Common Sleep Myths Screwing With Good Sleep & Health

The claim by some people that they can get by on five hours of sleep was among the top myths researchers were able to dispel based on scientific evidence. They say this myth also poses the most serious risk to health from long-term sleep deficits. To avoid the effects of this falsehood and others identified in this study, such as the value of taking naps when you routinely have difficulty sleeping overnight, Dr. Robbins and her colleagues suggest creating a consistent sleep schedule and spending more time, at least seven hours, asleep.

Another common myth relates to snoring. And while Dr. Robbins says snoring can be harmless, it can also be a sign of sleep apnea, a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing starts and stops over the course of the night. The authors encourage patients not to dismiss loud snoring, but rather to see a doctor since this sleep behavior may lead to heart stoppages or other illnesses.

The study authors also found sufficient evidence in published studies that, despite beliefs to the contrary, drinking alcoholic beverages before bed is indeed unhealthy for sleep. According to experts, alcohol reduces the body’s ability to achieve deep sleep, which people need to function properly.

“Sleep is important to health, and there needs to be greater effort to inform the public regarding this important public health issue,” says study senior investigator Girardin Jean-Louis, PhD, a professor in the departments of Population Health and Psychiatry at NYU Langone. “For example, by discussing sleep habits with their patients, doctors can help prevent sleep myths from increasing risks for heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.”

The researchers acknowledge that some myths still cause disagreement among sleep experts. For instance, although sleeping in on weekends does disrupt the natural circadian rhythm, for people in certain professions, such as shift workers, it may be better for them to sleep in than to get fewer hours of sleep overall. These discrepancies, they say, suggest that further research needs to be done.

In addition to Dr. Robbins and Dr. Jean-Louis, other study authors include Michael Grandner from University of Arizona College of Medicine; Orfeu M. Buxton from Pennsylvania State University; Lauren Hale from Stony Brook Medicine; Daniel J. Buysse and Sanjay R. Patel from University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; Kristen Knutson from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; Wendy M. Troxel from RAND Corporation; Shawn Youngstedt from Arizona State University; and Charles Czeisler from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Contacts and sources:
Jamie Liptack
NYU Langone Health / NYU School of Medicine