Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/165102
Myths & Facts about Sleep Myth 1: Getting just one hour less sleep per night won't affect your daytime functioning. You may not be noticeably sleepy during the day, but losing even one hour of sleep can affect your ability to think properly and respond quickly. It also compromises your cardiovascular health, energy balance, and ability to fight infections. Myth 2: Your body adjusts quickly to different sleep schedules. Most people can reset their biological clock, but only by appropriately timed cues – and even then, by one-two hours per day at best. Consequently, it can take more than a week to adjust after traveling across several time zones or switching to the night shift. Myth 3: Extra sleep at night can cure you of problems with excessive daytime fatigue. The quantity of sleep you get is important, sure, but it's the quality of your sleep that you really have to pay attention to. Some people sleep eight or nine hours a night but don't feel well rested when they wake up because the quality of their sleep is poor. Myth 4: You can make up for lost sleep during the week by sleeping more on the weekends. Although this sleep pattern will help relieve part of a sleep debt, it will not completely make up for the lack of sleep. Furthermore, sleeping later on the weekends can affect your sleep-wake cycle so that it is much harder to go to sleep at the right time on Sunday nights and get up early on Monday mornings. You may be sleep deprived if you… • Need an alarm clock in order to wake up on time • Rely on the snooze button • Have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning • Feel sluggish in the afternoon • Get sleepy in meetings, lectures, or warm rooms • Get drowsy after heavy meals or when driving • Need to nap to get through the day • Fall asleep while watching TV or relaxing in the evening • Feel the need to sleep in on the weekends • Fall asleep within five minutes of going to bed Did you Know? "Sleep duration has shortened considerably in western societies in the past decade and simultaneously, there has been an increase in the prevalence of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes," lead author Dr. Esther Donga said in a news release from The Endocrine Society. "The co-occurring rises in shortened sleep and diabetes prevalence may not be a coincidence. Our findings show a short night of sleep has more profound effects on metabolic regulation than previously appreciated." Abby's Magazine - September / October 2013 | Page 17