In the past 20 years, sleep science has advanced dramatically, offering new insights into the significance of sleep, the biological processes that regulate it, and the ways in which it can be disturbed. Despite this state-of-the-art understanding among scientists, misleading information regarding sleep is frequently disseminated online or through word-of-mouth. Many of these myths about sleep might result in bad sleep patterns and insufficient sleep because they are repeated so frequently that they become commonly believed.
The most pervasive and detrimental sleep misconceptions have just been recognised by a group of specialists. Knowing the truth about these myths gives you the chance to learn everything there is to know and discover strategies for getting the rest you require.
Myth: Your body adjusts to not getting enough sleep.
Truth: The effects of sleep deprivation on the body and mind are real.
Sleep deprivation has been shown to have negative short- and long-term impacts, demonstrating that your body does not adjust to lack of sleep.
You might experience daytime sleepiness after a few nights of little sleep. Without enough sleep, this rise in daytime sleepiness may stabilise over weeks or months, but this does not suggest that your body is performing at its best or that it has successfully adapted to the lack of sleep.
Instead, consistent sleep deprivation has a negative impact on daytime performance and can impair creativity, memory, focus, and decision-making. Over time, lack of sleep can have a negative impact on many different elements of health, including hormone production, the cardiovascular system, the immune system, metabolism, and mental health.
Even if it may appear like you are becoming accustomed to sleeping insufficiently, your body may actually be suffering from increasingly severe health issues as a result of its inability to obtain the rest it requires.
Myth: Your sleep duration is your only concern.
Truth: Getting enough rest requires quality sleep as well.
Although the length of your sleep is crucial, it is not everything. Another important thing to take into account is the quality of your sleep, which is directly related to how uninterrupted and uninterrupted your sleep is. Multiple awakenings during a sleep cycle can cause fragmented sleep, which reduces the amount of time spent in the most restorative stages of sleep. Because of this, everyone’s objective should be to get adequate sleep, including uninterrupted, high-quality sleep.
Myth: Remain in bed till you can sleep if you’re having problems.
Truth: If you’ve tried to sleep for 20 minutes, experts advise getting out of bed.
If you find yourself tossing and turning in bed, it may be preferable to get up, do something calming in a dim, quiet environment, such as reading a book, and then try to return to bed once you start to feel sleepy.
This strategy is recommended by experts since it’s crucial to link your bed with sleep. Staying in bed when having trouble falling asleep can have the exact opposite effect, associating your bed with unrest.
Myth: Drinking before bed helps you sleep better.
Truth: The quality of your sleep suffers after drinking alcohol.
A few drinks can be calming and drowsiness-inducing, which makes it simpler to fall asleep at first. However, after consuming alcohol, particularly in the second half of the night, the quality of sleep significantly decreases. Before going to bed, drinking alcohol can disrupt your sleep cycles, increase the likelihood that your sleep will be interrupted, and cause sleep apnea and snoring.
Alcohol consumption before bed should be reduced or avoided due to its detrimental effects on sleep, which is recognised as an essential component of good sleep hygiene.
Myth: It’s safe to sleep with a light on.
Truth: The best place to sleep is in a room that is as dark as you can make it.
Low light can make it more likely that you will wake up even while you are asleep and may interfere with your circadian cycle. Additionally, studies show that sleeping in a room with excessive lighting can make your eyes more tired.
The National Centre for Biotechnology Information facilitates access to biomedical and genetic data, advancing science and health. It is recommended to sleep in a room that is as dark as possible to encourage better-quality sleep and a more consistent circadian rhythm. If lowering ambient light is challenging, try visualising eyes as your eye mask.
Myth: The ideal sleeping environment is a warm bedroom.
Truth: A bedroom should be between 65, and 68 degrees Fahrenheit for most individuals to sleep well.
While it’s crucial to choose a bedroom temperature that’s cosy for you, the majority of individuals find that a setting in the mid-60s Fahrenheit range works best. Even though it might feel cosier, sleeping in a warm bedroom is not recommended, according to studies. A bedroom that is too hot may thwart the normal decrease in body temperature that occurs as part of the physical process of sleeping. Sleeping heated can be uncomfortable and disrupt it by waking you up unnecessarily.
Myth: The risk of sleeplessness is the same for men and women.
Truth: The lifetime risk of sleeplessness is up to 40% higher in women than in males.
According to research, women of all ages are more prone than males to have restless nights and frequent sleep interruptions. According to several research, hormonal changes may be to blame for some mood disorders, high levels of stress, and sleep disorders, as well as for insufficient sleep-in women.
Pregnant women frequently experience sleep issues, with almost half of them experiencing irregular sleep on a regular basis. Additionally, women are less likely to be referred for sleep testing, which can result in an underdiagnosis of diseases that might impair sleep, such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
Myth: Taking a nap makes up for not getting enough sleep at night.
Truth: Taking a nap does not make up for getting enough rest at night.
A quick nap can give you more energy during the day, but it cannot replace sound sleep at night. This is due to the fact that naps do not involve the same progression through the stages of sleep as does sleep at night. Many people who don’t get enough sleep attempt to catch up on sleep by taking naps, but doing so might further disrupt one’s sleep cycle. Long naps might render you confused and lethargic, and naps can make it harder to fall asleep at a normal time. Even if taking naps occasionally isn’t always bad for you, relying on them to make up for frequent sleep loss is not a good idea. When you do require a nap, it is recommended to take one early in the afternoon and for no longer than 30 minutes.
Myth: Snoring is not harmful, and there is no way to stop it.
Truth: Snoring can be controlled, albeit loud snoring may be concerning.
Light, infrequent snoring is usually not an issue, but loud, continual snoring may be a sign of some medical disorders. It’s crucial to talk to your health care physician about your loud, regular snoring.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a dangerous respiratory problem that disrupts sleep and stops a person from breathing in the oxygen their body need, may be the cause of chronic or loud snoring. Additionally, snoring can wake up a roommate or bed partner.
Depending on the source of snoring, different approaches might be used. Positive airway pressure (PAP) machines assist treat OSA by keeping the airway open. Many people can reduce or stop snoring with the aid of anti-snoring mouthpieces and mouth exercises, and in certain situations, snoring can be lessened by shedding excess weight.
