Fall bustles with the start of school and the continual grind at work. It's easy to skimp on your rest. We’ve got five reasons for you to make sleep a priority, and five health issues that could be ruining your rest.

1. Plenty of R&R (rest and relaxation) can boost your mood, focus and energy. Conversely, people with poor sleep habits experience higher levels of stress, depression and anxiety.

2. Want your kids to get A’s and B’s? Make sure they catch their Z’s. Well-rested equals alert in the classroom, and a regular sleep routine may boost math and literacy scores. Some schools are even starting later in an effort to help kids improve learning.

3. Reap the benefits of beauty sleep. When the body is sleep-deprived it produces more of the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol can cause weight gain and oily skin.

4. Getting your eight hours in could cut your risk for chest pain, heart attack and stroke. A recent study by West Virginia University indicates that people who sleep five hours daily are more than twice as likely to experience these problems.

5. Rest is a responsibility, and apparently so is justice. In a study that appears in SLEEP, Swedish naval officers were more likely to act morally and make moral judgments when fully rested.

Maybe you want to get your shut-eye but can’t quite get your eyes to shut? Sleeplessness plagues 60 million Americans. These are just a few health problems that could be keeping you up at night:

1. Your thyroid helps regulate your sleep patterns. An overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) can cause difficulty sleeping, fatigue and irritability.

2. Believe it or not, menstruation can affect your sleep patterns. Two in three women experience menstrual insomnia—disturbed sleep due to tossing and turning and general menstrual discomfort.

3. Maybe you do sleep, but continue to experience tiredness regardless of how much sleep you get? If you snore, have a dry throat on waking or regularly become irritable, you may want to talk to your doctor. This could be a symptom of sleep apnea.

4. Your sweetie slumbers soundly while you lay awake at night, so you decide to wake him up. Sound familiar? Ladies, you may have a case of sleep envy. You’re not alone, either. Up to 40 percent of women envy the ease with which their darlings doze. Jealous much?

5. Some people toss and turn through the night before finding sleep. If this is caused by painful or irritating tingling or tugging in your lower limbs, you may have a condition known as restless leg syndrome (RLS).

Want to keep up with the latest sleep science? Visit the National Sleep Foundation site or check out the journal SLEEP.

Losing a baby, new research shows, often affects women significantly longer than their male companions.

It is well known that mothers begin to develop a bond with their children before they’re even born. Miscarriage can leave a woman devastated. Research has shown that this proves true for men as well, especially in cases of planned pregnancy.

Several researchers from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology recruited 83 heterosexual couples who’d experienced a miscarriage. Researchers followed these couples for a year, assessing the psychological and emotional effects of miscarriage on men versus women.

As many as two in five men experienced significant psychological distress immediately following a miscarriage, compared to just over half of women. This dropped after three months, when about 7 percent of men and 20 percent of women continued to experience grief and depressive symptoms.

Men’s grief leveled after the three-month mark, while women’s symptoms declined more slowly. By the end of the study, men and women experienced similar rates of depressive symptoms, at 5 and 8 percent, respectively.

“Although the psychological impact of miscarriage on men was less enduring when compared with that on women, a significant proportion of men demonstrated psychological distress after miscarriage,” authors of the study concluded.

Creating a solid support network can help couples cope with the pain of a lost pregnancy. Find support in Healia’s Pregnancy Loss Community, or see the study in the British Journal of Obstetrics&Gynecology.

Ladies, stand up for yourselves in the doctor's office. Millions of people are misdiagnosed each year, and many of these cases are women. Women who are less likely to speak up may put themselves at risk in an already overwhelmed clinic.

If there’s a bug going around the office and you wake up with some of the same symptoms, you’ll likely assume you’ve got it, too. Most doctors think the same way. If he or she sees three people with colds in one day, it would be an easy guess that the next person with a stuffy nose and fever has the same thing.

The problem is that a lot of conditions share symptoms, and it can be misleading if not all the symptoms show up. This makes it easy to make a misdiagnosis—as many as one in five diagnoses are incorrect or go undiagnosed.

For women, the most commonly misdiagnosed conditions include ovarian cancer, autoimmune disease and hormonal imbalances. Heart disease, for example, is more common in men. When women experience the same symptoms, especially young women, a doctor may consider stress to be the cause instead.

The best way to avoid a misdiagnosis is to share all of your symptoms. Seeing the same doctor doesn’t hurt, either. When you and your doctor know your history and get the full story, it’s harder to miss the little details that make a big difference. Finally, don’t be afraid to do some research before your appointment and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

If you don’t stand up for your health, no one will. Get the full scoop from MSNBC.

Magnets may be a treatment option for people with depression who don't respond to antidepressants. In a small study by the Medical University of South Carolina, 14 percent of individuals who underwent magnetic therapy reported no symptoms of depression.

