Why do you need your sleep and 5 common myths that are not true

Five hours of sleep are not enough, even if you think so.

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Researchers at the New York University School of Medicine looked at 8,000 websites to identify the most common badumptions about sleep and then categorized them according to whether they could be supported by research or dissipated like a myth. Their findings were published in the online journal Sleep Health Tuesday.

Based on their findings, the team discovered that five beliefs about sleep were just myths.

Myth 1: You can sleep five hours of sleep

At the top of their list was the belief that people can function very well by sleeping only five hours or less. "I work very well with five and a half hours of sleep," said Oprah Winfrey in 2015. German Chancellor Angela Merkel once said that she could sleep four hours a night, then make up for sleep over the weekend .

>> Related: Why does your heart need at least 6 hours of sleep each night

"We have ample evidence that sleeping five hours or less systematically increases the risk of adverse health effects," said Rebecca Robbins, Principal Investigator, Postdoctoral Researcher at NYU Langone's Department of Population Health. Health.

According to a study conducted in January by the National Center for Cardiovascular Research in Madrid, sleeping less than six hours a night can cause atherosclerosis – hardening and narrowing of the arteries – which is the usual cause of heart attacks and strokes. .

Myth 2: Alcohol can help you sleep

"Alcohol" can help you fall asleep, but it drastically reduces the quality of your rest that night, "said Robbins. Drinking alcohol before bedtime disrupts REM sleep, which occurs about 90 minutes after you are asleep.

"Alcohol may seem to help you sleep because it helps to put him to sleep, but overall it is more disturbing, especially in the second half of the night," said the researcher Irshaad Ebrahim in 2013. "Alcohol also prevents breathing and can precipitate sleep apnea" or breathing pauses that occur throughout the night.

>> Related: Why take a nap is no longer just for preschoolers

Myth 3: Watching TV in bed helps you relax

"Often, if we watch TV, evening news or something that will cause you some insomnia or stress just before you go to bed, when we try to relax and unwind," Robbins said. .

The researchers also noted that televisions, such as tablets and smart phones, produced blue light, which could delay melatonin production by the body.

Blue light can be dangerous in other respects. In July 2018, researchers at the University of Toledo, Ohio, warned in the journal Scientific Reports that prolonged exposure to blue light – a 445-nanometer high-intensity short wave emitted by digital screens, the sun and other electronic devices – can accelerate blindness and increase risk of eye disease.

>> The blue light of your computer, the screen of the phone blinding you slowly?

Myth 4: It's better to stay in bed and try to sleep

"Unfortunately, if we stay in bed, we will start by badociating our bed with insomnia," Robbins said. She equates staying in bed when one can not sleep with standing on a treadmill without doing anything. Robbins recommends getting up off the bed and doing something stupid, like folding socks.

Myth 5: It's good to click on the repeat button

Although it's tempting to get a few more minutes, Robbins said it's best to get up as soon as your alarm goes off and expose you to intense light.

"Realize that you'll be a little stunned – we all are – but resist the temptation to fall asleep," she says. "Your body will go back to sleep, but it will be a very light sleep of poor quality."

>> In relation: too much sleep could increase the risk of premature death, heart disease, according to a study

In addition to Robbins, the authors of the study were Girardin Jean Louis, PhD, professor in NYU Langone's Department of Population Health and Psychiatry; Michael Grandner, College of Medicine, University of Arizona; Orfeu M. Buxton, Pennsylvania State University; Lauren Hale, Stony Brook Medicine; Daniel J. Buysse and Sanjay R. Patel, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh; Kristen Knutson, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University; Wendy M. Troxel, RAND Coperation; Shawn Youngstedt, Arizona State University; and Charles Czeisler, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

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