Short sleep is associated with greater intake of sugared caffeinated sodas, according to a study published online ahead of print November 9 in Sleep Health. Using data from the 2005 to 2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, researchers examined self-reported sleep duration and beverage intake from two 24-hour dietary recalls among 18,779 adults. Adults who slept for seven to eight hours each night were considered the reference group. In fully adjusted models, people who slept for five hours or less had 21% higher sugar-sweetened beverage consumption. When analyzed by beverage type, this difference was attributed to caffeinated sugary beverages. Longer sleepers consumed fewer servings of coffee and water. There were no associations between self-reported sleep duration and consumption of 100% juice, tea, or diet drinks.
Treadmill training plus virtual reality reduces fall rates, compared with treadmill training alone, according to a study published September 17 in the Lancet. Adults ages 60 to 90 with motor and cognitive deficits and a high risk of falls were randomly assigned to receive six weeks of treadmill training plus virtual reality or treadmill training alone. Data from 282 participants were included in the prespecified, modified intention-to-treat analysis. In the six months after training, the incident rate of falls was significantly lower in the treadmill-training-plus-virtual-reality group than it had been before training. The incident rate did not decrease significantly in the treadmill-training-alone group. Six months after training, the incident rate of falls was also significantly lower in the treadmill-training-plus-virtual-reality group than in the treadmill-training group.
Current research does not support specific recommendations for treating hypertension to preserve cognition, according to a scientific statement by the American Heart Association published online ahead of print October 10 in Hypertension. A panel of experts reviewed the literature on hypertension, the treatment of hypertension, and the relationship between hypertension and cognition, and summarized the available data. They found that hypertension disrupts the structure and function of cerebral blood vessels, leads to ischemic damage of white matter regions critical for cognitive function, and may promote Alzheimer pathology. They found strong evidence of a negative influence of mid-life hypertension on late-life cognitive function, but the cognitive effect of late-life hypertension is unclear. Observational studies indicate that high blood pressure damages the brain's blood vessels, leading to reduced blood flow to brain cells.
Manual-based cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia delivered by nonclinician sleep coaches improves sleep in older adults with chronic insomnia, according to a study published in the September issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Researchers studied veterans age 60 or older who met diagnostic criteria for insomnia of three months' duration or longer. Nonclinician sleep coaches delivered five sessions of manual-based cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, including stimulus control, sleep restriction, sleep hygiene, and cognitive therapy, with weekly telephone behavioral sleep medicine supervision. Controls received sleep education. Intervention subjects had greater improvement than controls between baseline and post-treatment, baseline and six months, and baseline and 12 months in sleep onset latency, total wake time, sleep efficiency, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and Insomnia Severity Index.