Andrew Allen/Getty Images A surprising number of adults, mostly women, raid the refrigerator while still asleep.

Most people have heard of sleep disorders and eating disorders. But what about an eating disorder that shows up while you’re asleep?

That’s the subject of a new report from Randi Hutter Epstein on nighttime eating disorders. People with sleep-related eating disorders often wake up in a bed full of crumbs or discover wrappers from junk food and candy that they’ve consumed while still asleep. Read more…

It has been two years since I learned that I had prostate cancer, and a bit more than a year since I had any treatment for what I eventually learned was an aggressive Stage 3 cancer.

Being from the sticks of New Hampshire, I’m reminded of a woods that has burned. There is still plenty of scorched earth and charred deadfalls, but, more important, the green scrub and optimistic wildflowers of normality are creeping back.

Dana Jennings

I’m in pretty good shape these days. I live from PSA test to PSA test – every three months – and so far, so good. I still get more tired than I would like because my body chemistry is still in ferment from hormone therapy. And, to get an erection, I have to inject my penis with Cavereject, which stimulates blood flow. (It’s not as bad as it sounds. Honest.)

But those are just physical details. I’m more interested in what I’ve learned from my cancer, how it has actually – and unexpectedly — changed me. Cancer is a hard teacher, but a teacher even so.

More than ever, I know that I am blessed in sons and my marriage. That on a cold winter’s night a pint of porter in the company of a good neighbor is a bounty in this uncertain world. Read more…

Stuart Bradford

Working parents perpetually agonize that they don’t see enough of their children. But a surprising new study finds that mothers and fathers alike are doing a better job than they think, spending far more time with their families than did parents of earlier generations. Read more…

In today’s Science Times, Personal Health columnist Jane Brody writes about the recent death of her husband Richard. She writes:

A spouse’s death leaves an emptiness that is hard to fill. There’s no one in the house with whom to share the events of the day, discuss the broken pipes and rotten politics, relish the antics and achievements of the grandchildren….

It is not just that I will miss my husband’s company, his acerbic wit, and his astute commentary at movies, concerts and plays. There are also practical issues that serve as daily reminders of his absence. Who will open the jar that defies my efforts?

Read the full column, “The Pain of Losing a Spouse Is Singular,” and then please join the discussion below.

Christoph Niemann

Most people think the best way to tone up and slim down is to lift lighter weights more often. But in today’s “Really?” column, Anahad O’Connor debunks that notion, suggesting you’ll get better results with heavier weights. He writes:

A regimen that includes a combination of challenging weights and fewer repetitions can help significantly. In a 2002 study, for example, scientists looked at what happened when women performed various resistance exercises at different weights and repetitions (85 percent of their maximum ability for 8 reps, versus 45 percent for 15). Subjects lifting more weight fewer times burned more energy and had a greater metabolic boost after exercise.

To learn more, read the full report, “The Claim: For Better Muscle Tone, Go Lighter and Repeat,” and then please join the discussion below.

Filip Kwiatkowski for The New York Times Exercising while pregnant may lead to a healthier weight for baby.

Regular exercise during pregnancy doesn’t change a mother’s body weight but does lead to a small reduction in the baby’s weight, a new study shows.

The findings are important because larger birth size (babies weighing more than 8 pounds 12 ounces) is associated with higher risk for childhood obesity.

In a randomized trial of 84 first-time mothers, participants were assigned to either an exercise or a control group. Exercisers rode stationary bikes for 40 minutes, five days a week, while the other women just maintained their regular activity. The women began exercising in the 20th week of pregnancy and continued until at least week 36.

The exercise didn’t make any difference in the mother’s weight compared with mothers who weren’t exercising. But among mothers who didn’t exercise, their babies were an average of five ounces heavier than babies born to women who exercised during pregnancy. There also was no difference in the average length of the babies, according to the study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

The study shows that moderate, regular aerobic exercise can have a meaningful effect on a baby’s birth weight without putting the pregnancy or child at risk.

