10 sleep misconceptions that can hurt you

1. Five hours of sleep a day is enough

There are popular stories on the Internet about successful people who became great because they slept little. For example, Leonardo da Vinci, Napoleon, Dali. But only a few unique people can do this. Most people needRecommended Amount of Sleep for a Healthy Adult: A Joint Consensus Statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society, Recommended Amount of Sleep for Pediatric Populations: A Consensus Statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, How Much Sleep Do I Need? sleep 7-9 hours - the exact number depends on age and personal preferences.

Sleeping less will not become a second Napoleon, but rather earnExtent and Health Consequences of Chronic Sleep Loss and Sleep Disorders hypertension, increase the risk of heart attack, depression, diabetes and obesity, and seriously harm your cognitive function.

2. The more sleep the better

This is the other extreme. According to research

Self-Reported Sleep Duration and Quality and Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality: A Dose-Response Meta-Analysis, persistent lack of sleep even after 8-9 hours of sleep is a sign of cardiovascular disease. In addition, scientists have found that sleep-lovers have a riskSleep Duration and All-Cause Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies premature death was 30% higher than in those who slept enough, but not more than 9 hours. So it's as bad as not getting enough sleep.

3. Happy couples sleeping together

On many so-called "women's" forums, you can find articles stating something like: "If he does not hugs you when he sleeps, it means he doesn't love you! " However, in practice, couples who sleep in different beds turn outCan't Get Shut-Eye? Sleep divorce may work for you harder - simply because you get better sleep.

And the lack of sleep makesShortened sleep fuels inflammatory responses to marital conflict: Emotion regulation matters, Investigating couples sleep: an evaluation of actigraphic analysis techniques people are irritable and provokes conflicts. In general, there is no shame in picking up your blanket and leaving on the couch.

4. Drinking alcohol to sleep is a great idea.

Not really. Alcohol can really turn you off, but it makes you worseSleep, Sleepiness, and Alcohol Use, Insomnia as a path to alcoholism: tolerance development and dose escalation sleep quality. In addition, people who drink to sleep get confusedAlcohol consumption disrupts circadian rhythm in humans, Evening intake of alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine: night-to-night associations with sleep duration and continuity among African Americans in the Jackson Heart Sleep Study circadian rhythms: they start to lie down and get up later. And that's not to mention the risk of apneaAlcohol and the risk of sleep apnoea: a systematic review and meta ‑ analysis (stopping breathing) in a dream that alcohol increases. So if you can't sleep, you better drink hot milk, but nothing stronger.

5. Sleep off on weekends

People who do not sleep much, for example because of work, often reason like this: “The week has been difficult, I am all overwhelmed... But nothing! I'll sleep this weekend and be fine. " No, you won't.

StudyUncovering Residual Effects of Chronic Sleep Loss on Human Performance Harvard Medical School has shown that it is impossible to "catch up" the missed time. Sleeping an extra 10 hours on weekends and sleeping 6 hours on weekdays will give you the same concentration as someone who hasn't slept all night. And this rhythm of life also leads to chronic sleep problems.

Another studyEstimating individual optimal sleep duration and potential sleep debt says that to recover from one hour of lost sleep, a person needs to sleep normally for four days. And the weekend is unlikely to be enough for you. There is only one solution: go to bed early, sleep as much as necessary for rest (7-9 hours, as we have already said), and do not change this rhythm on weekends.

6. TV helps you sleep

Many of us love to fall asleep while watching our favorite evening show: a quiet background sound is good for relaxing. And the automatic shutdown function for this is provided in modern gadgets.

But researchThe Use of Media as a Sleep Aid in Adults, Quality of sleep among university students: effects of nighttime computer and television use show that people who fall asleep under the TV go to bed later, get more tired and sleep worse. And also their circadianWhat Is The Definition Of Circadian Rhythm (Body Clock)? rhythms. The light from the screen does not allow you to fully fall asleep: for a healthy sleep you need total darkness. So in the end, turning on the TV does more harm than good.

Therefore, if you hate falling asleep in silence, do not turn on the TV. Better start recording on your smartphone with white noise or barely audible conversations.

7. Sleeping during the day is good for your health

It all depends on how much you sleep. In general, taking a nap is really good, because it reducesAssociation of napping with incident cardiovascular events in a prospective cohort study risk of cardiovascular disease. But sleeping long during the day is harmful. ResearchMistimed food intake and sleep alters 24 ‑ hour time ‑ of ‑ day patterns of the human plasma proteome show that people who sleep in the daylight at the expense of nighttime sleep have an increased risk of diabetes, obesity, and even cancer.

Even one day spent in the rhythm of "staying awake at night, sleeping off during the day"Study Reveals Why All-Nighters May Be So Dangerous for Your Health serious damage to immunity and metabolism. In addition, the habit of sleeping during the day knocksHow sleep and wakefulness influence circadian rhythmicity: effects of insufficient and mistimed sleep on the animal and human transcriptome circadian rhythms of the body.

In general, the US National Sleep Foundation recommendsThe good news about napping — and the downsides of nodding off mid-day sleep no more than 30 minutes during the day. Otherwise, you will then walk overwhelmed all day and have problems falling asleep in the evening.

8. People who don't get enough sleep lose weight

Usually, when it comes to people who do not sleep well, we imagine painfully thin people with circles under the eyesresembling vampires. But this is not entirely true: in fact, sleep deprivation people tend toShort Sleep Duration and Weight Gain: A Systematic Review, Short Sleep Duration Is Associated with Reduced Leptin, Elevated Ghrelin, and Increased Body Mass Index gain weight rather than lose it.

A short sleep time is one of the main factors affecting the risk of obesity. People who have sleep problems are more likely toMeta ‑ Analysis of Short Sleep Duration and Obesity in Children and Adults are overweight. Therefore, if you are losing weight, you just need to get enough sleep.The association between short sleep and obesity after controlling for demographic, lifestyle, work and health related factors.

9. Snoring is annoying, but harmless

Snoring not only interferes with others, but it can also indicate health problems, such as sleep apneaWhat is Sleep Apnoea? (Sleep Apnea). The brain receives less oxygen and wakes up the body so it doesn't suffocate.

Because of this, a person does not get enough sleep, feels constant fatigue, and hisSnoring risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and problems with concentration. So if your loved ones complain of constant snoring, do not treat it with disdain and go to the doctor.

10. The "Snooze" button on alarms was invented by smart people

Forget that button. Sleeping “just five minutes” after the alarm goes off is pretty bad. Sleep fragmentation is bad for youEffects of Sleep Fragmentation and Induced Mood on Pain Tolerance and Pain Sensitivity in Young Healthy Adults on well-being, increases daytime sleepiness, decreases performance and makes you feel depressed.

Yes, it will take a lot of willpower to get up right away. But this is necessary. However, you can help yourself by installing one of these alarm clocks - then your smartphone will make you run to do exercises or take pictures of the refrigerator right after waking up.