What are some of your sleep-related misconceptions and facts? You know, the things you’re certain you should do — and not do — in order to have a decent night’s sleep. According to studies, the majority of us are unknowingly engaging in poor sleeping patterns, which can have significant health effects.
How do your sleep beliefs stack up?
Is it a myth or a fact? You’ll fall asleep if you lie in bed long enough.
Myth. This is a huge one, according to experts, when it comes to sleep no-nos. Lying in bed for more than 15 to 20 minutes, even with your eyes closed, is one of the worst things you can do since it trains your brain to link the bed with a lack of sleep. Michael Grandner, a clinical psychologist and sleep specialist, told to International Media Agency in a previous interview that it can lead to persistent insomnia.
Grandner, who oversees the sleep and heath research programme at the University of Arizona and the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Clinic at the Banner-University Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona, explained, “It’s paradoxical, but spending time in bed awake turns the bed become the dentist’s chair.”
“You want the bed to feel like your favourite restaurant,” he said, “where you go in and immediately feel hungry, even if you’ve just eaten.” “For sleeping, you want the bed to do that.”
Is it a myth or a fact? If you wake up in the middle of the night, don’t check your phone.
That is a proven truth. According to experts, removing cellphones (or any other electrical gadget that produces blue light) from the bedroom an hour or so before bed and throughout the night is essential for optimal sleep. Light causes the body to cease making melatonin, which is the body’s natural sleep aid, and studies have shown that blue light is particularly harmful to sleep.
As a result, avoid bright light, watching TV, or checking social media when you come out of bed after 20 minutes of insomnia. Keep the lights dark and do something monotonous like folding socks instead. Better yet, try one of these techniques to calm your thoughts and prepare for sleep.
Is it a myth or a fact? Allowing your dog or cat to sleep on your bed is not a good idea.
Actually, it is debatable. Not long ago, any sleep expert’s answer would have been a resounding no. But, at least for a certain set of people, some specialists are now witnessing the benefits of snuggling in bed with a furry loved one.
“Pets are making a return,” said Dr. Raj Dasgupta, an associate professor of clinical medicine at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine. “Having a bed companion may help persons with anxiety, sadness, or post-traumatic stress sleep better.”
According to research, children may sleep just as well with a pet at their side. People who are light sleepers, on the other hand, may discover that too many “micro-wakenings” disrupt their sleep, which can be hazardous to their health. In such instances, pet owners may need to keep their pets on the floor at night or prohibit them from going outside. the
Is it a myth or a truth that exercising in the evening disrupts sleep?
That’s a fallacy that used to be true “back in the day,” according to Dasgupta.
“Now the research demonstrates that exercising at any time is better than not exercising because of all the medical advantages,” he added. “It also helps with stress reduction, which assists sleep.” “When you’re performing severe workouts like Olympic athlete-type routines, the evidence about not exercising at night comes into play.”
According to a 2011 research, people who exercised for 35 minutes just before bed slept as well as those who did not exercise at all. If working out late at night interferes with your sleep, doctors recommend doing it early in the evening so that your heart rate and body temperature can return to normal before you go to bed.
“If you ask me what the best time to exercise is, I believe it is first thing in the morning when it is still light outside. It jump-starts the day by resetting the circadian cycle “Dasgupta explained. “However, if you want to workout at night, that’s great.”
Is it a myth or a fact? On weekends, you can catch up on sleep.
Who isn’t going to believe this? Regrettably, research indicates that we are mistaken. Experts suggest that while sleeping in on a Saturday or Sunday morning may make us feel better, it will be detrimental to our overall sleep health. Your sleep patterns will be unpredictable if you change your wake-up time and bedtime on weekends (or day to day), which will disrupt your body’s circadian rhythm.
“Like a drummer calculating the beat for the band,” Grandner explained, “you want to develop a consistent rhythm.” “You set the beat by regulating when you wake up and go to bed.”
Break this notion by going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, even on weekends, holidays, or after a bad night’s sleep.
“The brain prefers predictability and regularity,” he noted. “Setting your other rhythms for the day and increasing your energy and mood by waking up at the same time every day and then adding light and movement as soon as you wake up will establish your other rhythms for the day and give you greater energy and mood.”
