Humans didn't always sleep straight through the night, and we didn't always have to deal with a regulated work or school day. Modern culture is responsible for some of the most enduring misconceptions about sleep. Here are seven common myths.
Deep in the French countryside a monastery bell rings out across the tree-covered hills. Just as it has for centuries.Just before midnight, the bell tolls again. They wake, gather in silence, greet each other with a nod, and chant psalms in a dimly lit church for a few hours.
"Sleep is extremely adaptable," says Leon Lack of the Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health at Flinders University. Even REM sleep, where we have the most vivid dreams, has brainwave patterns that are almost the same as when we are awake — although luckily we're in a semi-paralysed state so we can't act out those flying dreams.While it's common for people to complain about having "broken" sleep, it's actually natural to wake up briefly through the night in the lighter phases of sleep, and experts like Professor Lack urge us not to fear this.
But some people are biologically wired to be night owls. Their body clock runs "slow", says Professor Lack, and this makes them want to go to sleep later. The best sleep comes from having a regular sleep and wake time, where you get up at around the same time.
Sleep Myths Sleep Duration Insomnia Naps Health
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