The 8 sleep myths making you tired

Do you toss and turn at night, struggling to sleep?

It could be because you have fallen for some of the myths that have been floating around in recent months.

A leading sleep expert has today warned you shouldn’t believe everything you hear – and how doing so may be ruining your shut-eye.

Dr Neil Stanley, a member of the British Sleep Society, explains eight of the biggest sleep myths in a piece for Healthista. 

Do you toss and turn at night, struggling to sleep? It could be because you have fallen for some of the myths that have been floating around in recent months

1: Eight hours a night is essential

There are no hard and fast rules about the amount of sleep each of us needs. We all have our own individual need. 

The normal range is anywhere between five and nine hours and, like height or shoe size, is genetically determined.

 Therefore you need to get the right amount of sleep for you. Do not obsess about getting eight hours, find the amount of time that is right for you. 

This is the amount of sleep that allows you to feel awake and vital the next day. 

If you are sleepy during the day you are probably not getting enough sleep at night.

2: There is no such thing as too much sleep

You can get too much sleep, each of us has our own individual sleep ‘need’ and like anything it is possible to have too much of a good thing. 

Scientific evidence has shown that too much sleep is just as harmful as too little.

3: You can train your body to need less sleep

Some people naturally need less sleep than others and this is genetically determined so whilst you can ‘get by’ on less sleep then you need you cannot train yourself to ‘need’ less sleep. 

However, regularly getting even one hour less sleep than you need is likely to impact on your health and negatively affect performance and mood. 

Longer term partial sleep deprivation is associated with a greater risk of a number of diseases including heart disease, depression, diabetes and obesity.

4: Sleeping in separate beds means the relationship is in trouble

Many people sleep better with the warmth and security of another person next to them, however 50 per cent of your sleep disturbance is caused by your bed partner so others prefer to sleep alone. 

This is a perfectly natural thing to do and might even improve your relationship because by sleeping better you will be happier, less tired and less resentful of the other person. 

Sleeping in beds is a perfectly natural thing to do and may even improve your relationship because by sleeping better you will be happier, claims sleep expert Dr Neil Stanley

Sleeping in beds is a perfectly natural thing to do and may even improve your relationship because by sleeping better you will be happier, claims sleep expert Dr Neil Stanley

5: If you miss out on sleep during the week you can catch up at the weekend

Catching up on missed sleep is important but a lie-in on the weekend can actually add to sleep disruption and increase tiredness.

Our bodies respond better to regular sleep patterns going to bed and getting up at a regular time. 

IS INSOMNIA GENETIC?

Insomnia may be genetic, research suggested last week.

Struggling to nod off is linked to specific mutations on certain chromosomes, a study found.

Researchers also found a genetic link between a lack of shut eye and conditions such as type 2 diabetes and depression.

On the back of the findings, lead author Dr Murray Stein from the University of California, San Diego, said: ‘A better understanding of the molecular bases for insomnia will be critical for the development of new treatments.’

Insomnia affects between 10 and 20 percent of adults in the US.

In the long term, lack of sleep has previously been linked to poor heart health and an increased risk of premature death. 

The weekend lie-in is disruptive to this pattern and this is why getting up on Monday morning can be so difficult. 

To catch-up on sleep it is better to go to bed a bit earlier and keep to your regular wake-up time.

6: An hour before midnight is worth two after

There is some wisdom behind this old-wives tale because the deep restorative part of sleep that we have is usually during the first third of the night, that is, in the hours before and around midnight, sleep in the later part of the night is more easily disturbed.

So this saying is actually about the quality of sleep in the first part of the night not necessarily the timing.

7: Children will go to sleep when they are tired

This is like thinking that children will stop eating ice cream when they are full. 

Children need much more sleep than adults, it is crucial to their development; however, like us, it is important for children to have a routine in order for them to get their required sleep.

8: Snoring is just a bit annoying and nothing to worry about

Many people, both men and women, snore during the night. Most occasional snoring is linked alcohol or being a bit overweight. 

However, regularly snoring will disturb the sleep of both the snorer and their bed partner and there is no good thing about poor sleep.

Loud, frequent snoring with regular pauses in breathing is called sleep apnoea, a serious sleep disorder that should be treated.

This article originally appeared on and has been reproduced with the permission of Healthista.



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