Sleep Disorders

BACKGROUND: Sleep disturbance is a common and significant health problem that has been linked to decreased quality of life. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) can be a potentially effective intervention for insomnia. In previous systematic review examining the effects of MBSR for people with sleep disturbance, the authors highlighted the need for additional well-designed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the effects of MBSR practice. Recently, several RCTs of the effectiveness of MBSR for individuals who have difficulties in sleep have been published.

OBJECTIVE: This systematic review assessed clinical evidence for the use of acupuncture as an add-on treatment in patients with depression and schizophrenia and for its underlying working mechanisms. DATA SOURCES: Four databases (Medline, Scopus, ERIC, and the Cochrane Library) were searched with a cutoff date of March 31, 2014. STUDY SELECTION: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of acupuncture treatment for depression and schizophrenia were considered for inclusion.

One of the key paradoxes in gerontology is that, despite a higher longevity, aging women experience worse health and longer disability than men. However, there is growing evidence that changes in life-style, medical interventions and systematic screening for certain diseases may substantially reduce the excess risk of major chronic conditions and disability in aging women, and therefore improve the quality of their late life.

Systemic inflammation is proposed as a putative mechanism underlying the link between poor sleep and cardiovascular disease. The aim of present study was to investigate the cross-sectional and prospective associations of self-reported sleep quality with biomarkers of inflammation and coagulation implicated in coronary heart disease (CHD) and to explore whether these associations differed between men and women.