Background: The relationship between sleep and healthy aging is complex, involving changes in sleep patterns, architecture, and disturbances. Recognizing these changes is crucial for maintaining physical, cognitive, social, and psychological well-being in older adults. However, links between sleep parameters and aging outcomes remain unclear. Objective: This review synthesizes current knowledge on associations between sleep parameters (duration, continuity, architecture, quality) and healthy aging outcomes, including physical health, cognitive function, psychological well-being, and social engagement. Methods: Following the Arksey and O’Malley framework and Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines, this scoping review analyzed observational studies on healthy older adults. Sleep-related measures were examined without confounders from mental or physical illnesses. Results: Twenty studies were included. Across cohorts, older adults consistently exhibited advanced sleep phases (bedtime ≈39 minutes earlier, wake time ≈76 minutes earlier) and reduced total sleep time (by approximately 2.4 hours vs younger adults). Both short and long sleep durations were associated with poorer aging outcomes, supporting a U-shaped relationship between sleep length and healthy aging. Sleep efficiency decreased by 13% and wake after sleep onset increased fourfold with age, particularly among women. Age-related reductions in slow-wave and REM sleep were linked to lower cognitive performance and altered mood regulation. Moderate daytime napping (< 60 min/day) was generally associated with better sleep quality, whereas excessive napping correlated with reduced odds of “successful aging”. Discrepancies between subjective and objective sleep assessments emerged, indicating that older adults may underreport sleep disturbances. Conclusion: Gaps in understanding longitudinal sleep data, the mechanisms of sleep’s impact on aging, and napping’s role need further exploration. Future research could inform interventions for promoting healthy aging.

The experience and self-confidence of healthcare professionals play critical roles in reducing anxiety levels during emergencies. It is important to recognize the potential impact of anxiety on performance. To enhance preparedness and confidence in managing emergencies, healthcare professionals benefit from regular training and simulations. Additionally, repeated exposure to emergency scenarios can help modulate physiological responses. Managing anxiety effectively is key, as heightened sympathetic stimulation associated with anxiety can adversely affect performance. This study aimed to investigate nurses’ self-assessed ability to manage emergency guidelines and their self-confidence in performing tasks in critical care settings. A questionnaire was provided to 1097 nurses. We compared the self-confidence of experienced nurses (ENs) and newly licensed nurses (NLNs) in managing emergency department shifts or critical patients, and found that ENs are more confident in these scenarios. This phenomenon was also observed in subjects who had taken simulation courses, although they were still a low percentage. Most NLNs feel sufficiently ready to work in medium-intensity wards. Attending advanced training courses enhances nurses’ self-confidence and may improve patient safety management., improving patient recovery, and minimizing errors. Attending courses improves the perception of autonomy of nurses in different scenarios.

Background: Newly licensed physicians play a significant role in healthcare systems. However, they often lack knowledge about vaccine practices. This study aims to evaluate their ability to distinguish between fake news and the actual side effects of vaccines. Methods: We distributed a questionnaire to assess newly licensed physicians’ knowledge of side effects of vaccines and widespread fake news about them. We enrolled 317 newly licensed Italian physicians. Results: The average questionnaire score was 6.21/10 (SD = ±1.25). Work experience and age did not correlate with scores. Conclusions: Many participants were not able to distinguish between fake news and real vaccines’ side effects (e.g., the possible association between varicella vaccine and seizures). Furthermore, many physicians have been shown to believe in fake news. This lack of knowledge could lead to the inability to scientifically respond to anti-vaccinationists, thus increasing mistrust in medical counseling. Addressing knowledge gaps among recently licensed physicians is crucial to improving proper counseling and increasing public adherence to vaccination campaigns.

Insomnia affects up to 50% of hospitalized patients and is strongly associated with longer hospital stays and higher mortality rates, especially among vulnerable individuals. Despite its prevalence, it's often overlooked in clinical practice and research. Our systematic review analyzed and compared pharmacological interventions for insomnia in hospitalized patients. We searched five major databases for randomized controlled trials published before January 2024. A total of 29 trials (1913 patients, mean age 58.4 ± 9.66) were finally included. Different drug classes were evaluated, including benzodiazepines, Z-drugs, melatonin receptor agonists, antidepressants, antihistamines, alpha-2 adrenergic agonists, and dietary supplements. We conducted a network meta-analysis on drugs' efficacy across subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, total sleep duration, and nocturnal awakenings. Notably, only a minority of studies focused on fragile populations, such as geriatric and critically ill patients. Results are also discussed according to potential moderating factors (i.e., gender, age, admission setting). Our review provides a framework for the pharmacologic treatment of insomnia disorder in inpatients. Differences in study methodologies limit the generalizability of findings, highlighting the urgent need for standardized research to fill existing gaps. We therefore propose a concise protocol to guide the design of future studies on this clinically important topic.

Intermittent alpha rhythm, transient vertex sharp potentials, K-complexes, spindles, arousals, delta bursts, polyphasic bursts, sawtooth waves, muscle twitches, slow and rapid eye movements are distinct phasic events that occur throughout different sleep stages. During NREM sleep, arousal-related phasic events tend to aggregate into the ordered sequences of cyclic alternating pattern (CAP), which keeps the sleeping brain under control and provides a continuous balance between the programming centers (order) and the contingent psychological, organic and environmental factors (chaos). Due to its functional properties, CAP translates a condition of criticality and undergoes specific alterations in most sleep pathologies. The clinical applications of CAP are explored in sleep apnea syndrome, insomnia, narcolepsy, epilepsy, NREM and REM sleep parasomnias, as well as the involvement of CAP in cognitive processes and in critical care settings. During NREM sleep, the locus coeruleus (LC) exhibits infra-slow oscillatory activity with a periodicity that partially overlaps with that of CAP, suggesting a functional interaction between LC-driven noradrenergic rhythms and CAP dynamics. Through the structured collection of phasic events, CAP regulates sleep continuity, modulates responsiveness to internal and external stimuli and plays a coordinated activity in NREM sleep oscillations.