The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

  • Recent Posts

  • Recent Comments

    How much sleep do children need?

    There’s a common belief that children don’t get enough sleep.

    Researchers at the University of South Australia, in Adelaide, described historical trends in recommended and actual sleep durations for children and adolescents.

    First, the details.

    • 32 sets of recommendations were located dating from 1897 to 2009.

    And, the results.

    • There’s a lack of evidence supporting sleep recommendations.
    • On average, age-specific recommended sleep decreased at the rate of -0.71 minute per year.
    • This rate of decline was almost identical to the decline in the actual sleep duration of children (-0.73 minute per year).
    • Recommended sleep was consistently about 37 minutes greater than actual sleep, although both declined over time.

    The bottom line?

    How much sleep to children need?

    We don’t know for sure.

    The authors concluded, “Inadequate sleep was seen as a consequence of ‘modern life,’ associated with technologies of the time. No matter how much sleep children are getting, it has always been assumed that they need more.”

    2/13/12 20:31 JR

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