COMMON MISUNDERSTANDING ABOUT SLEEP
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There are many common misunderstandings and inaccurate information about sleep that we may hear or sometimes experience. One-third of the American population still does not get enough sleep. The main reason is the lack of information or misleading information about sleep. People have wrong information that is not backed up by scientific evidence, reducing the quality of their sleep. There is some sleep condition that affects the quality of sleep that is better understood while some other conditions remain misunderstood. Some common sleep disorders include; insomnia, hypersomnia, narcolepsy, sleep-wake disorders, and sleep apnea. There are several common myths about sleep that needs debunking to help people improve the quality of sleep.
There is a misunderstanding that sleep disorders are not related to any other health condition. The truth is, people may develop health conditions that may cause a sleeping disorder. There is evidence of sleep disorder having impacts on the health conditions and, more commonly, health conditions causing sleep disorder. An example is depression can cause insomnia, which a sleeping disorder. Evidence also links sleep disorders with hypertension. Health conditions such as epilepsy and obesity can cause hypersomnia, which is a sleep disorder that causes excessive fatigue. A myth exists that older people need little sleep. Younger people indeed need more rest than older adults. They undergo rapid body growth and are engaged in more physical activities than old. The older people also require sufficient sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation, the old people require seven to eight hours of sleep time while the young and the youth, an average of seven to nine hours. The myth that older people rarely sleep is therefore proven wrong by the recommendation.
Many people believe that snoring is a common problem but does not have any health implications. Snoring can be a vital sign of a condition known as sleep apnea. The condition temporarily blocks the airway, causing snoring. Sleep apnea is linked to kidney failure, being born prematurely, obesity, heart failure, heart conditions, and other ailments. Patients diagnosed with sleep apnea are at risk of developing other health problems such as cancer, stroke, heart attack, and glaucoma. It is a belief that one can manipulate the body to get used to little sleep. This involves total sleep deprivation or partial sleeping where an individual sleeps too little for several days or weeks, causing sleep debt. Sleep debt links to several psychological problems, such as mood upsets, anxiety, and depression. Sleep deficit has shown to increase psychophysiological reactions in humans to emotional triggers (Motumura. Y et al., 2013). I addition, other studies have shown that sleep deprivation can affect some parts of the brain and can lead to loss of sensitivity in brain receptor cells. Accumulation of sleep and slept debt is, therefore, not healthy.
There is a myth that insomnia is a sleep disorder that is only characterized by difficulty in falling asleep. The fact is that insomnia is characterized by difficulty in both falling asleep and staying asleep. People affected with insomnia have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. They may also stake asleep for a short period. It may be followed by day time sleepiness fatigue, anxiety, and irritability (Roth. T, 2007). Insomnia affects nearly three-quarters of American adults, and chronic insomnia affects 10% of adults. The condition is characterized by stress, low concentration, fatigue, and irritation. Another common myth about sleep is that sleeping in the day time indicates insufficient sleep. This is not entirely true as some people may be suffering from a disorder that makes them sleep during the day.
An example is an insomnia, which causes day time sleepiness. Some other sleep disorders, such as narcolepsy and hypersomnia, causes individuals to sleep excessively during the day. It may be associated with other symptoms such as paralysis, hallucination, and random loss of muscle control. Individuals may feel extreme fatigue, which is not associated with sleep deprivation.
It is a common practice for people to make up for lost sleep during the weekends after having little sleep during the weekdays. It is recommended that individuals have enough sleep every time as it is impossible to make up for sleep debt. Accumulation of sleep causes serious effects on the brain cells. Chronic sleep debt poses a detrimental effect on immune, metabolic, and endocrine functions while also causing age-related complications over some time (Spiegel. K et al., 1999). Sleep deprivation has damaging effects that cannot is irreversible by having a make-up sleep on weekends. Some people also think that it is good to stay in bed when you cannot sleep. This practice is not bad, but it is recommended for an individual to involve in some physical activities. Outdoor physical activities such as gym, walk, or sports activities help in improving the quality of sleep rather than just lying on bed and waiting for sleep. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that people who have a poor sleep can consider avoiding bright light in bedrooms, doing relaxing activities until when tired, meditating for about 30 minutes, and taking a bath to refresh the body just before going to sleep.
