Sleep has been called the "third pillar" of health, along with nutrition and exercise, yet according to the CDC, 35 percent of Americans report gettin...

Although this was clearly more than just narcolepsy, it was possible that the constellation of symptoms was due to a small genetic alteration that included both a narcolepsy-causing gene and a mitochondrial gene located close by on the same chromosome.

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.

Medical research is big business in this country. But historically very little of this money has gone to insomnia research. For decades, those with insomnia were regarded as "silent sufferers," often going undiagnosed, even when seeking help.

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.

Sleep deprivation can raise anxiety levels and other recent research.

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.

Lo and behold, the night after that yoga session with Elena Brower, I learned firsthand yet another benefit of yoga: a good night's sleep.

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?

It's all too common for people to shrug off their episodes of insomnia, to do their best to function and cope. This kind of "power through" strategy is rampant in our busy world, but there's no real escape from the consequences that insomnia can bring.

The study by Krystal and Edinger overcame the shortcomings of previous studies by examining a large number of people (128), a large variety of different firmness of mattresses (seven), and a large number of nights on each mattress (four weeks).

I was really pleased to read this study. Its findings confirm what I have repeatedly seen in my own practice (and family): kids are very adaptable, especially when it comes to how and where (and with whom) they fall and stay asleep.

While our understanding of sleep science continues to grow, there continues to be a strong consensus on the need for a good night's rest.

Just as the country gears up for a summer trip, the National Sleep Foundation released the 2012 Sleep in America poll, its first survey of transportation professionals sleep habits and work performance. The results are not reassuring.

As much as we may appreciate our bedrooms as a retreat and a haven, the poll shows we're still not actually getting enough sleep there.

Conventional wisdom tells us that we should get at least 8 hours of sleep a night, but a recent report by the BBC suggests that this might just be a m...

There's still a great deal of information about the effects of sleep on the brain that we don't yet understand, so any research that sheds light on this subject is exciting and potentially important.

New findings provide more evidence to support the weight-control benefits of a full six to eight hours of nightly sleep.

There's a lot of evidence that suggests media exposure can be detrimental to children and the quality of their sleep. This study provides some important details about how when, what, where and who is watching matters.

We know we require sleep for our survival, but we've yet to discover the why of sleep. A ground-breaking new study might help us answer this and many more questions.

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh tested a treatment known as Brief Behavioral Therapy Intervention (BBTI). BBTI is just what it sounds like: a short-term, highly targeted course of counseling, targeted at changing a person's behaviors.

Most of these fad diet plans are ineffective (and some of them seem downright dangerous), and they all overlook one important aspect that can affect what and how much we eat: sleep.