Sleep Myths That Harm Health

Our bodies tend to follow a natural rhythm of wakefulness and sleep that is attuned to sunrise and sunset for a reason.

While some missed sleep here and there isn’t necessarily a big deal, shifting your sleep schedule long term isn’t healthy.

It is not as good as sleeping. 

Everything from your brain to your heart to your lungs functions differently when sleeping compared to being awake. If you know you’re awake, the rest of your body does too.

A healthy sleeper actually takes a couple of minutes to fall asleep. We do see that if people fall asleep right away, that can be a sign that they are not getting quite enough sleep.

A Pernod digestif after dinner. A nip of brandy before bed. Whatever your poison, it won’t help you sleep any better. In fact, it will likely make you feel worse the next day and is also dangerous.

A nightcap can also cause sleep apnea or make it worse.

As much as we’d like to think we can train our bodies to need less sleep, the science says the opposite.

All of the evidence shows, without a shadow of a doubt, that chronic insufficient sleep, of five-six hours or less, is associated with a host of unfavorable consequences.

Loud snoring is actually one of the most common symptoms of sleep apnea, a disorder in which an individual can actually stop breathing while asleep.

Sleep apnea affects the quality of sleep. So if you snore loudly and you suffer from fatigue or sleepiness during the day, those symptoms together could mean you have it.