that reason, Wu suggests wearing blue-light-blocking sunglasses for several hours before bed. Work out regularly. Having an exercise routine in place can help support good sleep, Malow says. She recommends maximizing physical activity during the day so that you're ready to crash when bedtime rolls around. If you feel as though you've tried everything and still your sleep isn't as healthy as it should be, it's worth consulting a health care professional to help determine what might be going on. But, if you regularly go to bed at midnight and wake up feeling refreshed, more power to you!