Dr. Mark George and colleagues from the Medical University of South Carolina recruited 190 adults to participate in the study. Participants had been depressed anywhere from 3 months to 5 years, and all had been unresponsive to treatment with antidepressants.

Half of the participants received a simulated placebo treatment, while the other half were treated using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a form of magnetic therapy in which electric pulses are used to stimulate the brain. TMS is currently being used treat depression, as well as chronic pain, migraines and Parkinson’s disease.

After three weeks, 13 of the 92 patients (14 percent) who underwent TMS treatment reported no depressive symptoms, compared to 5 percent of people in the simulation.

"This study should help settle the debate about whether rTMS works for depression," said George, who led the research team. "We can now follow up clues suggesting ways to improve its effectiveness, and hopefully further develop a potential new class of stimulation treatments for other brain disorders."

Remission more than doubled in another similar study in which all participants underwent TMS. Although these results may seem meager, this could spell relief for many of the 17.5 million Americans who suffer from depression. Further studies will provide more concrete information on the long-term effects of TMS.

“We have settled a fundamental question about (TMS) therapy, which is: ‘Does it work?’” George told Health Day. “The answer,” he said, “ is ‘yes’.”

Learn more about the results of this study from the National Institute of Health, or visit the Archives of General Psychiatry to view the study’s abstract.

Women have long been claiming chocolate as a comfort food, but research shows that chocolate is something that both men and women reach for. According to a new study, people of both genders with mild or major depression eat more chocolate. Researchers believe depression could trigger this craving.

Researchers from the University of California monitored the diets of 931 men and women, focusing on chocolate consumption. None of the participants were taking antidepressants, and they had their moods assessed routinely.

Those with depression consumed 8.4 servings of chocolate (1 ounce is one serving) per month, while those with major depression ate an average of 11.4 servings per month. Their counterparts who showed no signs of depression ate an average of 5.4 servings per month.

Chocolate sends signals to the brain to release serotonin and endorphins, two “feel happy” opioids. Endorphins are responsible for that satisfied buzz you get after exercise, while serotonin is believed to produce feelings of love and happiness.

This study is the first to examine the chocolate-mood link for both men and women, and, based off their findings, Doctors Natalie Rose (U.C., Davis) and Beatrice Golomb (U.C., San Diego) believe there may be a direct link between depression and chocolate cravings.

"The findings did not appear to be explained by a general increase in caffeine, fat, carbohydrate or energy intake, suggesting that our findings are specific to chocolate," Golomb said in a press release. “Our study confirms long-held suspicions that eating chocolate is something that people (including men) do when they are feeling down."

One speculation is that when a person is down in the dumps, he or she will reach for this “comfort food” to boost his/her mood. Another possibility, however, is that eating chocolate (which is often high in fat and sugar) causes a person’s moods to spike for a short period of time only to crash later.

"Because it was a cross sectional study, meaning a slice in time,” Golomb explained, “it did not tell us whether the chocolate decreased or intensified the depression."

The research team plans to conduct further research investigating the effects of chocolate on mood to gain more insight into this relationship. “Whether there is a causal connection, and if so in which direction, is a matter for future prospective study,” they concluded in their report.

­Read the study’s abstract at the Archives of Internal Medicine, or check out the University of California’s press release for more information.

Some folks around the globe are starting the night off with a bang—literally. People with a rare sleep disorder known as “exploding head syndrome” go to sleep at night only to be awakened a few hours later by a loud crash.

Exploding head syndrome is more common in women than men, and people with the disorder are usually in their 50s or older. Once a person has had an incident, sometimes called an auditory sleep start, he or she may not experience one again for long periods of time, if at all.

What’s unusual about the disturbance is it’s only heard inside the mind. It has been compared to thunder or an explosion that lasts just moments before the person wakes up. Episode-induced anxiety sometimes causes heavy breathing, rapid heartbeat and cold sweats.

Exploding head syndrome doesn’t cause swelling or damage, but on occasion the episode may be described as a headache. In some instances, people with the disorder may also see flashes of light. This is called a visual sleep start.

According to the American Sleep Association (ASA), the disorder has been linked with stress and fatigue. Episodes often come in clusters and are relatively erratic.

The ASA does caution people who think they might have the disorder to speak with their doctors. Similar experiences may be the result of medication or other conditions. Distress over episodes also could lead to insomnia.

Although the exact cause isn’t known, the ASA says that a regular sleep routine and calming activities before bed may help prevent incidents.

Lauren Johnson has been sneezing a lot lately. Up to 12 times a minute, every day, almost all day, for a month. Lauren, 12, has been diagnosed with PANDAS, a disorder linked with strep.

PANDAS, Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcus, is a rare new syndrome causing controversy in the medical world.

“In this condition, what typically happens is, following a strep infection like strep pharyngitis, the child will develop a sudden onset of either tics or OCD-type behavior,” pediatric neurologist Dr. Rosario Trifiletti said in an interview with MSNBC. “In many patients, they have a tendency towards tics, and the strep infection can make it a lot worse.”

