Sleeping experts have debunked several popular myths around sleeping, from counting sheep to napping and waking up sleepwalkers.
Many of us struggle to get a good night’s sleep and often attempt every trick in the book to get some rest. A recent study argued that 14% of people in the UK feel constantly weary or tired, with 20% falling ill due to a lack of sleep.
Meanwhile, sleep science and review platform Sleep Junkie have claimed that using social media before bed can adversely affect sleep, as people who use TikTok before resting apparently take over an hour to fall asleep after using the app. However, it can be confusing to navigate the variety of claims and counter-claims around sleeping.
Adjustable Beds are a group of sleeping experts at the Best Mattress Brand website. Here is a rundown of what the firm has said are misconceptions around sleeping habits.
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You can function efficiently on a few hours of sleep a night
The claim that individuals can perform at their best with very little sleep ranks high amongst popular sleeping myths. Although the National Institutes of Health in the US has reported there is a rare, mutated gene that can support this theory, it is an infrequent case.
It is common for motivational TikToker’s and celebrities to claim that they don’t need much sleep. For example, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson claimed in an interview with Variety that he functions just fine on three to five hours of sleep a night.
However, unless the individual has the previously mentioned mutated gene, working efficiently on a few hours' sleep has proven to not be true. It should be noted that individuals who claim to function normally on very little hours of sleep could just actually be unaware of the impairment.
When people are sleep deprived their ability to accurately assess their own performance decreases, so they may not realise how many mistakes they are making. According to a 2018 study by the Sleep Research Society that examined more than 10,000 people’s sleeping habits, getting four hours of sleep a night is equivalent to adding eight years of ageing to the participant’s brains.
Sleeping less makes you thin
This claim is based on the thought that less time sleeping in the morning is related to having a more active life that burns more calories overall. However, Adjustable Beds have said less sleep not only does not help you lose weight, but it can cause the opposite effect.
It has referenced Harvard Medical School research which argued that the amount of sleep a person gets affects certain hormones. These hormones include leptin and ghrelin, which affects individuals' appetite as they control feelings of hunger and fullness.
For example, leptin is produced in fat cells and signals the brain when you are full, while ghrelin is produced in the gastrointestinal tract and stimulates appetite. So, when you do not get enough sleep, the leptin levels decrease so that you do not feel full after eating and then ghrelin levels also increase, making you crave more food. Therefore, the less sleep you get can mean putting on more weight.
Counting sheep makes you fall asleep quicker
Counting sheep has been a popular belief for generations and is thought to have been derived from shepherds in medieval times. The method is simple, a repetitive and boring activity of counting sheep to make you fall asleep.
However, research from scientists at Oxford University has found that counting sheep might bore sleepers too much and cause a distraction. Instead, they found in a study that imaging tranquil images, such as waterfalls or beaches, can make you fall asleep a whole 20 minutes faster than counting sheep.
Napping is lazy
This myth is dependent on cultures, as generally napping can be looked upon as quite lazy and a waste of daytime. However, in other cultures, such as Spain, a daytime siesta is typically a chance for workers in hot countries to beat the midday heat and rest.
Research by the American Heart Association finds that napping can bring lots of benefits such as improving attention, memory, and performance at work. However, Adjustable Beds have warned not to get into a deep stage of sleep by napping too long or too late in the day as it can disrupt sleep patterns. It has recommended to keep naps to under 30 minutes and earlier in the afternoon, around lunchtime.
Never wake up a sleepwalker
This universal myth has even made it onto film screens such as Step Brothers and Secondhand Lions. However, they argued the danger of waking up a sleepwalker remains one of the most incorrect facts around sleepwalking.
Although a sleepwalker may have no memory or be difficult to wake up, Scientific American research confirmed the individual will not die or go into shock if you do wake them. It is worth noting they can be disoriented and be defensive when woken, but it is like a similar reaction when waking someone up in bed.
It is actually encouraged to wake up a sleepwalker depending on the surrounding environment. This is because sleepwalking can be quite dangerous, as driving, leaving gas burners on and falling down the stairs are all examples of severe sleepwalking activities.
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