Oprah is making it a priority. Bill Gates needs it to be creative. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos calls it a driver of success. These titans of industry aren’t talking about the latest technology or management style. They’re talking about sleep. In…
Oprah is making it a priority. Bill Gates needs it to be creative. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos calls it a driver of success. These titans of industry aren’t talking about the latest technology or management style. They’re talking about sleep.
In fact, the importance of sleep is widely researched and well-known: One global survey found that 96 percent of respondents value sleep and 87 percent ranked it as essential to their overall well-being. However, 57 percent of respondents in the same survey said their sleep could be better, but they hadn’t taken action to fix it.
In the spirit of Sleep Awareness Week, we put together a short quiz to help you separate sleep fact from fiction—so you can bridge the gap between wanting sleep and actually getting it. Ready to test your sleep IQ?
Read each statement below. Which are true and which are false?
1. Sleeping pills are the most effective treatment for insomnia.
2. Daytime stress contributes to sleeplessness.
3. Sometimes, the best thing to do is get out of bed.
4. You definitely need eight hours of sleep each night.
5. If you’re tired during the week, you should sleep in on the weekend.
How’d you do? Read on to check your answers:
1. Sleeping pills are the most effective treatment for insomnia.
FALSE: Sleeping pills work by “shutting off” part of the brain, which sedates the body into a state closer to unconsciousness than actual sleep. That’s why medicated sleep does not have the same restorative properties of natural sleep, says neuroscientist Matt Walker, Ph.D. Studies show that CBT-I (cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia) is more effective than sleeping pills because it addresses the underlying causes of sleep issues. Through CBT-I, you change the thoughts and habits that prevent a good night’s sleep by developing more restful routines, quieting your mind so worries don’t lead to wake-ups, and building up your sleep drive (your desire for sleep) so you can fall asleep and stay asleep.
2. Daytime stress contributes to sleeplessness.
TRUE: Your mood during the day affects how you sleep at night. One study gathered data from 100 countries and found that pressures like work and family obligations keep us awake by overriding our bodies’ natural rhythms. Why? Because when we’re stressed, we produce cortisol—a hormone that keeps us alert. The problem is that cortisol doesn’t drop when we turn out the lights. That’s why it’s important to de-stress before bed. Tricks like writing down what you’re grateful for during the day, prioritizing your to-do list before logging off at work, and journaling each day helps to cultivate a sense of calm during the day and throughout the night.
3. Sometimes, the best thing to do is get out of bed.
TRUE: When you’re awake in bed too long, your body starts to associate your bed with wakefulness. The result? You become alert and anxious when you turn out the lights. Think about how much time you spend in bed versus the time you’re actually asleep. This ratio is called “sleep efficiency.” With an ideal sleep efficiency, you spend 85 to 90 percent of your time in bed asleep. So, if you can’t fall asleep within 30 minutes, get up. Do something relaxing, like reading a book, until you feel sleepy again, then head back to bed.
4. You definitely need eight hours of sleep each night.
FALSE: Everyone has different sleep needs. Some people need six to seven hours per night. Others need 10. Regardless, quality beats quantity. In fact, research shows that many people lose much of their sleep worrying about sleep itself! To figure out how many hours of sleep you actually need, track your sleep quality and quantity for at least a week. You’ve hit your sleep “sweet spot” when you wake up feeling rested and ready for the day. Use this number to figure out your bedtime. For example, if you need to sleep seven hours and have to get up by 6 am, your bedtime is 11 pm.
5. If you’re tired during the week, you should sleep in on the weekend.
FALSE: Studies show that a consistent routine is more important than “making up” for lost sleep. Stick to a consistent rise time, even if you’ve gone to bed late or slept poorly. Your body will compensate by giving you deeper sleep the next night. And napping, especially late in the day, creates a jetlag-like effect that throws off your schedule and zaps your ability to sleep at night.
Kara Baskin is a Boston-based journalist and well-being expert. For over 15 years, she has been helping consumers live healthier, more fulfilling lives, writing for outlets such as The Boston Globe, Time, and Women’s Health. Kara has also collaborated on several books on women’s health and resilience. Find her on Twitter @kcbaskin