Sleep misconceptions may be stopping you from getting a good night’s sleep. Experts dispel the biggest myths about sleep

What should you do if you turn around in bed and Morpheus does not come and take you in his arms? Do you insist on falling asleep or waking up with your eyes closed?

Experts respond to this topic, as well as two other common misconceptions about sleep.

If I lie in bed long enough, I’ll fall asleep

Experts say this is a major no-no when it comes to sleep. Lying in bed for more than 15 to 20 minutes, even with your eyes closed, is one of the worst things you can do since it trains your brain to link the bed with a lack of sleep. Michael Grandner, a clinical psychologist and sleep expert, told CNN in an earlier interview that it can lead to persistent insomnia.

“It’s counterintuitive, but spending time in bed awake turns the bed into the dentist’s chair,” says Grandner.

“You want the bed to be like your favorite restaurant, where you walk in and you start getting hungry, even if you just recently ate,” he adds. “You want the bed to do that for sleep.”

I can catch up on sleep on the weekends

Experts suggest that while sleeping in on a Saturday or Sunday morning may make us feel better, it will be detrimental to our overall sleep health. Your sleep patterns will be unpredictable if you change your wake-up time and bedtime on weekends (or day to day), which will disrupt your body’s circadian rhythm.

“You want to build a reliable rhythm, much like the drummer counting the beat for the band,” Grandner adds. “By controlling when you wake up and go to bed, you’re setting the beat.”

Break this notion by going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, even on weekends, holidays, or after a bad night’s sleep.

“The brain likes regularity and predictability,” he adds. “Waking up at the same time every day and then adding light and movement as soon as you wake up will set your other rhythms for the day and give you increased energy and mood.”

Exercising in the evening disrupts sleep

This only applies if you are competing!

“Now the data shows that exercise at any time is better than not exercising due to all the medical benefits, and it helps with stress reduction, which aids sleep,” says Dr. Raj Dasgupta,  Assistant Professor in the Medical Clinic of the University of Southern California. “The data about not exercising at night is when you’re doing extreme workouts like Olympic athlete-type exercises.”

According to a 2011 study, people who exercised for 35 minutes right before bed slept as well as those who did not exercise at all. If working out late at night interferes with your sleep, doctors recommend doing so early in the evening so that your heart rate and body temperature can return to normal before you go to bed.

“If you ask me when’s the perfect time to exercise, I think it’s gonna be in the morning and outside in daylight. It resets the circadian rhythm and starts the day off with vigor,” Dasgupta adds. “But if nighttime exercise is best for you, that’s fine.”

Image Credit: Getty

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