How much do geniuses sleep and is long sleep really harmful: explains somnologist Roman Buzunov

The division of people into owls and larks is not someone’s invention, but a reality. But the claim that you can sleep off the entire week on the weekend is a harmful misconception. A somnologist helped us separate the truth from the myths Roman Buzunov — made a brief summary of the conversation with the expert.

Is long sleep really as harmful as short sleep?

This is true, but only partly. A few years ago, a study came out from the “British scientists have proven” series. It said that sleeping less than seven hours a day is very harmful to health and reduces life expectancy. But if a person sleeps more than 10 hours, then he reduces his time on Earth even more - up to 30%.

Many saw these numbers and got scared. But these people simply did not read the study to the end. And then it says that those who sleep less than 7 hours experience a sleep deficit and do not have time to regain strength during the night. Therefore, they have health problems.

But sleeping more than 10 hours is, as a rule, not a cause, but a consequence of some kind of disease. That is, first a person begins to feel worse, and then notices that he is not resting in 7–8 hours and is forced to spend more time in bed. Although I slept great before.

In this case, the doctor must check whether the patient has a serious problem that disrupts the sleep structure. For example, apnea is a situation when a sleeping person stops breathing hundreds of times during the night and sleep is interrupted for a very short time. In this case, the person may snore. This pathology impairs the quality of sleep and over time can become one of the factors that increases mortality.

Therefore, if you used to get enough sleep in 8 hours, but now have difficulty getting up after 10–11, you should consult a doctor. But if you always sleep 10 hours, there is no need to worry.

Is it true that the longer you lie down, the easier it is to fall asleep?

No, that's not true. If it is difficult to fall asleep, a person usually turns around in bed for a long time, or even takes out a smartphone - he thinks that the gadget will help him relax. But such an approach can only do harm.

If you can’t fall asleep, but you stay in bed, a conditioned reflex begins to form. It makes you worry every night that you might not be able to fall asleep quickly again. A stable association arises: “bed is insomnia». This means that every evening, as soon as you think it’s time to sleep, stress hormones will be released into your blood. Then the pressure will increase. And sleep will not come again. It turns out to be a vicious circle, but breaking it is quite easy.

And one more thing: you can’t pick up a smartphone. And not just because blue light interferes the production of melatonin, a hormone that causes drowsiness and is necessary for quality rest. But also because when you touch the screen with your finger, you make some kind of decision every time. You make a choice, and this process strains your brain. And it makes it difficult to fall asleep.

Is napping really beneficial?

Many agree with this and try, if conditions permit, to lie down after lunch for an hour or two. But napping during the day will only be beneficial under one condition: if you don’t sleep for too long.

It happens that you didn't get enough sleep at night. In such a situation, it’s worth taking a nap for 20-30 minutes at about 2-3 o’clock in the afternoon, maximum 45. This will invigorate you and increase your performance. Moreover, a short rest will not prevent you from falling asleep in the evening and will not disrupt your routine.

But if you went to bed at three in the afternoon and got up at 6–7 in the evening, it will be difficult to fall asleep at night. You will break the established regime. Additionally, if you set an alarm, it may go off when you are in deep sleep. And you will wake up in a state of disorientation, with a confused consciousness. You will not feel very good, you will feel that no strength, the energy did not increase, but on the contrary, it became noticeably less. Therefore, you should not fall asleep for a long time during the day.

Is it true that sleeping long hours on weekends is good for your health?

No, this is a myth, and a dangerous one at that. But it’s popular: the average Muscovite gets up two hours later on weekends than on weekdays, and 10% of Muscovites even get up four hours later.

This is what happens. Four hours is a flight on the route Krasnoyarsk - Moscow. That is, a person who sleeps in this way every weekend voluntarily jetlags himself several times a month. And this greatly harms his health - it’s not for nothing that even changing the clock to daylight saving time was considered harmful by doctors.

But jet lag can be much worse. Imagine that a person goes to bed at midnight every evening and wakes up at six in the morning - he has a long way to go to work. On Friday he decides that he can go to bed later, because the weekend is ahead. And he goes to bed at two or three in the morning. And he wakes up at three days, perfectly rested. That is, the rise time has shifted by 7-8 hours - it’s the same as if he flew from Vladivostok to Moscow.

The same situation is repeated on Sunday. But on Monday he is forced to return from Moscow to Vladivostok again. It would be nice to go to bed earlier, but he can’t because he woke up not long ago. And on Monday morning he will be severely sleep deprived.

It happens that such a regime leads to serious consequences - even to states close to hallucinations. Sometimes doctors prescribe antipsychotics and other quite serious medications to such patients. But once you establish a daily routine, start waking up and going to sleep at approximately the same time, all the symptoms go away. Therefore, try not to change your sleep pattern much on weekends.

Are owls really just lazy larks?

As a rule, problems with routine occur more often in owls. Our world is designed in such a way that it is convenient for early risers, who are accustomed to sleeping little, to live in it. They get up early, get into a working rhythm faster and manage to get more done in a day. Hence the assertion that owls do not need a special regime, but discipline - and they, too, will become larks.

But the division of people into two large parties is not a myth at all. In the middle of the 20th century, scientists conducted a series of experiments, during which people were placed in caves. There was no sunlight or any devices that help determine time. Therefore, people lived according to their biological clocks.

Some of them had a daily cycle of less than 24 hours. Their internal clocks were ticking faster. These people turned out to be early risers. For owls, it was the other way around. Their biological day turned out to be more than 24 hours. And if the lark had midnight on his internal chronometer, the owl had 10 pm. And the day ended after 25–28 hours.

It turns out that at 7 am, when the alarm clock rings, a morning person's internal clock may show 8. But an owl has only 5, and it is very difficult for a person to wake up. He might need to sleep for 10 hours and then be awake for another 20. But the alarm clock is already ringing, and we have to get up.

Owls also sleep more often than larks. weekend and thereby disrupting sleep patterns.

Here are some more recommendations that you should not ignore. 1-2 hours before bedtime it is worth reducing the lighting. For example, in the summer, if you have white nights, you can wear sunglasses. And don’t pick up smartphones in the evening at all. But you can read, take a walk or study sex - all this will help you relax and fall asleep.

Is it true that sounds of nature help you fall asleep?

It depends on the sounds. If they look like white noise, yes, they help. But if, for example, you hear a sound similar to a baby squeaking or a siren, vice versa.

The brain begins to analyze any noise. After all, he needs to find out if there is a danger signal in them. Therefore, all significant sounds that can be clearly characterized make the brain work. But white noise, as well as pink, brown, and red noises—all of which have slightly different characteristics—are truly relaxing and calming. For example, there are studies that white noise useful not only adults, but also babies. It is believed that it may remind them of the sound of blood circulating in the mother's placenta.

There is no serious, scientifically based data on the reasons for this influence of noise. But experiments have shown that they really work. Moreover, quiet sounds of nature, similar to white noise, are much more soothing than complete silence.

Is it true that geniuses sleep 3-4 hours a day?

This is pure myth. Yes, if a person has less need for sleep, then he stays awake longer, works more and manages to do a lot. But there is a direct connection between sleep duration, level intelligence and the degree of intelligence does not exist.

You can remember the habits of people whose talents no one doubts. There is information on the Internet that Kant, Goethe and Einstein loved to sleep. And Schopenhauer could generally spend 10–15, or even 20 hours in a row in bed. So the length of a night's rest is in no way a criterion of genius.

One thing is clear: if you don't regularly get enough sleep to work more, then you definitely won't become more productive.

Therefore, get enough sleep - it will always help you maintain good physical and mental shape.