In the News

A growing body of research finds that sleep is essential to both mental and physical health—and that sleep problems can be a cause, not just a consequence, of conditions like depression and anxiety. Philip Gehrman, PhD, an associate professor of clinical Psychology in Psychiatry, discusses what happens in the brain while we sleep; how insomnia and disrupted circadian rhythms affect mental health; why psychologists are paying more attention to sleep; and what all of us can do to get better, more restorative sleep. Tags: apa american_psycological_association podcast philip_gehrman sleep_medicine psychiatry psychology EH fy27 2026 Q1 July

As much of the east coast grapples with a stubborn heat wave, experts advise ways to stay cool and comfortable. Indira Gurubhagavatula, MD, MPH, a professor of Sleep Medicine, advised not eating within two hours of going to bed to avoid raising the body's internal temperature. She also emphasized the importance of hydrating, to make sure you can replenish the liquid you're losing while sweating. Tags: New_York_Times top_tier sleep_medicine indira_gurubhagavatula Penn_Sleep_Center heatwave EH FY27 2026 Q1 july

A primary care physician shares in a guest essay that sleep quality and routine may matter more than sleep duration. Michael Perlis, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry and director of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program, is quoted noting that the standard medical recommendation of getting seven to nine hours works for many people but “nowhere near all.” That’s because it “doesn’t take into account sex, age, typical duration of the individual’s wake period, amount of mental and physical expenditure per day, health and basal sleep need,” he said. Tags: New_York_Times top_tier guest_essay michael_perlis sleep_medicine psychiatry behavioral_sleep_medicine_program EH FY27 2026 Q1 July

Indira Gurubhagavatula, MD, MPH, a professor of Sleep Medicine shares how physicians of any specialty can identify patients in need of a sleep study, how to manage sleep if specialists cannot be accessed, and where to learn more information. Tags: Physicians_Weekly sleep_medicine indira_gurubhagavatula podcast sleep EH fy26 2026 q4 June

A story outlining different types of noise and noise machines often used to promote sleep mentions research led by Mathias Basner, MD, PhD, professor of Sleep and Chronobiology in Psychiatry, which found that "pink noise significantly reduced REM sleep. It also found that adults wanted a deeper sleep without noise, they could opt for earplugs. Tags: parenting_patch yahoo_health press_release communications_placement mathias_basner psychiatry sleep_medicine chronobiology pink_noise EH FY26 2026 Q4 June

Pregnant women’s expectations about postpartum sleep predicted their actual sleep quality after delivery, outweighing prior sleep and psychiatric history, according to a study presented at the Sleep 2026. “Most pregnant women in our sample anticipated poor postpartum sleep before it occurred, and it was striking that those expectations predicted worse sleep outcomes even after accounting for factors such as prior sleep disorders, psychiatric history, and number of previous births,” said Sammy Dhaliwal, a clinical health psychologist and research fellow with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. “This suggests that attitudes and beliefs about sleep during pregnancy may represent a modifiable target for early intervention before postpartum sleep problems emerge.” Tags: RT respiratory_therapy sammy_Dhaliwal sleep_medicine Obstetrics_and_Gynecology obgyn sleep pregnancy EH FY26 2026 Q4 June

A travel writer tested an app which purports to help head off jet lag, which experts have noted gets tougher as we get older. “The evidence shows that it is harder to acclimate as we get older,” said Indira Gurubhagavatula, MD, MPH, a professor of Sleep Medicine. “Our circadian clock and its responsiveness to light gets weaker, and the amount of melatonin generated under dim light also decreases with age.” Tags: washington_post top_tier sleep_medicine Penn_Sleep_Center indira_gurubhagavatula travel circadian_rhythm EH FY26 2026 Q4 May

A compound called 4-phenylbutyrate (PBA) restored memory function and reduced signs of Alzheimer’s disease in mice. Nirinjini Naidoo, PhD, a research associate professor of Sleep Medicine, said the treatment appears to work by improving overall brain cell health and reducing the buildup of harmful proteins linked to the disease. Researchers emphasized that the findings are still preliminary and have not yet been tested in humans. Tags: futura pba Alzheimer's_disease sleep_medicine Nirinjini_Naidoo communications_placement press_release EH FY26 2026 Q4 May

