Using iPads Before Bed 'Can LeadĀ to a Poor Night's Sleep'
Using tablet computers like Apple's iPad and Samsung's Galaxy Note just before bed can lead to a poor night's sleep, according to research.
More and more people are taking their tablets to bed with them to surf the web, check Facebook or email before switching off the light.
But researchers are warning that the blueish light their screens emit can stop users getting a good night's sleep.
That is because this type of light mimics daylight, convincing the brain that it is still daytime. Read MoreEye Test may be Early Indicator of Alzheimer's, Say Scientists after Linking Brain Disease to Cataracts
Scientists have discovered a link between cataracts and Alzheimer's that they hope will pave the way for new treatments for the brain disease.
The link could also mean a simple eye test might provide an early indicator that someone has Alzheimer's, according to a study.
The finding, by researchers at Boston University Schools of Medicine, indicates that dementia might originate outside of the brain and be connected to the body as a whole.
A growing amount of evidence suggests cataracts and Alzheimer's - both associated with increasing age - may share common factors. Read MoreSmokers Get Fewer Hours SleepĀ and a Lower Quality of Rest than Non-smokers, Scientists Claim
Smokers may get fewer hours of sleep and have less restful slumber than non-smokers, according to study.
Researchers found that of nearly 1,100 smokers surveyed, 17 per cent got fewer than six hours of sleep each night and 28 per cent reported 'disturbed' sleep quality.
That compared with rates of 7 per cent and 19 per cent respectively among more than 1,200 non-smokers who were also surveyed.
Lead researcher Stefan Cohrs, from Charite Berlin medical school in Germany, said: 'This study demonstrates for the first time an elevated prevalence of sleep disturbance in smokers compared with non-smokers in a population without lifetime history of psychiatric disorders even after controlling for potentially relevant risk factors.' Read MoreSeniors who take certain kinds of drugs to treat anxiety or insomnia may be more likely to develop dementia than those who do not, a new study shows.
Seniors are often prescribed benzodiazepines or similar drugs to help with sleeping problems or anxiety. And even though most of these drugs are only meant to be used for a few weeks or months at a time, the drugs can be habit forming. Studies have found that many older adults stay on them longer, sometimes for years.
The new study, which is published in the BMJ, compared the risk of dementia in two groups of French seniors -- 95 who were recent users of any of 23 benzodiazepines or similar drugs at the start of the study and 968 who were not. Read MoreAn experimental Alzheimer's treatment slowed memory loss by about one-third in people with mild Alzheimer's, offering hope that the drug can alter the course of the progressive disease.
Called solanezumab, the drug attaches to a protein called beta-amyloid that builds up and clumps together to form sticky plaques that riddle Alzheimer's patients' brains. The drug is designed to prevent those clumps from forming.
The benefit is small and studies have been inconsistent, says researcher Rachelle Doody, MD, head of Alzheimer's disease research at Baylor College of Medicine.
"But the study offers evidence that targeting beta-amyloid can benefit patients," she says. Larger studies in many more patients are needed before the drug will be available, though, she says. Read More