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The Jan. 15 deadline is only one month away for the 2009 – 2010 AASM High School Topical Review in Sleep Science Contest.
High school juniors and seniors are invited to submit an original review paper. They can choose a subject from a list of 12 topics related to sleep medicine and sleep research.
“This contest is an excellent opportunity to introduce students to some of the fascinating aspects of sleep and sleep disorders,” said AASM President Dr. Clete Kushida.
The contest offers a first-place prize of a $1,000 U.S. savings bond. The winning student and one parent or guardian also will receive a three-day/two-night trip to San Antonio in June.
Deep in the heart of Texas, San Antonio offers visitors a dynamic experience. Popular attractions include the Alamo, Six Flags and SeaWorld. San Antonio will host the SLEEP 2010 24th Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC in June. At this meeting the contest winner will be recognized by the AASM. Prizes also will be awarded for second place, third place and honorable mention. All award recipients will have their paper posted on the AASM Web site at www.sleepeducation.com.
A new study found that the circadian clock gene RORB may be involved in bipolar disorder in children.
The study analyzed the genetic make-up of 305 children with bipolar disorder. They were compared with 140 controls.
Results show a positive association between bipolar disorder and four variants of the RORB gene. The authors suggest that this gene may be an important target in the search for the molecular basis of bipolar disorder.
The study also notes that bipolar disorder often involves a decreased need for sleep. This symptom helps discriminate children with bipolar disorder from those with ADHD.
The NIMH reports that bipolar disorder is a brain disorder. It is also known as manic-depressive illness.
It causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels and the ability to carry out daily tasks. These symptoms tend to be severe.
Bipolar disorder often develops in a person's late teens or early adult years. But some people have their first symptoms during childhood.
The disorder tends to run in families. Children are four to six times more likely to develop bipolar disorder if a parent or sibling has the illness.
Currently there is no cure for bipolar disorder. But ongoing treatment can help control the mood swings and other symptoms.
In 2008 FRONTLINE reported that bipolar disorder was long believed to exist only in adults. But in the mid-1990s it began to be diagnosed at much higher rates in children. Now one million children in the U.S. have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Earlier this year the Sleep Education Blog reported that sleep problems in children may predict the future onset of depression. Learn more about sleep and children.
Born in South Korea and educated in London, illustrator Il Sung Na makes his American debut with A Book of Sleep.
“It's the rare picture book that, upon arrival, feels as though it has been around for years already,” noted Publisher’s Weekly.
The opening line sets the stage for the story: When the sky grows dark and the moon glows bright, everyone goes to sleep . . .except for the watchful owl!
This wide-eyed owl proceeds on a moonlit journey to see how the other animals sleep the night away.
“One of the sweetest and most original of the new nighttime picture books,” author Liz Rosenberg wrote in The Boston Globe. “Both children and adults will welcome its…archetypical beauty.”
The book contrasts sparse text with rich, textured illustrations of a starry night.
“So thoroughly does the book inhabit its sleepy world,” author Daniel Handler commented in a New York Times review. Handler is best known for penning the A Series of Unfortunate Events books under the Lemony Snicket pseudonym.
A Book of Sleep is available as a 24-page hardcover book from Knopf Books for Young Readers.
In September the Sleep Education Blog described two other sleep books for children.
A new study shows that old fear memories can be “updated” to prevent the return of fear. The discovery is promising for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.
"Our results suggest a non-pharmacological, naturalistic approach to more effectively manage emotional memories," study co-author Elizabeth Phelps, PhD, said in a press release.
The researchers used mild wrist shocks to condition participants to fear colored squares. A day later, the memory was reactivated.
Participants were re-exposed to the feared squares. This was followed by extinction training. They were repeatedly exposed to the colored squares without shocks.
The fear response was banished only if extinction training followed soon after the fear reactivation. This “reconsolidation window” appears to last for about six hours after the fear is reactivated.
During this time an old memory can be “rewritten.” It can be updated with non-fearful information.
"Timing may have a more important role in the control of fear than previously appreciated," said Phelps. "Our memory reflects our last retrieval of it rather than an exact account of the original event."
The study also found that the technique had a long-lasting effect. Fear responses were no longer expressed when tested one year later.
The AASM reports that recurring nightmares tend to be most disturbing aspect of PTSD. In these dreams the event may be relived in a way that seems shockingly real.
Earlier this year the Sleep Education Blog reported that playing the computer game Tetris can reduce unwanted “flashbacks.” Last month the blog noted that imagery rehearsal therapy is helping some people change their nightmares.
Learn more about sleep and memory.
A new study examined the link between sleep duration and hyperactivity in preschool children.
The study involved 2,057 mothers in Quebec. They answered annual questionnaires until their child reached 5 years of age.
Results show that nightly sleep duration and hyperactivity were significantly associated. Highly hyperactive children were five times more likely to have a short sleep duration. Short sleepers were four times more likely to have high hyperactivity.
Boys were more likely than girls to be a hyperactive, short sleeper. Other risk factors included living in a low-income home and having a mother with a low education.
“Hyperactivity problems may interfere with night-time sleep,” senior author Jacques Montplaisir said in a news release. “We found that children who didn't sleep long were generally hyperactive boys who lived under adverse family conditions. On the other hand, short or fragmented sleep leads to sleepiness, which could manifest as hyperactivity in boys.”
He also noted that hyperactivity scores were low in young children who slept for at least 11 hours at night.
In September the Sleep Education Blog reported that living in a “fragile family” can affect how children sleep. Another study linked sleep loss to hyperactivity in children.
Earlier this year the Sleep Education Blog reported that children often respond to sleep loss in a different way than adults. Sleep-deprived adults tend to be sleepy and sluggish during the day.
But sleep-deprived children may be hyperactive. This is one key symptom of ADHD. Children with ADHD also may be inattentive or impulsive.
Learn more about sleep and children.
The Jan. 15 deadline is only one month away for the 2009 – 2010 AASM High School Topical Review in Sleep Science Contest.
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