8 Embarrassing Sleep Secrets

What your body was up to while you were sleeping might make you blush.

If you're confiding in a friend about sleep problems, the conversation might turn to topics like not getting enough rest or tossing and turning at night. But what about things your body does during sleep - like drooling, snoring, bedwetting, or passing gas - that you might be embarrassed to talk about by the light of day?

For example, take Kindra Hall, vice president of sales at a network marketing firm in Phoenix. She admits that drooling excessively while sleeping is a major source of embarrassment, especially when she's been caught in the act. Soaked bed pillows and stained throw pillows are constant reminders of her humiliating habit.

"I'm very conscious about saliva control," Hall tells WebMD via email, "but as soon as my eyes are closed and I enter dreamland, all bets are off."

You might not even be aware of your sleeping habits -- until your bed partner clues you in. Sometimes, these behaviors are a part of the natural sleep process. Other times, what you might consider a nuisance -- like snoring -- could be a sign of an underlying sleep problem.

"It's important for people to realize what is a normal phenomenon versus something that needs further evaluation," says William Kohler, MD, medical director of Florida Sleep Institute in Spring Hill, Fla.

Here is the lowdown on your nighttime habits - why they happen and when they could be a sign of something more serious.

An estimated 37 million American adults snore on a regular basis, according to the National Sleep Foundation.

Snoring is caused by airway narrowing and tissue vibrations in the nasal passages and throat. Snoring can be associated with colds and allergies, but can also be a sign of a more serious problem, like obstructive sleep apnea.

"It's not really the loudness [that's concerning], it's whether the obstruction that's causing snoring is also causing respiratory impairment at night," Kohler says.

The verdict: Snoring is a common problem, but if you suspect that it's disrupting your sleep, you should get a medical evaluation.

Drooling in your sleep can be a normal phenomenon or it can occur in medical conditions that increase salivation, Kohler says. If you drool regularly, you may want to find out if you are at risk for a blocked airway at night or sleep apnea. The verdict: Drooling can be normal, but it can also be associated with other medical conditions.

TV, Internet Affect Kids' Weight and Sleep

American Academy of Pediatrics Warns of Media's Impact on Children's Health

June 27, 2011 -- Too much TV watching and Internet use may not just turn children into couch potatoes, it may also make them crave junk food and have trouble sleeping.

A new policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) warns that excessive media exposure poses a variety of threats to children's health and calls for parents and health care providers to take action.

"We've created a perfect storm for childhood obesity -- media, advertising, and inactivity," says researcher Victor Strasburger, MD, a member of the AAP council on communications and media, in a news release. "American society couldn't do a worse job at the moment of keeping children fit and healthy -- too much TV, too many food ads, not enough exercise, and not enough sleep."

"Thirty years ago, the federal government ruled that young children are psychologically defenseless against advertising. Now, kids see 5,000 to 10,000 food ads per year, most of them for junk food and fast food," says Strasburger.

Two new studies published along with the statement in Pediatrics also highlight the media's negative effect on children's sleep and eating habits.

The first study showed watching television commercials for fast food and sugary cereals increased children's desire to eat fatty and carbohydrate-rich food in general, not just the foods advertised.

Researchers say the findings contradict the food industry's assertion that advertising affects brand choices only. Instead, the study showed that watching TV commercials for junk food increased cravings for both branded and non-branded energy-dense and nutrient-poor foods.

The study also showed that the food preferences of children who watched more television were more affected by food commercials than those who watched less television.

Overall, the children correctly recognized more food commercials than toy commercials.

In the second study, researchers looked at the effect of the timing and content of media exposure on preschool children's sleep.

The results showed that children exposed to violent content during the day on television, video games, or on the computer were more likely to have sleep problems, such as nightmares, waking during the night, and daytime sleepiness.

In addition, evening media use of any type was associated with an increased risk of sleep problems. Researchers found each additional hour of daytime violent media content or evening media use was associated with an increase in the likelihood of sleep problems among children.

Researchers also found children who had a television in the bedroom watched more media and were more likely to have sleep problems. Children who had a bedroom TV averaged an additional 15 minutes of evening use each night and an extra 12 minutes of violent content viewed during the day.

Hammocks Help You Sleep

Study: Gentle Rocking Helps You Fall Asleep Faster, Get Deeper Sleep

June 21, 2011 -- The gentle rocking motion of a hammock helps people fall asleep faster and encourages a deeper state of sleep than sleeping on a stationary bed, a new study shows.

"It is a common belief that rocking induces sleep: We irresistibly fall asleep in a rocking chair and, since immemorial times, we cradle our babies to sleep," researcher Sophie Schwartz of the University of Geneva in Switzerland says in a news release.

"Yet, how this works had remained a mystery. The goal of our study was twofold: to test whether rocking does indeed soothe sleep, and to understand how this might work at the brain level," Schwartz says.

In the study, 12 healthy adults napped in a custom-made bed that could rock gently like a hammock or remain stationary. Each participant took one 45-minute afternoon nap while the bed was stationary and another nap while it was in motion.

During each nap, researchers monitored brain activity using an electroencephalogram (EEG).

Researchers found that not only did participants fall asleep faster in the hammock-like bed, but the gentle rocking motion also changed the nature of their sleep.

"We observed a faster transition to sleep in each and every subject in the swinging condition," researcher Michel Mühlethaler, also from the University of Geneva, says in the release. "Surprisingly, we also observed a dramatic boosting of certain types of sleep-related [brain wave] oscillations."

The results, published in Cell Biology, showed the rocking bed increased slow oscillations and bursts of activity in the brain known as sleep spindles, which are associated with deep sleep and memory consolidation.

Researchers also found the rocking motion increased the duration of stage N2 sleep, a type of non-rapid eye movement sleep that usually takes up about half of a good night’s sleep.

In addition, eight of the participants rated the rocking hammock-like bed as “more pleasant” than the stationary bed.

Researchers say the results suggest that rocking to soothe and induce sleep is an adaptive human behavior that has evolved over the years to encourage the natural oscillations that occur in the brain during sleep.

They say the next step is to find out whether harnessing the sleep-inducing power of the hammock may be used to treat sleep disorders, such as insomnia.