Andrew Scrivani for The New York TimesBaked Trout With Tomatoes and Olives: A great way to get your omega-3s.

In this week’s Recipes for Health, Martha Rose Shulman cooks up new ways to enjoy the health benefits of fish. Fish typically is a good source of healthful omega-3 fatty acids, and studies show that eating fish regularly is associated with better heart health. She writes:

Experts are also researching a possible role for omega-3s in boosting the immune system and protecting against hypertension, depression and other ailments. As the findings continue to roll in, many nutritionists now recommend that we eat fish twice a week.

She offers tips on finding safe and sustainable seafood, along with five delicious and easy ways to prepare omega-3-rich fish like sardines, salmon, mackerel and tuna.

Sardine and Chard Gratin: A simplified version of a traditional Provençal dish that is delicious unbelievably easy to make.

Tuna and Pepper Stew: A fisherman’s dish with simple origins, loosely based on a Basque tuna soup called marmitako.

Potato and Tuna Purée: Comfort food at its finest, similar to a tuna noodle casserole but dressed up and simpler.

Baked Trout With Tomatoes and Olives: A Provençal staple that’s a great way to serve farmed trout.

Salmon Fillets With Tomatillo Salsa: Tomatillos have an acidic flavor — and color — that goes beautifully with salmon.

Mary F. Calvert for The New York Times Kathryn L. Bakich said Cobra rules had not changed, but the new health care law could help people who were unable to pay or ineligible for Cobra.

Today’s Patient Money column offers a useful primer of the various health insurance options available to people who have recently lost their jobs or who don’t have insurance.

Most of the biggest changes related to health coverage won’t kick in until 2014, but the new law does offer a few new options for those without health insurance now. And even those who have extended their employer benefits for 18 months through Cobra still need to be aware of the rules and protections of the current law, explains Walecia Konrad.

To learn more, read the full article, “New Law, but Old Rules if You Lose Health Care,” and then please join the discussion below.

Brendan Smialowski for The New York Times Camden Colston has severe autism and does not speak; he is learning to communicate through gestures and pictures.

The latest installment in the Patient Voices series offers a fascinating glimpse into the often silent world of autism.

You’ll hear stories from a parent of a young child with autism, a teenager with Asperger’s syndrome and a young man who communicates only by typing.

And you’ll meet Judy Endow, a woman who learned she had autism at age 54 only after her son was also given that diagnosis.

“It actually made my life a lot better,” she said. “It explained a lot of the things I had trouble with. It explained my way of thinking. It explained my sensory difference and pretty much explained all the challenges that I had in my life.”

Click on this link to hear all the voices of autism.

Mic Smith/Associated Press Norovirus has been linked to cruise ships.

Norovirus has been in the news of late for sickening passengers on cruise ships, closing a middle school and postponing a college swim meet.

The virus, which causes severe gastrointestinal symptoms, has also been in my house. I most likely contracted the virus last week and have been shocked not only by the severity of the illness, but also by how difficult is has been to eradicate from my home. Read more…

In the latest Doctor and Patient column, Dr. Pauline Chen explores the dilemma of patients who can’t afford the care their doctors prescribe. She writes:

Christopher Capozziello for The New York Times Cary P. Gross, M.D.

For most practicing physicians and for many patients, the untenable situation of balancing what you should do with what you can do remains a daily challenge. “The doctor may say, ‘Here are your prescriptions, and make sure you get the M.R.I.,’ ” said Dr. Cary P. Gross, another of the rally’s organizers and an associate professor of medicine at the Yale School of Medicine. “But the patient is thinking, ‘I can’t get all of these medications, and I can’t afford the M.R.I.’ ”

These limitations become the silent and discomforting third party in every clinical interaction. Patients may hesitate to divulge which recommendations they have eschewed because of cost concerns; doctors may feel trapped into giving suboptimal care because of insurance limitations; and both may feel uneasy bringing up the subject of money.

To learn more, read the full story, “A New Chance to Strengthen an Eroding Bond,” and then please join the discussion below.

