Myths

Sleeping for longer can be harmful to your health

Sleeping for longer does not necessarily mean getting a better rest. For most adults, the optimal amount of sleep for maintaining good health is between 7 and 9 hours per night. Needing to sleep for very long periods may be related to factors such as low levels of physical activity or underlying conditions, such as depression.

Good-quality sleep depends on both the quality and architecture of your sleep; in other words, going through all the stages of sleep (light sleep, deep sleep and REM sleep), not simply on the total number of hours you sleep. A long night's sleep that is fragmented or of poor quality, is not necessarily restorative.

Although snoring is common and affects a considerable proportion of the population, it should not be considered normal. Snoring is a sleep-related problem that may indicate an underlying health condition.

One important example is obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), which can occur in both adults and children. It is estimated that a significant proportion of people who snore regularly may have undiagnosed sleep apnoea.

A healthy sleep pattern is characterised by the absence of snoring. Sleeping without snoring is associated with a lower risk of cardiac arrhythmias.

If you experience snoring, gasping or a feeling of breathlessness during the night, you should speak to a healthcare professional so that any necessary diagnostic tests can be carried out, particularly if the problem persists for more than fifteen days.

Sleeping for longer at the weekend does not make up for the lack of rest that has built up during the week. This practice often reflects chronic sleep deprivation and contributes to the disruption of the body’s biological clock.

To maintain good health, it is advisable to keep a regular sleep schedule every day, including the weekends, and to aim for 7–9 hours of sleep each night.

Naps cannot replace a restorative night's sleep. Sleeping during the day can make it more difficult to fall asleep at night and may perpetuate problems such as insomnia.

If a nap is too long and you enter deep sleep, you may wake up feeling disorientated or groggy rather than more alert.

If you do take a nap, it is recommended that you keep it short (20-30 minutes) and take it in the early afternoon. This can provide certain benefits without interfering with your night's sleep.

We sleep worse as we get older

Although there is a common belief that we need less sleep as we get older, the reality is that for adults aged 65 and over, the optimal range remains 7–9 hours per night. 

As we age, changes occur in the way sleep is structured:

• Sleep becomes lighter and more fragmented, with a reduction in deep sleep.
• It becomes more difficult to fall asleep and maintain sleep.
• The circadian rhythm shifts earlier, leading to sleepiness occurring sooner and morning awakenings.
• Nocturia (the need to urinate several times during the night) may occur, particularly in men with prostate disease.
• Naps may become more common as a way of compensating for less efficient night-time sleep.

Insufficient or poor-quality sleep in older age is associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline, cortical atrophy and dementia.

Being able to fall asleep easily anywhere is not a sign of a good night’s sleep. On the contrary, it is often a sign of excessive daytime sleepiness, reflecting an insufficient quantity or quality of sleep.

When you don’t get enough sleep, your body builds up a sleep debt, which causes you to fall asleep in situations that require little stimulation, such as reading or driving. This can increase the risk of road traffic and workplace accidents by reducing alertness and slowing reaction times.

Sleeping well means waking up feeling refreshed and maintaining a good level of alertness throughout the day.

False. Using screens before going to bed affects the quality of sleep.

The main reasons are:

• Exposure to artificial light at night, particularly blue light, reduces the production of melatonin, the hormone that signals to your body that it is time to sleep.
• Activities such as checking social media, playing games or searching for information keep the brain alert.
• Screens contribute to more fragmented and poorer sleep quality.
• Using electronic devices in bed makes it harder for the brain to associate the bedroom exclusively with rest.

For these reasons, it is recommended that you turn off screens at least an hour before going to bed and replace screen time with relaxing activities, such as reading, meditating or listening to soft music.

It is normal to take more than five minutes to fall asleep. According to a consensus of experts from the National Sleep Foundation, it is generally only a concern if you regularly take more than 45-60 minutes to fall asleep, as this may indicate poor sleep quality or possible insomnia.

Being in bed does not necessarily mean that you are getting the rest you need. In fact, spending too much time awake in bed can be counterproductive.

The quality of your sleep can be assessed through sleep efficiency — the percentage of time you spend in bed that you are actually asleep.

Melatonin is a hormone produced naturally by the body and is also available as a supplement. However, it should not be regarded as a one-size-fits-all solution for sleep problems, nor does it make up for bad habits, such as using screens before bedtime.

The use of melatonin should be supervised by a healthcare professional, who can assess whether it is indicated in each individual case.

Consuming caffeine in the afternoon can have a negative effect on the quality of your sleep, although it does not stop you from falling asleep.

Caffeine blocks the receptors for adenosine, a substance that signals to the brain that it is time to rest, and keeps you in a state of artificial alertness. Its half-life is around 6 or 7 hours, which means that it can continue to affect you for much of the night. It also reduces the amount of deep sleep and increases light sleep, wakefulness and micro-awakenings.

For this reason, it is advisable to avoid coffee from midday onwards and to reduce your intake of stimulants during the late afternoon and evening.

The number of hours you sleep is important, but so is the time at which you go to sleep.

The body follows a circadian rhythm that regulates biological processes such as body temperature, metabolism and hormone release. This cycle is synchronised with light and darkness.

Sleeping during the day disrupts this rhythm, affects with the production of melatonin and cortisol, and sends conflicting signals to the body. As a result, daytime sleep tends to be lighter, more fragmented and of poorer quality.

Regularly getting one hour less sleep than you need can have consequences, even if you do not notice them straight away.

Getting less than 7 hours of sleep a day is associated with an increased risk of obesity, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and poorer general health. It can also increase irritability and anxiety, and may affect creativity, productivity and libido.

Sleeping for 12 hours on one day does not make up for all the sleep you have missed during the week. The body needs to maintain a regular sleep schedule, including at weekends, to keep the biological clock in sync. Sleeping for much longer than usual one day can disrupt this regular pattern, making it harder for the body to distinguish between periods of activity and rest. Furthermore, it does not reverse the effects that sleep deprivation may have had on memory, concentration or mood.

Not everyone needs exactly 8 hours of sleep.

For adults, the recommended amount is between 7 and 9 hours per night, but individual needs may vary from person to person and also throughout one’s life.

Some people function well on 7 hours’ sleep, while others need closer to 9 hours to feel rested and maintain a high level of performance.

Not waking up during the night does not guarantee good-quality sleep.

Some sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnoea, can cause brief awakenings that the person may not be aware of. In addition, certain habits, such as the consumption of alcohol or caffeine, can affect the quality of sleep without causing you to wake up noticeably.

Sleep quality also depends on other factors, such as sleep latency (the time it takes to fall asleep) and sleep efficiency (the amount of time actually asleep while in bed).

Being physically tired does not guarantee a good night’s sleep. Although regular physical activity can promote sleep and increase deep sleep, there are other factors that can make it harder to sleep well.

• The difference between fatigue and sleepiness: sleepiness is the biological signal that promotes sleep, while fatigue is simply a lack of energy.
• Intense exercise before bedtime: engaging in intense physical activity in the hours before going to bed can be counterproductive. It is recommended that you leave at least three hours between exercising and going to bed.
• An active mind: stress or anxiety can keep the mind in a state of high alert, making it difficult to fall sleep.
• Biological desynchronization: sleep also depends on the circadian rhythm and the release of melatonin.
• Environmental factors and habits: caffeine, screen time or an unsuitable room temperature can have a negative impact on sleep, even when you are physically tired.