8 Common Sleep myths ‘damaging your health’, Expert Says

A team of experts searched the most common claims regards a satisfactory night sleep. These results were matched with the scientific evidence at New York University.

Americans are expected to spend a whopping amount of $52 billion by 2020 in various sleeping remedies and aids.

It was found that there are several myths associated with sleep. It is important to dispel them to improve the livings and health of people around the world.

Almost 33% of Americans are deprived of healthy sleep.

If you think that the growing stress is the main reason for the loss of your health, here is news! You will be amazed to know that the lack of sleep is one of the prime factors that not only damage your mood but also detrimental to your health to a great extent.

The experts say that the lack of sleep contributes to the shortening of lives and there are several sleep myths available with it.

Here are some of the common sleep myths which many of us still believe today:

1. Watch TV before you go to sleep to induce relaxation

Most of us have this common habit of watching TV before going to bed. It is an important time when we feel relaxed after winding up our chores for the day.

Many of us only switch off the TV when feeling absolutely sleepy. However, the study reveals that this habit may lead to stress or insomnia while watching some sensitive news or other TV serial and could disturb us emotionally.

The blue light produced by the Smartphone and tablet is responsible for the delay in the production of a sleep-inducing hormone in our body – melatonin

2. Sleeping less than 5 hours is fine for the Adults

Researcher Dr. Rebecca Robbins claimed to have substantial evidence proving that the continuity in sleep less than 5 hours each day can cause several serious health issues.

Although there are various claims in the entrepreneurial and business tales which claims to have a sleep of 4-5 hours every night. Margaret Thatcher, Former British Prime Minister claimed to sleep for 4 hours every night.

Sleeping less than five hours is considered as one of the most health-damaging habits which can severely impact your nervous system. It also leads to cardiovascular diseases such as strokes and heart attacks.

3. Stay in bed and you will soon fall asleep

Dr. Robbin claimed that the normal sleeper takes almost 15 minutes to fall asleep. If you take much longer than this, it is the time to get up and change your environment to induce the sleep.

The more you will force yourself to fall asleep by falling on your bed for a longer duration, higher are the chances that your mind start associating your bed with insomnia.

Indulge into some mindless affair and soon you will be able to sleep calmly.

4. Snoring is normal while sleeping

Generally snoring is associated with a disorder sleep apnoea. As the wall of the throat are relaxed and narrows down while sleeping, it leads to a brief stop in breathing.

The people who snore are exposed to the higher risks of irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, and heart stroke. Loud snoring is one of the strong sign for such conditions.

5. Your body and mind adjust accordingly if you sleepless

The consistent reduced sleep leads to a drop in performance. For the first few days, reduction in sleep leads to the self-reported levels of increase in the sleepiness levels.

Higher morbidity is found in the night workers due to breast-cancer who sleep less compared to the day workers.

So, if you think that you are adjusting yourself against the less sleep, you are actually positioning your health to higher risk and serious health consequences.

6. Alcohol induces the sleep

A common myth prevails that after having a glass of whiskey or wine, you are induced to a peaceful sleep. But the scientific facts state that it drastically hampers the quality of sleep.

As alcohol contains diuretic properties, you will encounter a full bladder at the middle of the night, leading to disruption in the sleep.

It is also responsible for disrupting REM (rapid eye movement) which plays a crucial role in learning and memory enhancement.

7. Snooze the alarm to enjoy some extended sleep

Most of us are lured to snoozes the alarm in the morning to enjoy an extra 5-10 minute sleep. But researchers say, you should get up as soon as the alarm goes off.

This need to be done to avoid the low-quality sleep that you get after the alarm goes off. Hence, expose yourself to bright light and give your day a good start.

8. Avoid spending weekends by sleeping to stay active

The natural circadian rhythm can be disturbed by sleeping higher on the weekends but sleeping on weekends is crucial for the shift workers, who get lower sleep hours during the weekdays

To improve our body, mind and overall health, good sleep is an important aspect which should never be ignored. It is important to aim for a healthy sleeping schedule by targeting about 7 hours of sleep each day.