Understanding how insomnia and other sleep problems contribute to hopelessness and thoughts of suicide can provide important new options for suicide prevention and treatment of depression and suicidal thoughts.

Understanding more about how sleep affects genetic function holds great promise in illuminating these pathways and could open important new avenues for both treatment and prevention of illness and disease.

We don't know from this study whether diet is influencing sleep or sleep is influencing food choice, or both. But the evidence is abundant that these two pillars of health -- sleep and diet -- affect each other in a number of ways. We've seen a great deal of research that diet and weight control are strongly influenced by sleep, and that too little sleep can make eating healthfully more challenging.

Of all the dangers faced by soldiers, sleep is not likely to top many people's lists. But soldiers, like the rest of us, face risks to health and safety from poor and insufficient sleep. And new research indicates they may be at significantly elevated risk for sleep problems, and sleep-related health issues.

Overall, much less attention has been paid to the possible health problems of snoring when it is not accompanied by sleep apnea. The research that has been done in this area has returned conflicting evidence regarding the health risks associated with snoring.

The last finding is particularly interesting: A lack of sleep by one person in the relationship resulted in greater likelihood of diminished feelings of appreciation by both partners. This suggests just how deeply sleep can influence the emotional dynamic of a relationship.

A new study suggests yet another reason that alcohol can be a roadblock to good sleep: The stimulating effects of alcohol are felt more strongly in the early evening hours. That evening drink you think is sending you toward slumber? It's likely doing just the opposite.

We've seen evidence that vitamin D deficiency is associated with sleep problems, particularly with daytime sleepiness. A new study examined the link between daytime sleepiness and vitamin D, and also considered one of the major risk factors of vitamin D deficiency: skin pigmentation.

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration issued an announcement that could affect millions of Americans who take some of the most common medications for sleep.

Over the past two decades, chronic fatigue syndrome has won acceptance by the medical establishment. But much about the disorder -- its causes, its mechanisms in the body -- remain largely unknown.

As we close in on a new year, we're taking a look back at some of the most interesting, thought-provoking sleep stories of the year just ending. Here are my picks for the second half of 2012.

2012 was bursting with great sleep stories that revealed the power of sleep to enhance our health and well-being. Here are my picks for the sleep stories of 2012 -- along with suggestions for ways you can bring the benefits of the latest in sleep science to your everyday life.

Are you a lark, someone who likes being up and active in the early morning? Or are you a night owl, someone who tends to wake later and perhaps gains energy and focus as the day progresses, someone who likes to work (and play) in the evening hours?

Are you curious -- and sometimes maybe a bit baffled -- by your dreams? Do you wake up with fragments of a dream fresh in your mind and wonder: Why did I dream that?

Biological changes are an important part of the teen-sleep picture, but they don't tell the whole story. Combined with these biological shifts are environmental and lifestyle factors that also can interfere with teens' sleep.

Restless leg syndrome is now recognized as both a sleep disorder and a neurological disorder. Despite this progress, RLS still remains something of a mystery condition.

Dr. Samantha Boardman, a clinical instructor in psychiatry and public health and an assistant attending psychiatrist at Weill Cornell Medical College, wrote a column for "The Tory Blog" on why sleep is so important and how to get more of it.

When I talk about sleep hygiene, I'm not only encouraging good sleep habits, but encouraging making changes that don't promote good quality sleep. One of the changes I find myself talking about most often has to do with alcohol.

The quantity of sleep you get could be affecting not just your weight, but your potential to become obese. If that is not a wake-up call, I do not know what is.

Your sleep-wake cycle follows a regular pattern (circadian rhythm) and when you sleep "too much" that pattern shifts.

Not surprisingly, a recent survey from SleepBetter.org found that many of us do not sleep particularly well during the holiday season. There many expected and a few unexpected reasons for our lack of rest...