Most of us tend to sleep better when we are cooler: cozied up in a dark, cool room. And while it may sound confusing, wearing socks is one way to keep your body cooler while sleeping. "When we warm up our feet by wearing socks, the blood vessels under the skin dilate not just in the feet but everywhere," said Indira Gurubhagavatula, MD, MPH, a professor of Sleep Medicine "This vasodilation allows warm blood to come to the surface, and as it keeps circulating and coming to the skin, body heat is shed, and core body temperature eventually drops...which signals the brain to get ready for sleep," she added. Tags: washington_post top_tier sleep_medicine Penn_Sleep_Center indira_gurubhagavatula EH FY26 2026 Q4 May

Pennsylvania legislators are debating the merits of a permanent return to standard time, which Indira Gurubhagavatula, MD, MPH, a professor of Sleep Medicine, said is supported by science. Data from the Centers for Disease Control shows Americans are chronically sleep deprived and losing an hour of sleep each spring is significant. She noted that daylight saving time is followed by reports of more heart attacks, strokes, hospital admissions, emergency room visits, injuries, accidents, and exhaustion. Tags: penn_capital_star indira_gurubhagavatula sleep_medicine Penn_Sleep_Center daylight_saving_time EH FY26 2026 Q4 apri

It’s finally springtime, which might mean you’re tempted to start sleeping with your bedroom window open—but an open window can affect the temperature and humidity in your room, and pests could get in without a window screen. “By opening the window, you let the outside in,” said Mathias Basner, MD, PhD, professor of Sleep and Chronobiology in Psychiatry. If you do decide to crack open the window, open your bedroom door too so air circulates better, Basner suggested. Tags: Health mathias_basner sleep_medicine chronobiology psychiatry EH FY26 2026 Q4 April

Caffeine is one way we may be unknowingly and negatively impacting our sleep, as everyone metabolizes it differently, said Indira Gurubhagavatula, MD, MPH, a professor of Sleep Medicine. For some people, caffeine can remain in their bloodstream for a few hours, but for others, it can linger, which can affect the quality of their sleep, she said. Gurubhagavatula tells her coffee-drinking patients who don’t feel rested to cut back gradually. Then, as hard as it is to do, stay off coffee for two weeks. “And if you’re waking up feeling much more rested, you have your answer,” she said. Tags: new_york_times sleep_medicine indira_gurubhagavatula Penn_Sleep_Center communications_placement EH FY26 2026 Q4 April

The #greennoise hashtag on TikTok has surpassed 1.1 million views. Green noise is a mid-frequency sound profile centered around 500 Hz that mimics nature sounds like ocean waves, gentle rain and rustling leaves. A February study led by Mathias Basner, MD, PhD, professor of Sleep and Chronobiology in Psychiatry found that broadband noise played at 50 dB reduced REM sleep by nearly 19 minutes per night. Tags: mathias_basner psychiatry sleep_medicine pink_noise chronobiology communications_placement press_release EH FY26 2026 Q4 april

The Artemis space mission, while blasting humans further into space than ever before, does not have the luxury of space for the crew to move around as in earlier, shorter missions. Mathias Basner, MD, PhD, professor of Sleep and Chronobiology in Psychiatry, who previously researched the health impacts of travel aboard the International Space Station, noted the importance of having our own space. "Particularly for longer missions, individuals need to be able to find alone time to reflect." Tags: podcast bbc mathias_basner sleep_medicine chronobiology artemis space_flight psychiatry EH FY26 2026 Q4 April

After midnight, something shifts in the human brain. Negative thoughts sharpen, risky behavior becomes more appealing and the inhibitions that hold impulses in check begin to loosen. Suicides are also statistically more likely during nighttime hours, according to Michael Perlis, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry, after adjusting for the number of people awake at any given time. Tags: futura michael_perlis sleep_medicine sleep behavioral_sleep_medicine_program EH fy26 2026 Q4 April