"Sleeping problems can exacerbate the problems migraine causes on a child's health and may hinder a child's performance at school," study author Dr. Martina Vendrame of Temple University in Philadelphia, said in a prepared statement. "Parents and doctors need to be aware of the strong likelihood of sleep disorders in children with migraine and seek appropriate preventions and treatments."

The study, expected to be presented Thursday at the American Academy of Neurology annual meeting in Chicago, looked at 90 children with headache and sleep problems. Of these children, 60 had migraine, 11 had chronic daily headache, six had tension headache and 13 had non-specific headache. They were studied using a polysomnogram, a sleep test that monitors the brain, eye movements, muscle activity, heart rhythm and breathing.

The children with migraines were almost twice as likely as the others to have sleep apnea, a condition in which the upper airway gets obstructed and causes repeated arousals from sleep. Such sleep-disordered breathing was found in 56 percent of children with migraine versus 30 percent of children with non-migraine headache.

Severe migraine was also associated with shorter total sleep time, longer total time to fall asleep, and shorter REM sleep, which is the stage of sleep in which most dreams can be recalled.

Sleep-disordered breathing was also frequent in the studied children with non-specific headache and those who were overweight.

Half of children with tension headache grind their teeth at night compared to 2.4 percent of children with non-tension headache, the study found.

More information

The National Headache Foundation has more about migraines.

A long-term study of almost 600 young adults found that those with annual one-month periods of insomnia found the incidents of sleeplessness gradually increased over two decades, especially among women. In 40 percent of subjects, insomnia developed into more chronic forms over time, according to findings published in the April 1 issue of Sleep.

Insomnia lasting two weeks or longer predicted major depressive episodes and disorders, according to the report. Seventeen percent to 50 percent of subjects with insomnia lasting two weeks or longer later developed a major depressive episode.

"The results show that insomnia seems to be followed by depression more consistently than the other way around. In addition, we found that insomnia tended to be a chronic problem that gets more persistent over time, whereas depression was a more intermittent problem," study author Dr. Daniel J. Buysse, of the University of Pittsburgh, said in a prepared statement.

The study, conducted by Dr. Jules Angst, of Zurich University Psychiatric Hospital in Switzerland, focused on 591 young adults, whose psychiatric, physical and sleep symptoms were assessed with six interviews spanning 20 years.

"We used to think that insomnia was most often just a symptom of depression. However, a growing body of evidence suggests that insomnia is not just a symptom of depression, but that it may actually precede depression. In other words, people who have insomnia but no depression are at increased risk for later developing depression," Buysee said.

Insomnia, the most common of all sleep disorders, is when a person has trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or waking up too early. About 30 percent of adults have symptoms of insomnia.

Insomnia is more common among elderly people. According to a separate Sleep study from University of Rochester researchers in New York, elderly patients being treated for depression were almost two to four times more likely to remain depressed if they had persistent insomnia, compared with patients with no insomnia. Elderly patients receiving standard care for their depression fared worse than those receiving more enhanced care.

More information

The National Sleep Foundation has more about how to get a good night's sleep.

Parents need to include preparations for possible health troubles in their holiday planning, says Dr. Stephen Park, an assistant professor of pediatrics and communicable diseases at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital.

"We, as parents, pay a lot of attention to things like packing toys and packing clothes, but sometimes we don't pay as much attention to preparing for potential or anticipated health issues," Park said in a prepared statement.

He offered a number of health-related travel tips.

First, create a travel health kit that includes medicines that are regularly taken by members of the family, as well as medicines for sudden ailments, such as congestion or a rash. He recommended packing a fever reducer, an antihistamine, bandages and a topical antibiotic ointment, but advised against including an anti-diarrhea medicine for traveler's diarrhea. It's better to consult with your doctor to learn about antibiotics that treat bacterial infections that can cause diarrhea.

