21 things no one has ever told you about the health of your sleep

How long does the perfect nap last? Does sleeping on the weekend really help you sleep? Why am I so happy when I go to bed late? If just talking about sleep makes you want to relax and take a nap, you may want to review these little-known facts about sleep health. Then you can go ahead and rest.

Let's start with the obvious: you need your sleep. When you rest, your body releases important hormones that contribute to everything from immune health to metabolism to your general mood. While this is as natural as breathing and blinking, many external factors can contribute to your sleep health. Maybe sleeping next to someone affects your sleep. Maybe stress and anxiety are keeping you awake at night.

Having a consistent sleep routine can make sleep easier and combat some of the things that make it difficult to close your eyes. Before you completely adjust your nocturnal habits, you should probably remember what you have been doing literally since birth. So, look for a comfortable place, put on your pajamas and get settled. Here are 21 things you should know about the health of your sleep.

1. You probably do not sleep enough.

According to a report published in 2016 by the CDC, one in three adults does not sleep enough. Adults aged 18 to 60 should have seven hours each night.

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2. Sleeping less makes you hungry.

As the Alaska Sleep Clinic points out, "Losing sleep also changes the timing and release of appetite-controlling hormones." Ghrelin, a hormone that tells your body that you're hungry, is released in greater amounts. when you are deprived of sleep.

3. Lack of sleep is linked to other increased health risks, such as heart disease and hypertension.

According to the CDC, "sleeping less than seven hours a day is badociated with an increased risk of developing chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke and stroke. frequent mental distress ".

4. Insomnia is not just the amount of sleep you get at night.

This has more to do with the impossibility of falling asleep and staying asleep.

5. It should take you about 10 to 15 minutes to fall asleep.

If you take five minutes or less to fall asleep, you are probably sleep deprived. On average, people fall asleep after about seven minutes.

6. Married people report slightly better sleep health.

Sixty-seven percent of married people reported having a good night's sleep, according to the CDC. In comparison, 62% of adults who were never married and 56% of divorced, widowed or separated adults reported the same thing. (My condolences if you were hoping to blame your partner for your lack of sleep.)

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7. Women need more sleep than men.

Research attributes this gender imbalance to women being "more likely to do multiple tasks at once, making the brain work harder and requiring more time to recover." Internal business.

8. More women than men report poor quality sleep.

Eighteen percent of women suffer from poor sleep, compared with 8% of men. Research shows that this is even true in high school, with female students sleeping less than female students.

9. Snoring interrupts your REM cycles.

If you snore, your body will probably oscillate between the first two phases of sleep instead of reaching the paradoxical sleep cycle. It's the sleep phase where your body goes into repair mode, thus contributing to the health of the immune system and the regulation of appetite-suppressing hormones and appetite-causing hormones.

10. "Social Jet Lag" is the name of your Monday morning drowsiness.

A recent study on the phenomenon of "social jet lag" has revealed that "the regularity of sleep, beyond the mere duration of sleep, plays an important role in our health".

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11. This thing where you can not get up in the morning? It is called "dysanie".

Although not being a medically recognized condition, dysanie is used to describe extreme lethargy in the morning. This can be related to depression.

12. Being too long awake makes you feel "drunk".

One study found that when people slept 17 to 19 hours without sleeping, their performance decreased in an equivalent way or worse than that of someone with a blood alcohol level of 0.05%. (As a reminder, the legal limit is 0.08%.)

13. According to NASA, the perfect nap lasts 26 minutes.

However, not all researchers agree.

14. Music can help you sleep better at night.

As long as it's clbadical music. A 2008 study found that "relaxing clbadical music is an effective intervention to reduce sleep problems."

15. If you travel a lot, you may have more trouble sleeping.

And not only because of the time difference. Research suggests that high altitude environments can negatively affect your sleep cycle.

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16. It is normal to feel uncomfortable after a nightmare.

However, recurring nightmares have been badociated with feelings of anxiety upon waking as well as problems such as insomnia that may affect overall sleep health.

17. Sleep deprivation could kill you faster than starvation, according to some experts.

Obviously, neither are ideal. However, Tony Schwartz, in an article in the Harvard Business Review, says that a week without food would have fewer negative side effects than a week without sleep. Schwartz also explained how lack of sleep is a form of torture, according to Amnesty International.

18. Sleep apnea affects your ability to remember memories.

A study conducted in 2019 revealed that the conditions in which breathing temporarily stops sleeping can affect a person's autobiographical memories, making it more difficult to memorize personal memory experiences.

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19 Depression, prostate problems and arthritis are just three of the health issues that can affect your sleep.

Inability to sleep is often not an isolated problem. This can not only lead to other health problems, but could also be a sign of existing conditions.

20 Stress-induced sleep loss can lead to changes in our brain cells.

A recent study in mice showed that paradoxical sleep increased when light daily stress increased. In addition, the brain has changed structure in response to stressful sleep, especially in the hippocampus, which helps manage stress.

21. "Catching up on the weekend does not necessarily compensate for your lack of sleep during the week.

Although you may feel more rested after a Saturday sleep, some studies suggest that lack of regular sleep can have more lasting effects on your metabolism. It is therefore best to regularly get seven solid business hours.