It’s not uncommon for new mothers to experience depression, which is usually attributed to hormonal fluctuations and lack of sleep after childbirth. But new research shows that depression after the arrival of a child isn’t limited to birth parents: adoptive parents are also at risk for depression after bringing a child home.

Depression appears to be common among the two million couples in the United States who adopt children annually. Last year, The Journal of Affective Disorders reported on a study of 39 adoptive mothers that showed 15 percent were experiencing depression six weeks after the adoption. Notably, 25 percent of parents had experienced depression before the child had arrived, possibly explained by the uncertainty and dashed hopes that are common during the adoption process.

To find out more about the reasons adoptive parents experience depression, a Purdue University nursing professor, Karen J. Foli, who is also an adoptive parent, interviewed 21 parents who had adopted children ranging in age from newborn to 12 years. Read more…

Stuart Bradford

Being female is essentially a pre-existing condition that inflates a woman’s health care costs, explains Denise Grady in today’s Science Times. She writes:

Until now, it has been perfectly legal in most states for companies selling individual health policies — for people who do not have group coverage through employers — to engage in “gender rating,” that is, charging women more than men for the same coverage, even for policies that do not include maternity care. The rationale was that women used the health care system more than men. But some companies charged women who did not smoke more than men who did, even though smokers have more risks. The differences in premiums, from 4 percent to 48 percent, according to a 2008 analysis by the law center, can add up to hundreds of dollars a year.

To learn more, read the full story, “Overhaul Will Lower Cost of Being a Woman,” and then please join the discussion below.

Stuart Bradford

It’s easy to blame the nation’s health care woes on people who don’t take care of themselves. But personal responsibility for one’s health is a surprisingly complex notion, writes Dr. Sandeep Jauhar.

Individual choices always take place within a broader, messy context. When people advocate the need for personal accountability, they presuppose more control over health and sickness than really exists. Unhealthy habits are one factor in disease, but so are social status, income, family dynamics, education and genetics.

To hear more from Dr. Jauhar, read the full story, “No Matter What, We Pay for Others’ Bad Habits,” and then please join the discussion below.

Andrew Shurtleff for The New York Times April and Steve Kohrherr of Afton, Va., say the new health law has them worrying less about the futures of their sons Sullivan, age 9 months, and Griffin, a 6-year-old who has hemophilia.

Confused by the new health care law? Today’s special section on health reform in Science Times helps you figure out what it might mean for you.

What’s in It for Me? by Tara Parker-Pope: Read my Q&A to find out exactly how the new law is going to affect you right now.

Lowering the Cost of Womanhood by Denise Grady: Until now, it has been legal in most states for insurance companies to engage in “gender rating,” that is, charging women more than men for the same coverage.

Paying for Others’ Bad Habits by Sandeep Jauhar, M.D.: The majority of Americans say people with unhealthy lifestyles should pay more for health insurance. But personal responsibility is a complex notion.

Mental Health Parity by Sarah Kershaw: The law makes it possible for millions to get the same coverage for illnesses like major depression or schizophrenia as they would for diabetes or cancer.

Affordable Long-Term Care by Paula Span: Little noticed in the new health law is an insurance plan that will help people with long-term health problems.

Reforming an Eroding Doctor-Patient Bond by Pauline Chen, M.D.: The doctor says, “Here are your prescriptions, and make sure you get the M.R.I.” But the patient is thinking, “I can’t afford all these medications, or the M.R.I.”

From Rage to Relief: View From a Nurse’s Station by Theresa Brown, R.N.: The most important job of any nurse is to be a patient advocate, but disparities in health coverage can make this challenging.

Curbing Unnecessary Care by Gina Kolata: The health care law takes a stab at tamping down unnecessary tests and treatment, but it will not change the chronic overuse of care, experts say.

A Family Copes With Health Care by Abigail Zuger, M.D.: Lionel Shriver’s new novel, “So Much for That,” explores the medical struggles of a middle-class family in suburban New York.

Some Oddities in the New Bill by Michelle Andrews: Among the many provisions in the law are an excise tax on indoor tanning and money for abstinence programs.