Although we sleep everyday…do we still really know everything about it…?

Stress, anxiety, hectic schedule, and this pandemic has disrupted our life a lot and along with it our sleep. If you have spent nights counting yourself to sleep or scrolling through social media only because you can’t sleep, you might want to change your sleeping habits.

Yes, good sleep is a part of good habits that you develop to get sound sleep and feel rested for your days. Though most of us think that we know everything about sleep because we sleep every day, we don’t. We are surrounded by many myths that we think are true when in reality they are harming our sleep patterns more.

Let’s dive in to learn about the 5 common sleep myths that you thought were true and how to deal with them.

Myth 1

Your brain sleeps with you

The brain, like other organs of the body, keeps functioning even when we are asleep. It only changes its pattern of activities and is active throughout the night. Your brain slows down when you sleep and keeps itself active during the different sleep stages. In fact the Rapid Eye Movement (REM ) sleep ramps up your brain activity to the level when you were awake and processes all the information received during the day from the five senses. So, even if you are sleeping, your brain is still at work. 

Myth 2

Reading from a device helps you sleep

Reading does help you sleep but as soon as you switch to a device like your iPad, mobile phone or any blue light-emitting device, you activate your brain. The blue light emitted from the screen tells your brain to wake up instead of calming it down. Try not to use any device which emits blue light before going to bed and read a paperback book instead, if you love to read in bed before sleeping.

Myth 3

Sleeping 4-5 hours is enough

You cannot get away with your routine by sleeping just for 4 hours. Our body needs a good 7-9 hours of good sleep to process, relax and function properly. Sleep deprivation can lead to some serious health issues like memory loss, mood changes, irritability, and impairment in immunity, heart problems, and many health problems.

Myth 4

Sleeping too much is what you need

If you are someone who thinks that sleeping more than required compensates for everything then you are wrong. More than sleeping for long hours, sleep quality is important.

Let’s understand it this way. We need 7-9 hours of sound sleep daily to function fully but lesser than that means your sleep is surely disturbed. If you are sleeping more than 10 hours on a regular basis then you need to worry as oversleeping is associated with major health issues like heart diseases, diabetes, depression, etc and you might need to check yourself up for that. Oversleeping can also cause you to get overweight and headaches.

Sleeping for the required time is important for your brain and body. Try to sleep at the same time every day. Set an alarm for after 9 hours when you sleep and monitor your sleeping patterns. Try to include light meditations before sleeping, or just sit calmly with some light music on, to relax your brain and indicating it that it’s time to sleep. It is important to have a good quality of sleep rather than just sleeping for long hours.

Myth 5

Alcohol- your way to sleep

Alcohol may seem to induce sleep but in reality, it reduces the sleeping time and causes more disruption to your sleep. Alcohol disturbs REM sleep which is considered to be restorative for the brain, the stage of sleep when we dream. You will wake up early, feeling groggy, thirsty and dehydrated due to alcohol consumption.  

Instead of drinking alcohol to induce sleep, try to not consume it at all at least before 4 hours of going to bed. Instead, try working out in the evening and keeping your bedroom cool, for a night of better sleep.

Let’s be honest. We all at some point have faced difficulty in sleeping. It is pivotal for our body to have a sound sleep so that it can function properly and feels rested, refreshed in the morning. Busting these myths is a step towards your goal of achieving a good night sleep. Happy sleeping!