All Blog Posts from Couric & Co.

Have you ever wanted to nod off during a long day at work?

Sleep experts say catching a few zzzz's can help us stay focused and be more productive.
So, several airlines and their unions are pressing the FAA to let pilots do it - in the cockpit.

Now, we're not talking about leaving the plane on auto pilot with no one at the controls. Longer flights have two or even three pilots on board.

So, someone would still be in charge if the captain took a power nap. That's common practice on some foreign airlines, including British Airways and Qantas.

Some U-S pilots admit they secretly do it too, but so far it doesn't fly with the FAA.

Airlines are making pilots work harder than ever and argue letting them rest mid-flight could make them more alert while landing.

The whole idea may seem a little alarming at first. But if pilots are able to get a little shut eye in the sky, maybe the rest of us would sleep a little better too.

That's a page from my notebook.
I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.

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If you're a parent who feels like your teen has morphed into Rip Van Winkle or Sleeping Beauty - always sawing wood - listen up. All that sleep time could be good for them.

A new study from Columbia University and the National Institutes of Health says that kids who get more sleep are less likely to suffer from depression.

As tough as it may be to convince them to step away from their Facebook pages and iPods late at night, it's well worth the effort. Teens whose parents allow them to stay up past midnight are 42 percent more likely to feel depressed and 30 percent more likely to have suicidal thoughts.

A reasonable bedtime isn't just for tots and tweens, it's good for the older kids, as well. Even though with the amount of homework they're getting these days, it may be like dreaming the impossible dream.

So, Mr. Van Winkle and Miss Beauty, lights out. You need your rest - and that's no fairy tale.

That's a page from my notebook.

Kelly Wallace is a CBS News Correspondent based in New York.

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When I was assigned a story on sleepy women, I thought, “Aha, here’s a story I know a ton about.” As a new mom with an 11-month-old, my sleep – or lack thereof – is a big topic of conversation. “How was the night?,” my husband will often ask, which means how many times did our little one wake up overnight.

So, I expected new moms or mothers-to-be to face the biggest sleep problems. After all, just think of those scenes involving new mom Miranda on “Sex and the City.” “Oh, no sleep again,” Carrie asks. “Actually, it was a good night,” says Miranda. “I got a whole hour.”

But according to a new poll by the National Sleep Foundation, while new moms and pregnant women are suffering, they are not suffering the most. Yes, more pregnant and post partum women experience insomnia a few nights each week than other age groups but when it comes to sleep disorders, such as snoring, restless leg syndrome and sleep apnea, a condition characterized by difficulty breathing, post-menopausal women are having the hardest time. 50% of post-menopausal women, more than any other women’s age group, said they experienced a sleep disorder, according to the poll. Six out of ten women in this group said they battled insomnia.

Women like Pat Wands, a 59-year-old mother of three and grandmother of five who we profiled for our story. She kindly allowed us to place a camera in her bedroom and another hand-held camera in a separate bedroom so we could record what happened to her overnight.

“Here I am, it’s about 3:30, I don’t want to disturb my husband anymore, so I’m going to read for a few minutes in this room and try to go back to sleep,” she said into the camera, recording her very own overnight video diary...

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