Mount Sinai Researchers Awarded $4.1 Million NIH Grant to Advance Understanding of Sleep Apnea Using Artificial Intelligence

Machine-learning method aims to predict consequences of serious sleep disorder impacting millions in the U.S.

Intoxicated Teenage Rats Wearing “Fitbits” Experience Sleep Disturbance Long After Withdrawing from Alcohol, Underlining Ongoing Struggles for Humans who Drink Heavily in Adolescence

Adolescent rats exposed to alcohol vapor experience persistent sleep disruption after withdrawal, as measured by Fitbit-like tracking devices, a new study has shown. The findings, published in Alcohol: Clinical & Experimental Research, provide insight into the relationship between sleep disturbance and heavy drinking in humans. Although adolescents and young adults may be particularly affected by sleep disturbances associated with drinking, little is known about that connection or its mechanisms. Plausibly, the link between disrupted circadian rhythm and substance use may operate in both directions; for example, irregular sleep cycles, including daytime sleepiness, have been implicated in teen substance use. Daytime sleepiness and disrupted activity in humans can be measured using wearable tracking devices, complementing EEG metrics taken at night. Nevertheless, genetic and lifestyle factors make the relationship between alcohol and sleep problems challenging to study in humans, and ro

The COVID-19 pandemic increased depression among young adults, particularly women

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on many people’s lives. Emerging adults may have been particular impacted, given their transition from adolescence to adulthood during such a time of upheaval, with their educational and career aspirations thrown into disarray. A new study has found that the risk for depression tripled among young people – particularly younger women – during the pandemic, and that this risk persisted into 2021.