PANDAS usually develops sometime between age three and puberty. Symptoms include OCD or tic disorders, episodic severity, hyperactivity/adventitious movements, and association with streptococcal infections. Episodes are associated with separation anxiety, mood changes, bed-wetting and disturbed sleep.

If a child has a strep infection with episodes on three different occasions, this may be a sign he or she has the disorder. There are currently no lab tests that can confirm the disorder, and there is currently no know cure for PANDAS.

Still, Lauren’s mother, Lynn, has found some relief in knowing why her daughter can’t seem to stop sneezing:

“It’s bittersweet,” she says. “We have a direction to go towards, but there’s not a lot of answers. There needs to be more research done, more funding for research, more answers so we can treat her effectively.”

Lauren is being treated with antibiotics and steroids for the disorder. Luckily, Lauren says she’s getting used to the sneezing.

Good health, family, friends—there’s plenty to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Super savings can now be added to the list. People who enjoy a nice Thanksgiving meal are less likely to impulse buy, according to a study found in the Journal of Marketing Research.

The secret ingredient behind this information is tryptophan. Tryptophan is an amino acid that helps the body create and use serotonin. Serotonin is the body’s natural “feel good” drug. Serotonin helps regulate sleep and boost moods, but it’s also been known to have an effect on impulsive behavior.

For the study, researchers surveyed participants after Thanksgiving dinner. They asked participants to rank how likely they were to make certain purchases. Those who ate a traditional Thanksgiving meal were much less likely to impulse buy than individuals who ate pasta or burritos.

In a similar study, researchers examined how impulsive spending differed between vice products (such as ice cream) and virtue products (frozen yogurt). They categorized 170 college students as either impulsive or cautious spenders.

Regardless of how likely students were to impulse buy, the amount spent on virtue products was unaffected. Students who were prone to impulse buying spent more on vice products, while their counterparts were more likely to save money.

According to another report, roughly 62 percent of supermarket and 80 percent of luxury-good purchases by Americans are made on impulse. With stores dishing out some of their biggest bargains, the temptation to spend is likely to be high, and cutting impulsive spending could save some serious cash. The effects of tryptophan only last for about four hours, so you may want to grab a turkey sub before hitting the stores this Friday.

Read the source article by the Scientific American.

Stressing about losing your job may cause more harm than actual job loss. More than 1,700 participants in the American’s Changing Lives (ACL) and the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) studies were asked: How likely is it that during the next couple of years you will involuntarily lose your job? Researchers from the University of Michigan and the University of California wanted to find the effects of job insecurity on employee health.

"It may seem surprising that chronically high job-insecurity is more strongly linked with health declines than actual job loss or unemployment," says Sarah Burgard, lead author of the study and research assistant professor in the University of Michigan’s Department of Sociology and School of Public Health, "but there are a number of reasons why this is the case.”

More teens are calling for help with ADHD prescription drug abuse, according to information obtained from the American Association of Poison Control Center. Calls to the center from 13-19 year-old victims regarding prescription ADHD medication abuse rose 76% between 1998 and 2005.

These types of calls rose more quickly than those for general substance abuse by teens (up 55%). ADHD medication prescriptions were up 80% over the same time period, a figure researchers suspect is no coincidence. Girls called more frequently than boys, representing 40% of all victims, but boys suffered more severe effects than girls, who accounted for just over 19% of major effects or death.

Researchers can only speculate why the imbalance is so drastic: “We don’t know for sure whether the increased calls for help are the result of simply more abuse or the escalating severity of consequences,” explains G. Randall Bond, MD, director of the Poison and Information Center at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

“The findings suggest that more teens are abusing and misusing stimulant ADHD medications because they have access to those medications, not because a higher percentage of those treated have turned to abusing their medication,” explains lead author Jennifer Setlik, MD, also of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

Attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood disorder that can continue through adulthood. Individuals with ADHD may be extremely talkative or fidgety, and often have difficulties with impulsiveness, patience, following instructions, hyperactivity, attentiveness, and behavioral control.

Most of the medications used to treat ADHD are amphetamines, stimulants intended to boost concentration; drugs such as Adderall, Dexedrine, or Ritalin are typically prescribed. Teens abuse these stimulants to increase focus, to reduce pain and anxiety, or to get high without knowing the side effects.

Side effects may include insomnia or tiredness, cottonmouth, dizziness, and headaches. In more extreme cases, however, they may cause vomiting, seizure, or psychiatric problems, including hallucinations. Strattera, a non-stimulant antomoxetine, can cause users to have an increased likelihood of suicidal thoughts.

"Clearly," says Setlik, "we are seeing a rising problem with the abuse of these medications." As the drug abuse problem progresses, education continues to be stressed as a means of prevention.

Click here for more information on how to talk to your child about drug abuse.