Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell for the third month in a row in August, as higher mortgage rates, rising prices and a dearth of properties on the market shut out many would-be homebuyers

(Reuters) -The number of victims of the MOVEit hack grew by several million on Thursday after the biggest U.S. pension

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Deion Sanders’ debut as Colorado coach was billed as a big deal of a closely watched offseason

'Morning Joe' hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough who tied the knot in 2018 had a low-key ceremony at the National Archives

Emma Tetewsky's rescue was initiated after hikers reported hearing a woman screaming for help in Borderland State Park

Hitting the snooze button on the alarm clock once in a while might actually support the brain’s process of waking from deep sleep, according to a new study. People sometimes want to go right back to sleep even after the alarm goes off in the morning, using the snooze button in clocks and cell phones. Decades of previous research suggested that hitting snooze can have negative effects, both on sleep and the brain’s ability to wake up, but until now there hasn’t been any direct evidence of this, say scientists. The new study, published in the Journal of Sleep Research, assessed how common snoozing is and what effects this behaviour has on sleep, sleepiness, mood, and the brain’s cognitive abilities. Researchers found that those who snooze on an average sleep slightly shorter and feel more drowsy in the morning compared to those who never snooze. But they also saw that there were no negative effects of snoozing on the release of the stress hormone cortisol, mood, or sleep quality throughout the night. In the study, 1732 individuals answered questions about their morning habits, including how often they hit the snooze button with many – especially young adults – reporting that they use the alarm feature regularly. The most common reason for snoozing, according to participants, is feeling too tired to get out of bed when the alarm goes off. In another small follow-up experiment, 31 regular snoozers spent two nights in a sleep lab in order to measure their sleep in more detail. On one of the mornings, they were allowed to snooze for 30 minutes, and on the other, they had to get up right when the alarm went off. While in the first case, participants’ sleep was disturbed during the half hour of snoozing, most of them still got more than 20 minutes of sleep – meaning that their total night’s sleep was not affected much. In the snooze condition, no one had to wake up suddenly from deep sleep, and the snoozers performed a bit better on cognitive tests right upon waking. There were also no clear effects of snoozing on mood, sleepiness, or the amount of cortisol in the saliva. The results hint that half an hour of snoozing may not have negative effects on night sleep and could have some positive effects like a decreased likelihood of waking from deep sleep. However, researchers caution that the second experiment was small and only included people who are regular snoozers who find it easy to go back to sleep after each alarm. They say snoozing is most likely not for everyone. Jennifer Kanaan from the University of Connecticut in the US, who is another sleep scientist unrelated to the study, said the latest findings should be interpreted with caution as it could send the wrong message to people. “If you’re coming in and out of sleep for 30 minutes, after the alarm goes off the first time, you’re costing yourself 30 minutes of uninterrupted, quality, restorative sleep,” Dr Kanaan said in a statement. Instead of trying to figure out how to manipulate our alarm clocks, she says people should make a consistent good night’s sleep a greater priority and be less reliant on snooze buttons. “Simply put, instead of hitting the snooze button they should get more sleep,” Dr Kanaan said. Read More Study reveals why millions of women wake up at 3.29am Consistent lack of sleep may increase risk of future depressive symptoms – study Breakthrough study allows scientists to communicate with people as they sleep How to support a child with a stammer ‘I lost nearly a stone on Ozempic, but now it’s run out what am I to do?’ Miriam Margolyes now has part of a cow’s heart as she opens up about health

Federal judge tosses defamation suit against billionaire Jerry Jones brought by Alexandra Davis, who claims to be his daughter

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This week’s new entertainment releases include an album from Ed Sheeran centered on his relationships, a spinoff of “The Bachelor” starring a 72-year-old widower and Wes Anderson returns for a second time this year with “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” starring Benedict Cumberbatch

Former prime minister David Cameron has returned to government as Foreign Secretary and will be made a peer, No 10 said. In a lengthy statement Cameron wrote: "The Prime Minister has asked me to serve as his Foreign Secretary and I have gladly accepted. We are facing a daunting set of international challenges, including the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East. At this time of profound global change, it has rarely been more important for this country to stand by our allies, strengthen our partnerships and make sure our voice is heard. He added: "While I have been out of front-line politics for the last seven years, I hope that my experience – as Conservative Leader for eleven years and Prime Minister for six – will assist me in helping the Prime Minister to meet these vital challenges. Britain is a truly international country. Our people live all over the world and our businesses trade in every corner of the globe. Working to help ensure stability and security on the global stage is both essential and squarely in our national interest. International security is vital for our domestic security." Rishi Sunak’s reshuffle means that for the first time since 2010 the top four positions in government – Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary – are all held by men: Mr Sunak, Jeremy Hunt, James Cleverly and David Cameron respectively. The last occasion was at the end of Gordon Brown’s Labour government, when these roles were held by Mr Brown, Alistair Darling, Alan Johnson and David Miliband respectively. Labour’s national campaign co-ordinator Pat McFadden said: “A few weeks ago Rishi Sunak said David Cameron was part of a failed status quo, now he’s bringing him back as his life raft. “This puts to bed the Prime Minister’s laughable claim to offer change from 13 years of Tory failure.” Amid Cameron's shock return to government memes about the former PM have predictably gone viral. What year is it again? Additional reporting by PA. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

By Steve Holland WASHINGTON U.S. President Joe Biden turns 81 on Monday, a milestone likely to draw attention