by Dr. Stephen Parker (Article selection and Commentary) on May 15, 2012
["Heart Rate Variability, or HRV, is under-appreciated measure of heart health...] Greater Heart Rate Variability The term called “heart rate variability” means that minute-by-minute (or even second-by-second) your heart rate fluctuates depending on internal and external stimulus. If your resting heart rate is 60 beats per minute, it makes sense that your heart would beat [...]
by Dr. Stephen Parker (Article selection and Commentary) on October 5, 2011
Scientists Finding Out What Losing Sleep Does to a Body Rob Stein Washington Post Staff Writer October 9, 2005> With a good night’s rest increasingly losing out to the Internet, e-mail, late-night cable and other distractions of modern life, a growing body of scientific evidence suggests that too little or erratic sleep may be taking [...]
by Dr. Stephen Parker (Article selection and Commentary) on September 30, 2011
Alcohol Interferes With the Restorative Functions of Sleep ScienceDaily Aug. 16, 2011 Large amounts of alcohol are known to shorten sleep latency, increase slow-wave sleep, and suppress rapid eye movement (REM) during the first half of sleep. During the second half of sleep, REM increases and sleep becomes shallower. A study of the acute effects [...]
by Dr. Stephen Parker (Article selection and Commentary) on September 12, 2011
Midday Napping Slows Heart Disease Carole Bullock February 14, 2007 — What could be some of the most welcome heart-healthy advice in a long time comes from Greek researchers who say daytime napping — taking a siesta — may add years to your life. Appearing in the February 12 issue of the Archives of Internal [...]
by Dr. Stephen Parker (Article selection and Commentary) on September 10, 2011
Searching for preventive measures of cardiovascular events in aged Japanese taxi drivers–the daily rhythm of cardiovascular risk factors during a night duty day. J Hum Ergol (Tokyo). 2001 Dec;30(1-2):321-6. Hattori M, Azami Y. Johoku Hospital, Kanazawa, Japan. Abstract Previous studies have shown that Japanese taxi drivers are exposed to more risk factors and have a [...]
by Dr. Stephen Parker (Article selection and Commentary) on September 9, 2011
Inflammation May Be Link Between Extreme Sleep Durations And Poor Health ScienceDaily (Feb. 7, 2009) — A new study in the journal Sleep shows that sleep duration is associated with changes in the levels of specific cytokines that are important in regulating inflammation. The results suggest that inflammation may be the pathway linking extreme sleep [...]
by Dr. Stephen Parker (Article selection and Commentary) on September 7, 2011
Journal of the American Medical Association 2008;300(24):2859-2866. Short Sleep Duration and Incident Coronary Artery Calcification From the Abstract Context Coronary artery calcification is a subclinical predictor of coronary heart disease. Recent studies have found that sleep duration is correlated with established risk factors for calcification including glucose regulation, blood pressure, sex, age, education, and body [...]