There are several myths concerning our sleep habits and the reasons that we sometimes have a hard time sleeping through the night. Here are just a few:
Myth: Your body and brain shut down for rest and relaxation when you sleep.
FACT: Some physiologic processes actually become more active when you sleep; for example, increase of activity of the brain’s pathways for learning and memory. No evidence of any major organs including the brain, shuts down during sleep.
Myth: Worry is the main cause of insomnia.
FACT: Worry can cause a short bout of insomnia, but a persistent inability to fall asleep or stay asleep can be caused by various medications, sleep disorders, and health problems such as depression, anxiety, asthma, or arthritis.
Myth: If you’re excessively tired during the day, extra sleep at night is the cure.
FACT: With sleep, quality is as important as quantity. If the quality of sleep is poor, even sleeping 8 to 9 hours won’t refresh you.
Myth: Your body adjusts quickly to different sleep schedules.
FACT: Most people can reset their biological clock by only 1 to 2 hours per day. It can take more than a week to adjust to a dramatic change in you sleep-
Wake cycle, as happens when you travel across several time zones or switch from working days to working nights.
Myth: Sleeping more on the weekends can help you make up for sleep lost during the week.
FACT: Sleeping in can help ease part of a sleep debt, but it won’t erase it completely, and it won’t affect performance impaired during the week because of inadequate sleep. Also, sleeping in on weekends can affect your biological clock, making it harder to go to bed at the right time Sunday night-and even harder to get up early on Monday morning.
Myth: Sleeping 1 hour less per night than you need won’t affect your daytime functioning.
FACT: Even slightly less sleep can impair your ability to think clearly and respond quickly, although you may not be noticeably sleepy during the day. Not getting enough sleep alsocan compromised your cardiovascular health and immune system. If you consistently fail to get enough sleep, you'll eventually become excessively tired during the day.
I hope that you have a good nights sleep tonight and every night—with sweet dreams.
Until next month, Ruth
