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LONDON (Reuters) - Kept awake at night by a snoring partner? The answer to your woes could lie -- believe it or not -- with the Australian didgeridoo. Researchers in Switzerland examined 25 patients who suffered from snoring and moderate obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, both common sleep disorders. Half the group were given daily lessons in playing the didgeridoo, a wind instrument about 1.5 meters (yards) long which originated in northern Australia and is traditionally made from the trunk of a tree hollowed out by termites. The study, published in the British Medical Journal's online edition on Friday, found that...

Rape crisis counselors and women's advocates are outraged Thursday after a man in Toronto, Canada was found not guilty of raping a woman because he was sleepwalking at the time, according to a Local 6 News report. Canadian lawyers said Jan Luedecke, 33, suffers from a rare condition called sexomnia. The genetic disorder combines sleepwalking with sexual acts and is often brought on by alcohol, according to the report. The two had met at a party in 2003 and she woke up on the couch to find Luedecke on top of her. He was charged with sexual assault after the...

Man gets three years probation in 'sexsomnia' case Thursday May 19, 2005 LOWELL, Mass. (AP) A Chelmsford man who was sentenced to three years of probation after pleading guilty to assaulting two young girls is being defended by the victims' mother, who claims the man has a sleep disorder. Richard Anderson, 34, suffers from ``sexsomnia,'' a sleep disorder in which a person engages in sexual activity while asleep, the woman said. He claimed in court that he was asleep when he touched the two girls and denied having any memory of the incidents. The woman told The Sun of Lowell...

Mysteries of Sleep: Can We Someday Trick a Drowsy Brain Into Staying Awake? By Malcolm Ritter The Associated Press Feb. 21, 2004 Frank Knower knew something was wrong when he kept having conversations with co-workers and later couldn't remember a thing that was said. He couldn't even remember what he'd said. Later, after he retired, he discovered another problem: He got irresistibly drowsy during long drives. None of the usual stay-awake tricks like turning up the radio or rolling down the window could keep him awake. He had to pull over for naps. These days, his wife handles a lot...

BETHESDA, Md., Sept 25 (Reuters) - A U.S. advisory panel on Thursday recommended approval of Cephalon Inc.'s (CEPH) drug Provigil to combat excessive sleepiness due to shift work or severe snoring that causes individuals to wake frequently. But the Food and Drug Administration advisers split 4-4 on whether Cephalon should be allowed to market Provigil more broadly for excessive sleepiness from other sleep disorders. The FDA usually follows the advice of its advisory panels. Provigil already is approved for treating narcolepsy, a rare condition that causes uncontrollable sleeping during waking hours. Trading in shares of West Chester, Pennsylvania-based Cephalon were...

A sleep disorder, in which sufferers unknowingly act out violent nightmares, could be aggravated by chocolate, scientists warn. Rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder, or RBD, affects around one in 200 people, mainly men. In RBD, sleepers also thrash about and shout as they dream. But scientists have reassured chocolate and cocoa lovers that there is no evidence linking chocolate to violent sleep patterns in the general population. There's no cause for panic or to stop eating good chocolate Vorona suggests that the caffeine in chocolate helps to block a natural process called atonia that paralyses people during dreams. That...