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posted by mrpg on Thursday April 18 2019, @12:00PM   Printer-friendly
from the kip dept.

Sleep Myths 'Damaging Your Health':

Widely held myths about sleep are damaging our health and our mood, as well as shortening our lives, say researchers.

A team at New York University trawled the internet to find the most common claims about a good night's kip[*].

Then, in a study published in the journal Sleep Health, they matched the claims to the best scientific evidence.

They hope that dispelling sleep myths will improve people's physical and mental health and well-being.

So, how many are you guilty of?

Myth 1 - You can cope on less than five hours' sleep
[...]Myth 2 - Alcohol before bed boosts your sleep
[...]Myth 3 - Watching TV in bed helps you relax
[...]Myth 4 - If you're struggling to sleep, stay in bed
[...]Myth 5 - Hitting the snooze button
[...]Myth 6 - Snoring is always harmless

Another myth is that one should have 7-8 hours of continuous sleep. There is ample evidence that this is a relatively recent phenomenon. Consider embracing a bi-phasic or two-sleep schedule, instead.

I was at first concerned when I found myself waking after 3, 4 or even 5 hours sleep -- I became worried that I might be trending into insomnia. Instead, knowing this is a "thing", I just accept it, now. I get up for an hour or so. Use the bathroom. Maybe do some light reading (SoylentNews FTW!). And, after an hour or so, am ready to go back to bed for the rest of my night's sleep. Naps can be helpful, too.

How well do you sleep?

*kip: chiefly British : sleep, nap


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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 18 2019, @01:12PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 18 2019, @01:12PM (#831604)

    Humans only segment their sleep cycle into two when day light falls under 10 hours a day for energy saving. In modern times due to artificial lightning and more cognitive labor people do in fact require a continues sleep cycle and quite the long one.

    The bi-phase cycles are still around is due to soldier's guard duties. And even where the light permits it the (northern European) armies had to enforce some very strict regulations regarding shifts and sleep over all the training accidents and the likes they've experienced.

    It's similarly part of truckers on-road driving limits. A lot of money was spent lobbying to let truckers split their hours at the benefit of the employers but the huge increase in accidents forced the regulators to take it seriously.

    The only exception is old people. Their bladder is so weak they end up waking up to take a piss at least once every night. The result is that their bodies are forced into bi-phase cycles regardless. So for them it's recommended to throw in a couple a more hours of sleep during the night and around the afternoon. But this is already damage control and there been Alzheimer and Parkinson studies showing the links to these habits can't be easily disputed.

    Overall, sleep as much as you physically can whenever you feel tired and don't watch television / use a smartphone a few hours before you go to bed. Is it a practical advice? Nope. But it's your responsibility to put it into practice even if your doctors don't do it themselves.

    Two cents...

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 19 2019, @01:31AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 19 2019, @01:31AM (#831992)

    It was historical research that established that people used to wake up in the middle of the night and use the time. This was even before electric light.

    For a sleep aid, I recommend a podcast called "Sleep With Me". The guy tells rambling stories without much inflection and it usually knocks me right out. It doesn't always work, but chemicals don't always work either.