Parents also should consider specific features of the family's vacation, such as the destination's climate. For example, bring plenty of sunscreen for sunny locales, as well as aloe vera to relieve sunburn pain. If you plan to spend a lot of time outdoors, bring insect repellent, mosquito netting and poison ivy treatments.

Think about potential issues related to your mode of transportation. For example, air travel can cause ear pain. Feeding a small child during take-off and landing to generate a suck-and-swallow motion can help ease ear pain, while older children can get relief by chewing gum or blowing bubbles. If a child is prone to motion sickness, don't sit in the middle of the plane over the wings.

If you're traveling by car, you can help prevent motion sickness by discouraging your children from reading in the car or looking down. If they start to feel ill, they should focus their eyes on a point in front of them, Park said.

When booking accommodations, parents should research the location of the closest urgent care center, night-time care center and emergency room. Be sure to bring the phone number of your doctor, so you can call to get answers to medical questions.

Park also noted that traveling throws off normal routines, which can cause children to become grumpy and difficult.

"One of the biggest concerns of parents when they are traveling with children is not so much about health but about behavior. Parents need to relax as much as possible and plan ahead. Anticipate that children may be a little off while traveling, so be patient with routines," Park said.

More information

The Nemours Foundation has more about staying healthy while your travel.

They added that the switch offers a target for the development of new drugs to treat sleep disorders and related problems.

The study found that a single amino acid triggers the genes that regulate circadian rhythms. Because of the complex genes involved, the researchers said they were surprised to find that a single amino acid switched on the body clock mechanism.

A modification in a single amino acid in the BMAL1 protein activates the genetic processes involved with circadian rhythms, the researchers found. If this amino acid modification goes awry, the genetic switching mechanism can malfunction, resulting in circadian rhythm-related disorders.

"Because the triggering action is so specific, it appears to be a perfect target for compounds that could regulate this activity. It is always amazing to see how molecular control is so precise in biology," study author Paolo Sassone-Corsi, Distinguished Professor and Chair of Pharmacology, said in a prepared statement.

Sassone-Corsi is currently testing antibodies that can target the activity of this amino acid in the BMAL1 protein.

The study is published in the Dec. 13 issue of Nature.

More information

The Medical College of Wisconsin has more about circadian rhythms.

THURSDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Sleepless nights can leave their mark on teens' report cards, a new study finds.

Researchers from the University of Colorado School of Medicine analyzed 238 surveys filled out by middle-school and high-school students. The findings showed that students with lower grade point averages (GPA) were more likely to have: restless, aching legs when they were trying to fall asleep; difficulty concentrating during the day; snoring every night; difficulty waking up in the morning; daytime sleepiness; and problems with falling asleep in class.

The study was published in the Feb. 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

"While a series of previously-conducted studies all found that adolescents reporting inadequate sleep, irregular sleep patterns, and/or poor sleep quality do not perform as well in school as students without sleep complaints, this study provides additional evidence indicating that sleep disturbances occur at high frequencies in adolescents and significantly affect daytime performance, as measured by GPA," study author Dr. James F. Pagel said in a prepared statement.

He said it's important for parents to discuss their teen's sleep-related problems with a doctor.

Here are some sleep tips for teens, courtesy of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine:

• Get a full night's sleep on a regular basis. Don't stay up late doing homework or studying for an exam.
• If you're not asleep within 20 minutes after going to bed, get up and do something relaxing, such as reading a book or listening to music, until you're tired enough to go back to bed.
• Get up at the same time every morning.
• Try not to take naps after school. If you feel you have to, don't nap for more than an hour.
• Keep a regular schedule.
• Don't read, write, eat, watch TV, talk on the phone, or play cards in bed.
• Don't have any caffeine after lunch.
• Your bedroom should be quite, dark and a bit cool.
• Don't go to bed hungry, but don't eat a big meal just before bedtime.
• Don't do any vigorous exercise within six hours of your bedtime.

More information

The National Sleep Foundation has more about teens and sleep.