There’s no denying it: Sleep makes everything better. Getting the right type and the right amount of sleep every night makes us healthier and happier all around. However, you may have the wrong idea about what constitutes good sleep. Check out the following five sleep-myth busters from The Family Sleep Institute.
1. “Falling asleep before your head hits the pillow is a sign of healthy, normal sleep.” Normally it takes 10-20 minutes to fall asleep. Falling asleep immediately is more likely a sign of sleep deprivation, a signal your body needs more sleep than you’ve been getting lately.
2. “I sleep like a log, never moving or waking once during the night.” Actually, waking 1-3 times during the night is normal. A night of healthy sleep is composed of four to five sleep cycles. Between each of these cycles we naturally come very close to waking or actually wake up completely. We may roll over or adjust the covers. Often, the time we are awake is so short we don’t notice or remember it in the morning. Waking in the night is only considered a “problem” when you have regular difficulty getting back to sleep again; within 10-20 minutes or so.
3. “I don’t get much sleep during the work week but I make up for it on the weekend.” You may be able to pay off a little of your accumulated sleep debt this way, but it’s still not the same as getting adequate sleep on a regular basis. Most sleep experts agree that you may be able to pay off sleep debt by adding an hour or two of sleep to your nightly quota on a regular basis for awhile, but sleeping in huge chunks is just as likely to disturb your circadian rhythms, making it even harder to maintain regular schedules in the future.
4. “The sleep aids you can get at the drugstore are safe and effective.” Most over-the-counter sleep drugs contain an antihistamine, usually diphenhydramine (Benadryl(R)). Diphenhydramine can certainly knock you out, but it’s not the same as normal sleep. Regular use of these products can rob you of the repairing, restorative sleep process you really need. Also, antihistamines can leave you groggy and fuzzy-headed during the day.
5. “I get by just fine on 6 hours of sleep.” We frequently hear this myth spoken out loud; predictably by busy entrepreneurs or active social butterflies. The truth is, the typical human body requires between 7 and 9 hours of sleep time each night (more for children and teenagers) to repair the damage done, restore the chemicals depleted and rebalance the chaos created during the average day. Genetic research has shown that only 3 percent of people truly thrive on 6 hours of sleep or less. The rest are merely “getting by.”
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