Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was a global pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is still a serious public health problem. COVID-19 causes various symptoms not only in the respiratory system but also in various parts of the body and has a significant effect on sleep. Insomnia and poor sleep quality were observed at high rates in patients with COVID-19 as well as in the uninfected general population. Obstructive sleep apnea is also considered a risk factor in patients with severe COVID-19. Virus-induced central nervous system damage is likely to be the cause of many sleep disorders in COVID-19, but psychosocial influences also seem to have played a significant role. Sleep problems persisted at high rates for a considerable period after the infection phase was over. More attention and research on the effect of COVID-19 on sleep is needed in the future

Restless Legs Syndrome/Willis-Ekbom Disease (RLS/WED) is a sleep disorder characterized by sensorimotor symptoms such as unpleasant sensations before sleep, akathisia, and periodic limb movements during sleep. It is also closely related to hyperarousal and is often accompanied by insomnia. Although the mechanism is not clear, the understanding of etiology and pathophysiology has greatly expanded through recent advances in genetic and neurobiological research. The most important pathophysiology of RLS/WED is brain iron deficiency. Such iron deficiency in the brain is caused by complex interactions between several genetic factors and various environmental factors, including comorbidities. Iron deficiency in the brain results in dysfunction of several neurotransmitters. A decrease in adenosine activity appears first, followed by an increase in the activity of glutamate and dopamine. A decrease in adenosine activity and an increase in glutamate activity stimulate the brain arousal system, resulting in hyperarousal. In addition, overproduction of dopamine and glutamate leads to dysfunction of the cortical-striatal-thalamic circuit, resulting in symptoms such as akathisia and periodic limb movements during sleep.

Napping is a natural and universal phenomenon. There are some differences depending on the age, but they are common throughout life. As research on naps in sleep medicine has recently increased, negative perceptions about naps are gradually decreasing with development of new and positive perspectives. First, naps relieve fatigue and sleepiness and increase arousal, improving cognitive abilities. Even in the process of memory consolidation, which allows retention of learned memory content, a period of short daytime sleep shows the same results as nocturnal sleep. In addition, evidence of the contribution of sleep to emotional regulation is increasing. The role of the nap has been extended recently to areas associated with immunity and pain. However, naps can disturb sleep at night. There are also concerns that habitual naps in old age are linked to cardiovascular risk and increased mortality. Various aspects and values of naps are being gradually unveiled. However, compared to that of night sleep, research on naps is insufficient, and more research on naps is required.

Napping is a natural and universal phenomenon. There are some differences depending on the age, but they are common throughout life. As research on naps in sleep medicine has recently increased, negative perceptions about naps are gradually decreasing with development of new and positive perspectives. First, naps relieve fatigue and sleepiness and increase arousal, improving cognitive abilities. Even in the process of memory consolidation, which allows retention of learned memory content, a period of short daytime sleep shows the same results as nocturnal sleep. In addition, evidence of the contribution of sleep to emotional regulation is increasing. The role of the nap has been extended recently to areas associated with immunity and pain. However, naps can disturb sleep at night. There are also concerns that habitual naps in old age are linked to cardiovascular risk and increased mortality. Various aspects and values of naps are being gradually unveiled. However, compared to that of night sleep, research on naps is insufficient, and more research on naps is required.

A lucid dream is defined as a dream during which a dreamer is aware that she/he is dreaming. The existence of lucid dream has long been known in the literature, but it hasn't been long before it has received attention in sleep medicine. Although many studies have been conducted since validation of the lucid dream in polysomnography by Steven LaBerge in the 1980s, the neuroscience of lucid dreams is still not fully understood. Here the neuroscientific literature on lucid dreaming, including electroencephalographic, neuroimaging, pharmacological and brain stimulation studies, are reviewed. Also this review gives an overview on how lucid dreams are used in clinical and nonclinical areas, ranging from nightmare therapy to research on consciousness and creative problem solving.

Targeted memory reactivation (TMR) is a method whereby cues associated with previous learning are used to externally reactivate aspects of this learning. Research findings demonstrate that TMR can be a useful tool to enhance memory consolidation during sleep in both animals and humans, especially in the declarative/spatial domain. Neurocognitive processing during sleep with covert cueing via auditory or olfactory stimulation can benefit memory storage. These beneficial effects on memory consolidation during sleep are associated with the activation of memory-related brain areas. The purpose of the present review is to provide a short overview of the findings of studies that adopted the TMR method of sleep-dependent memory consolidation and to suggest the potential applications of TMR in variable areas.
Animals ; Brain ; Cues ; Humans ; Learning ; Memory Consolidation* ; Memory* ; Methods

