What are your sleep myths and truths? Those things you’re absolutely sure you should do — and don’t do — to get a good night’s sleep.
Studies show that most of us are unknowingly practicing bad sleep habits – which can lead to serious health consequences. How do your beliefs about sleep compare?
Myth or truth? If you stay in bed long enough you will fall asleep
Myth. When it comes to sleep, experts say this is a big problem. Lying in bed, even with your eyes closed, for more than 15-20 minutes is one of the worst things you can do, as it will train your brain to associate bed with lack of sleep. It can lead to chronic insomnia, Michael Grandner, a clinical psychologist and sleep expert, told CNN in an earlier interview.
“It’s counterintuitive, but spending time in bed awake turns the bed into the dentist’s chair,” said Grandner, who directs the sleep and health research program at the University of Arizona and the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Clinic at the Banner Center. University Physician of Tucson, Arizona.
“You want bed to be like your favorite restaurant where you walk in and start to get hungry, even if you’ve eaten recently,” he added. “You want the bed to do this to sleep.”
Myth or truth? You shouldn’t check your smartphone if you wake up at night
Truth. Banning smartphones (or any electrical device that emits blue light) from the bedroom an hour or so before bed and throughout the night is a must for good sleep, experts say. Light tells the body to stop producing melatonin, the body’s natural sleep aid, and studies have shown that blue light is especially toxic for sleep.
So when you get out of bed after 20 minutes of insomnia, avoid bright light, watch TV or check social media. Instead, keep the lights dim and do something meaningless like folding socks. Better yet, try one of these tricks to relax your mind and get ready for bed.
Myth or truth? You shouldn’t let your dog or cat sleep in your bed.
Actually, it depends. Not too long ago, any sleep expert’s answer would have been a definite no. But today, some experts are seeing the benefits of cuddling in bed with a furry loved one, at least for a select group of people.
“Pets are coming back,” said sleep expert Raj Dasgupta, an associate professor of clinical medicine at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. “For people with anxiety, depression or PTSD, having a bed partner can be helpful in promoting sleep.”
Children can also sleep well with a pet accompanying them, studies have shown. But people who are light sleepers can have their sleep disturbed by many “micro-awakenings”, which can be harmful to their health. In these cases, owners may find they need to keep pets on the floor at night or banish them from the bedroom altogether.
Myth or Truth: Exercising at night disrupts sleep
This is a myth that used to be a fact “in the old days,” Dasgupta said.
“Now the data shows that exercising anytime is better than not exercising because of all the medical benefits and it helps with stress reduction, which helps with sleep,” he said. “The data on not exercising at night is when you’re doing extreme exercise, like Olympic athlete-type exercises.”
People who exercised for 35 minutes before bed slept just as well as they did on nights when they didn’t exercise, according to a 2011 study. If working out at night affects your sleep, experts suggest exercising earlier in the night so your frequency heart rate and body temperature can return to normal before you go to sleep.
“If you ask me when is the perfect time to exercise, I think it will be in the morning and outdoors in daylight. This resets the circadian rhythm and starts the day with vigor,” said Dasgupta. “But if nighttime exercise is better for you, that’s fine.”
Myth or truth? You can catch up on sleep on the weekends
Who doesn’t believe this? Unfortunately, science says we are wrong. We may feel better after sleeping on a Saturday or Sunday morning, but it will take a toll on our overall sleep health, experts say. By changing your waking and sleeping times on weekends (or day to day), your sleep rhythms are not predictable, which can alter your body’s circadian rhythm.
“You want to build a reliable rhythm, much like the drummer telling the band the beat,” said Grandner. “By controlling when you wake up and go to bed, you are setting the pace.”
Overcome this myth by going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, even on weekends, vacations, or after a bad night’s sleep.
“The brain likes regularity and predictability,” he added. “Waking up at the same time every day and adding light and movement as soon as you wake up will set your other rhythms for the day and boost energy and mood.”
Source: CNN Brasil