Watching television in an effort to trigger sleep is a common practice that is misunderstood. The bright light produced by the screen stimulates the brain, causing sleeplessness. Watching television is linked to sleep disorders. Study shows that children who watch television before going to bed are more likely to feel tired in the morning. An increase in body weight is also evident in some people with the habit of watching television or using other gadgets before bed. It is recommended to stay away from display screens just before bed to improve the quality of sleep. Alcohol drinking before going to sleep is thought to aid in improving sleep quality. Alcohol can make an individual feel drowsy, but it has a negative effect on sleep quality. It affects the quality of sleep after the alcohol wears off in the body. It disturbs the sleep-wake cycles, sleeps maintenance, and sleeps architecture (Roehrs. T, 2001). Some people think that any time of the day is a suitable time to sleep. This is, however, not true, but it is better than no sleep at all. Sleeping during the day in the case of night-shift workers leads to poor quality of sleep and little sleeping time. Little sleeping time leads to sleep deprivation, increasing the risk of conditions such as breast cancer, diabetes, and depression. It is a common habit for many people to ‘snooze’ the alarm instead of waking up right away. This behavior disrupts sleep, and with every fragment caused by regular ‘snooze’ reduces mental flexibility. It is better to wake up immediately the alarm rings. It is thought that boredom causes sleep. Listening to a boring monologue or long boring lectures seem to induce sleep. Boredom reveals an already existing sleep deprivation problem that is characterized by sleep.
It is widely assumed that doing exercise at night interrupts sleep. The truth is, physical exercises encourage improved sleep and provides a solution to the sleeping disorder. For people with a sleeping disorder, it is recommended that they do exercises just before bed. Some people may think that falling asleep anywhere, anytime, is a sign of good health or quality sleep. A person who falls asleep at any time, anywhere, maybe having an underlying health condition or may be suffering from sleep disorders such as sleep apnea. Individuals suffering from such conditions are at risk of accidents due to impaired alertness (Aloia. M et al., 2011). It is misunderstood that taking a nap during the day helps in suppressing insomnia. When an individual with insomnia naps during the day, the natural sleep pattern is disturbed and causes more damage than good. It may also cause other health complications. In a healthy person, a nap may supplement limited sleep. Power naps may not work for everyone and may not be refreshing at all. Some people wake up feeling groggy and disoriented after a power nap. The duration of the nap is also important. A twenty minutes’ nap may boost mental alertness and energy.
Across the world, there are some common misunderstandings about sleep, and people are sharing and using wrong information that may not be useful but harmful to their health. One-third of the American adult population does not get enough sleep because of little information and depending on myths. Many people ignore the importance of good quality sleep because of some common misunderstandings such as that people catching sleep on weekends compensates for sleep debt and the assumption that watching television before bed helps in sleeping. Such myths need to be debunked for people to have good and quality sleep.
References
Aloia M, Sweet L, Jerskey B, Zimmerman M, Arnedt J, Millman R (December 2009). “Treatment effects on brain activity during a working memory task in obstructive sleep apnea” (PDF).Journal of Sleep Research. 18 (4): 404–10.doi : 10.1111/j.1365-2869.2009.00755.x .PMID 19765205.
Motomura Y, Kitamura S, Oba K, Terasawa Y, Enomoto M, Katayose Y, Hida A, Moriguchi Y, Higuchi S, Mishima K (2013). “Sleep debt elicits negative emotional reaction through diminished amygdala-anterior cingulate functional connectivity.” PLOS One. 8 (2): e56578. Bibcode :2013PLoSO…856578M . doi : 10.1371/journal.pone.0056578 . PMC 3572063. PMID 23418586.
Roehrs, T., and Roth, T.(2001). SLEEP, SLEEPINESS, AND ALCOHOL USE. Alcohol Research & Health. 25(2):101-109.
Roth T (August 2007).JOURNAL OF CLINICAL SLEEP MEDICINE.”Insomnia: definition, prevalence, etiology, and consequences”. 3 (5 Suppl): S7–10. PMC 1978319. PMID 17824495
Spiegel K, Leproult R, Van Cauter E (October 1999). “Impact of sleep debt on the metabolic and endocrine function.” Lancet. 354, (9188): 1435–9. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(99)01376-8. PMID 10543671.