The cyclic alternating pattern (CAP) is a periodic EEG activity in NREM sleep, characterized by sequences of transient electrocortical events that are distinct from background EEG activities. A CAP cycle consists of two periodic EEG features, phase A and subsequent phase B whose durations are 2-60 s. At least two consecutive CAP cycles are required to define a CAP sequence. The CAP phase A is a phasic EEG event, such as delta bursts, vertex sharp transients, K-complex sequences, polyphasic bursts, K-alpha, intermittent alpha, and arousals. Phase B is repetitive periods of background EEG activity. The absence of CAP more than 60 seconds or an isolated phase A is classified as non-CAP. Phase A activities can be classified into three subtypes (A1, A2, and A3), based on the amounts of high-voltage slow waves (EEG synchrony) and low-amplitude fast rhythms (EEG desynchrony). CAP rate, the percentage of CAP durations in NREM sleep is considered to be a physiologic marker of the NREM sleep instability. In insomnia, the frequent discrepancy between self-reports and polysomnographic findings could be attributed to subtle abnormalities in the sleep tracing, which are overlooked by the conventional scoring methods. The conventional scoring scheme has superiority in analysis of macrostructure of sleep but shows limited power in finding arousals and transient EEG events that are major component of microstructure of sleep. But, it has recently been found that a significant correlation exists between CAP rate and the subjective estimates of the sleep quality in insomniacs and sleep-improving treatments often reduce the amount of CAP. Thus, the extension of conventional sleep measures with the new CAP variables, which appear to be the more sensitive to sleep disturbance, may improve our knowledge on the diagnosis and management of insomnia.
Arousal ; Electroencephalography ; Research Design ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders

Obstructive sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder that predominantly affects adult men than women. However, the prevalence in women increases with menopause dramatically. Menopause has long been described as a risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea. Recent large well-designed population studies support that menopause increases the risk for sleep-disordered breathing. The mechanism of that hypothesis is not yet clear. But, the decline in progesterone has been thought to influence the development of obstructive sleep apnea because progesterone is a respiratory stimulant and plays a protective role against sleep apnea. Increased visceral obesity and hypertension as major symptoms of metabolic syndrome are also associated with menopause and place women at increased risk for obstructive sleep apnea and other serious health problem. Hormone replacement therapy has been associated with a lower prevalence of sleep apnea. But, relative risk and benefits of hormone replacement therapy compared with other treatment options will require thorough consideration for each individual woman. Finally, attention should be drawn to the need for obstructive sleep apnea evaluation in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women.
Adult ; Female ; Hormone Replacement Therapy ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Hypogonadism ; Male ; Menopause ; Mitochondrial Diseases ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Ophthalmoplegia ; Prevalence ; Progesterone ; Risk Factors ; Sleep Apnea Syndromes ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive

Periodic leg movements during sleep (PLMS) are best described as repetitive stereotypical movements of the lower extremities characterized by dorsiflexion of the ankle, dorsiflexion of the toes and a partial flexion of the knee and sometimes the hip. The prevalence of PLMS is about 5-11% in adults and is predicted much higher than previously surveyed. They are also frequently found in various sleep disorders, several disorders not primarily affecting sleep, and patients taking psychiatric medications. Although they are rarely found in children, they are common findings in children referred to a pediatric sleep laboratory. The pathophysiology is strongly associated with decline of central dopaminergic function and closely related to arousal system during sleep. Benzodiazepines, levodopa, dopamine agonists and opioids are generally recommended for treatment but more controlled studies on the effectiveness are needed.
Adult ; Analgesics, Opioid ; Animals ; Ankle ; Arousal ; Benzodiazepines ; Child ; Dopamine Agonists ; Extremities ; Hip ; Humans ; Knee ; Leg ; Levodopa ; Lower Extremity ; Prevalence ; Sleep Wake Disorders ; Toes

Study in the field of sleep and memory has greatly expanded recently and the number of publications supporting the association between sleep and memory consolidation is rapidly growing. This study presents evidence related to sleep-dependent memory consolidation, ranging from behavioral task-performing studies to molecular studies, and several arguments against the association. Basic researches show that many genes are upwardly regulated during sleep and patterns of brain activation seen during daytime task training are repeated during subsequent REM sleep. Several electrophysiological studies demonstrate the correlation between spindle density increase following training and subsequent improvement in performing the training task. Overnight improvement or deterioration in task performance correlates with REM or SWS sleep. In the end, a lot of issues remain to be studied and discussed further in the future in spite of supporting evidence now available.
Brain ; Memory* ; Sleep, REM ; Task Performance and Analysis