It’s no wonder there are so many myths about sleep.

Modern sleep research only really began in the middle of the 20th century, with the milestone discovery of REM sleep in the 1950s.

Before that, sleep was widely regarded as a ‘passive process’ and hence, not of great interest in terms of scientific inquiry.

When it comes to real ‘facts’ about sleep, this relative lack of empirical evidence, has, over the years led to a disproportionate amount of homespun advice, folk wisdom and old-wive’s tales.

There are many mysteries of sleep yet to be solved.  The good news is, in the last few decades, science has been able to separate a lot of the fiction from fiction.

Over the next 11 days, we will explore some of the scientific research behind 33 of the most commonly held myths and misconceptions about sleep.

1: Sleep is a passive activity

For a long time sleep was considered as the body’s ‘down-time’ – an absence of consciousness. But sleep is very much an active state within the body and brain.

A complex sequence of events, which follows a regular, cyclical pattern every night. Although we remain still and inactive at night, there are numerous vital homeostatic processes going on that we’re unaware of.

Some brain activities, such as delta waves actually increase when we are asleep. Also sleep is a time when the endocrine system increases production of human growth hormone and prolactin, which is vital for a healthy immune system.

And let’s not forget our dreams. Far from being an escape into fantasy land, dreaming is thought to be vital for consolidating long term memories and building neural connections.

2: Older people need less sleep

It’s a common misconception that when we get older we naturally need less sleep. Whilst it’s true that the elderly tend to experience more fractured sleep patterns, this may be a result of other health issues and the change in circadian rhythms as we age. Professor Sean Drummond of the University of California stated that:

“Older adults benefit from getting as much sleep as they get when they were in their 30s. This varies from person to person but whatever you slept when you were 35 should be the same from 75. The problem is people find it harder to sleep as they get older and they think that that is a sign that they need less sleep but that is not the case”

3:You can catch up on sleep on the weekends

If you’ve had a busy week of work or social engagements you may have incurred some ‘sleep debt’. A common held belief  is that you can catch on any hours you missed during the week by sleeping a few extra hours at the weekend.

However, some studies have shown that this may not be adequate to fully restore you for the week ahead.

Recent research has shown that whilst one long night of sleep can restore your performance back to normal levels, this effect may last as little as 6 hours after waking up.

As the day goes on your reaction times become about 10 times slower than what they were earlier in the day, increasing the risk of accidents and errors.  Dr Elizabeth Klerman, a professor in the Division of Sleep Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital concluded that:

“Individuals who get too little sleep during the work or school week but try to catch up on weekends may not realize that they are accumulating a chronic sleep debt.”

Comeback tomorrow to www.AlaskaSleep.com/blogs for more sleep- myth debunking, and sign up for Alaska Sleep Clinic’s blog, named in the Top 5 Best Sleep-Education Websites in the World by Feedspot.com.