Common Sleep Myths and Misconceptions
How much do you know about sleep? And where did you get your info from?
In my practice, I notice that a lot of people come to the table with beliefs about sleep that are not always in line with the actual facts and sometimes these beliefs can make them think they have a sleep problem when they don’t OR these beliefs can get in the way of treating a sleep issue.
So I want to clear up a few common myths and misconceptions that I hear over and over again and separate fact from fiction:
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This is one of the oldest sleep myths out there and I want to squash it right now - not everyone needs 8 hours of sleep nor do they need to sleep at the same time as each other, so for example between 11pm and 7am.
Adults need on average somewhere between about 7-9 hours of sleep per night on a consistent basis for optimal health. Sleep needs and timing vary from person to person - we all have our own biological preferences and some of these variations have a genetic component. Some people are natural early birds while others are night owls and some lie somewhere in between.
Calculating WHEN you should sleep and HOW long for is a really important piece of the sleep puzzle. This is referred to as your chronotype and figuring out your ideal schedule can really make a difference to the quality of your sleep and how well-rested you feel the next day. When I work with my clients, we do a lot of experimentation with shifting bedtimes and wake times in order to figure out their body’s natural sleep rhythms to optimize their sleep and daytime energy levels.
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I feel like this myth stems from the observations from insomniacs who have a partner who sleeps “PERFECTLY” ! (I have absolutely no data to back this up but anecdotally and from personal experience, it always seems to be the case that when one partner sleeps poorly, their partner has no issues at all falling asleep or staying asleep). I distinctly remember in the depths of my miserable insomnia, my husband would come up to bed, stare at his screen for 45 min, then turn to me and say “goodnight!” and proceed to cross his arms over his chest like a vampire and magically drift off. While I was white knuckling my bed praying for the sandman to arrive.
But I digress…
The truth is - if you are always falling asleep in under 5 minutes and always waking up to your alarm instead of naturally, this may actually be a sign of sleep deprivation, meaning you are not getting enough sleep or it could indicate that you have a medical sleep disorder, such as sleep apnea or narcolepsy.
Going to sleep is a process, it’s like landing a plane, and it is normal and natural to take anywhere from about 5-20/30 minutes to fall asleep at the beginning of the night. And it is also typical to wake up a few times during the night, as long as you’re getting back to sleep within about 5-20 minutes and you’re not feeling distressed about it. The reason for these short middle of the night awakenings is because as we cycle through the different sleep stages, and you do this 4-5x a night, you enter a lighter stage of sleep, so it’s natural that you may have brief arousals or awakenings during that time. Some people are aware of these arousals and others are not.
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There is a lot of talk these days about melatonin and there is a lot of confusion in terms of how it’s being used to treat sleep issues. Many people are taking it as a sleeping pill, which is not its intention, and most people are taking far too much of it.
Melatonin firstly is a hormone that our body produces naturally in response to darkness and it sends a signal to our body to start the sleep process. Light however, decreases melatonin production and signals the body to wake up. So it is a sleep and body clock regulator, not a sleep initiator. It helps tell your body what time of day it is and your and your body has no way of knowing what time it is apart from the light cues it receives, which is why it’s really important to get that bright light in the daytime and limit your light in the evening.
Now for certain groups of people such as those who have circadian rhythm disorders, certain medical conditions, shift workers, some groups of children with autism or ADHD or those traveling across multiple time zones frequently and having to deal with jetlag, melatonin can absolutely be useful.
What I often see with my clients is that they’re usually taking too high of a dosage and at the wrong time. And then as a result, they may actually feel more groggy in the morning, or might experience headaches or nausea. Anecdotally, some may experience vivid, frightening dreams. It’s not advised to take the hormone if you’re pregnant or have high blood pressure and there’s some concern about adolescents taking it as it may interfere with other hormonal changes happening in their body at puberty (this was found in mice).
A big issue with melatonin is that it’s an unregulated supplement in many countries, meaning, there aren’t really good controls on the production of it. There have been a few studies done where they’ve pulled melatonin products from the shelves, took them to the lab and discovered that many of the products contained significantly more or less melatonin than was labelled on the package (83% less and 478% more), plus there were other substances inside that were not listed on the package (serotonin being one of them!).
So if you are thinking of taking it, you should always speak to your doctor first to seek guidance, and I would also advise you to try changing your own behaviour as well, like amending your light cues so your brain and body can produce that melatonin on its own. For example, getting bright light in the morning and during the day and limiting light exposure at night. You can also get melatonin from certain foods we eat, such as milk, nuts, fatty fish, eggs and tart cherries.
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Ok - This one is a little bit more nuanced. Depending on what you do, what your usual sleep patterns are and what you’re napping for, naps may be harmful or helpful to you. Napping might be problematic because it lowers your sleep pressure and if you’re taking time to sleep during the day, you may not feel as tired at night. However, if you need to be fully alert from a safety perspective (eg. driving), or, if you know you have a really late night ahead of you, or you’re sick or run down, a nap may be necessary and beneficial for health, safety and functioning.
If you are going to nap, keep them between 20-30 minutes long and have them before about 2-3pm so it doesn’t impact your ability to fall asleep at night. If you sleep longer than about 30 minutes, you start entering the deep sleep stage in your sleep cycle, and when you’re woken, you may feel very groggy and disoriented and tired. Think about times when you’ve been woken up and maybe you don’t even know where you are for a minute and you feel that drag, like you’re sluggish and you don’t actually feel refreshed? That’s probably because you’ve been woken up in a deep sleep stage. So if you limit the duration of your naps, you’ll still get the rest you need but you’ll wake up in an earlier sleep stage, which is easier to do and your chances of feeling more refreshed and alert will be higher.
