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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter.

I have realized throughout my life that I need 7 hours (at least) of sleep to be at my most functioning point. 

With this said, I looked into some of the age old myths and facts about our human sleeping schedules. I thought I should share. 

  1. You can never catch up on sleep 

True. Despite popular belief, you cannot catch up on your lost sleep by sleeping more at another time or taking a lot of naps. When you lose your sleep, sadly, it is gone forever. It is impossible to pay back your sleep debt, especially as it gets bigger. If you do think that you can catch up on your sleep, watch out, sleep deprivation can cause an increase in other health problems on top of your already sleepy body. One may think that catching up on sleep may help to reduce daytime sleepiness or drowsiness, but it does not reverse the effects of not getting enough sleep or enough quality sleep each night, it is kind of just a band-aid. When realizing this, I was so disheartened. I love the feeling that a nap gives me like I have caught up on my sleep and I am ready to tackle whatever life throws at me, but I guess it is better to know this now than continue to think that I can rejuvenate my sleep meter. 

  1. You need less and less sleep the older that you get 

False. Sleep patterns can change at different stages of our lives and at different ages. Obviously, a baby needs a lot more sleep than a functioning 21-year-old but not much less honestly. Sleep experts recommend 7 to 9 hours of sleep for most adults. While our bodies change, the amount of sleep the body needs does not. This is such a myth that I find myself falling to especially when I feel like I do not have enough “me time” in a day. I will stay up later than my body and mind need because I feel that I did not get enough time to just chill or do some type of self-care. I have always thrown out the saying “I’ll sleep when I am dead,” because I want to reenforce that I will eventually get the sleep that I need, but not now. I really need to stop saying that. I definitely reenforce the myth that because I am older, I do not need the sleep that I felt like I needed when I was younger. Now, I am working with the idea that, like a younger me, I need my eight hours, for the better. 

  1. Quality of sleep is just as important as the length of time that you sleep

True. Many think that if they sleep for long periods of time, the quality of said sleep does not matter. It does, it so does. And I think that we all know this deep down, we just do not want to admit it, We take sleep when we can get it. Sleep quality is another critical factor to consider, and it is closely connected with sleep continuity and lack of sleep disruptions. Broken-up sleep is marked by numerous awakenings that can interfere with the ability to properly move through the sleep cycle. This decreases the time spent in the most restorative stages of sleep. Now, I would rather have four hours of quality sleep than eight hours of interrupted and restless sleep. 

  1. If you having trouble falling asleep, stay in bed until you do

False. Sleep experts recommend that if you are having trouble falling asleep, try and get out of bed and do something, especially if it has been more than 20 minutes of trying to sleep. This was so helpful for me to realize that I do not have to lay in bed for hours until I fall asleep. Now, this does not mean to subject your eyes to blue light like your phone, but possibly reading, writing, or some other mindful exercise to get your ideas out of your head. In turn, practicing this easing into sleep will unlink the association of your bed with restlessness in your head, doing you more favors in the long run. 

It is important to also note that when it comes to sleep, all of the odds are rigged against us. Our schedules, our phones, our anxieties, they all add up to lead us to not trust in the best, most fulfilling sleep that we can achieve. 

I feel that busting some of these myths, especially for college students, helps us to realize that we can beat the odds and get the rest that we need. 

Sources: 

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/myths-and-facts-about-sleep

Myths and Facts About Sleep
Howdy babes, my name is Hadley Thompson and I am super happy to be here. I am from Niagara Falls, NY, and am ready to move where the Buffalo winters aren't so strong, brrrrr. I am a senior political science and journalism double major at St. Bonaventure University. I still remember my first semester writing for HC, I was the only new inductee at our annual interest meeting! It is so awesome to have witnessed this group of insightful and wonderful minds grow throughout the years. As I finish up my time here at Bonas, I hope to combine all of my hobbies and interests as I step into this next chapter of my life. Because I love things like reading, studying politics, environmental studies, chatting it up, writing, and such, I am applying to law school, eek! I will have to keep you updated. I am super excited for this semester amidst all of the changes, senior feelings, and, of course, to be a part of HC @ SBU! :)