Fact or fable
You should not wake someone who is sleepwalking. Men are more likely to dream about sex. There are quite a few myths about sleep. But they are not all true. Test your knowledge.
1. People can die if they never sleep
True. The world record for staying awake was set in 1964 by high school student Randy Gardner. He didn’t sleep for 11 days and nights. He survived this, but it’s better that you don’t try to make it better. If you don’t sleep for a long time, your memory and concentration deteriorate.
You make mistakes, become irritable and bad-tempered. Your body temperature drops and you become more susceptible to infections and diseases. It is unknown how long it will take for you to die from this. People who say they don’t sleep occasionally pick up some sleep. It is therefore unlikely that they will die from this. But rats in a lab kept artificially awake died after three weeks.
2. An afternoon nap is unhealthy
Not true. A so-called power nap of about 5 to a maximum of 30 minutes can be very refreshing. It helps you to be able to continue energetically. In the long term, it could even reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Make sure that you do not take such an afternoon nap too late, or too long. In that case, your night’s sleep may be at risk. And that is not so healthy.
3. You should not wake someone who is sleepwalking
Not true. Sometimes it may be better to wake up a sleepwalker. Someone who sleepwalks can hurt themselves, fall over something or just walk into the street. The problem is that a sleepwalker sleeps very deeply. So it will be difficult to wake him up. But as long as nothing is wrong, it doesn’t have to be.
4. The hours of sleep for twelve hours count twice
Not true. If you’re used to going to bed after noon, you won’t have any worse sleep than if you go to bed at ten. However, there is an explanation for this tale. The first hours of your sleep are the deepest. Of this deep sleep you would rest the most. That’s why they are the most important!
5. Men dream about sex more often
True. The stereotypes of men and women are strongly confirmed in the dreams. Men dream about travelling, their work and wild animals. Women dream about acquaintances, indoors and clothes.
And of course the roles are also confirmed when it comes to sex: 12 percent of men’s dreams are about sex. The 4 percent of women’s dreams about sex are more about flirting and seduction than about the actual act.
6. People with a morning mood behave
Not true. Evening people suffer the most from a morning mood. Evening people’s biological clocks lag behind our daily rhythm.
They simply have to be at school or work early in the morning. But their body says they should sleep for another two hours. They don’t have the energy, but they have to do everything right away. Instead of complaining, they can also try to get up a little earlier. Lots of rest in the morning ritual can help.
7. Some people never dream
Not true. Some people never remember their dreams. But everyone dreams. With training, anyone can learn to remember their dreams.
8. You sleep less during a full moon
True. Sleep researchers discovered that the position of the moon affects sleep. Women, in particular, sleep less during a full moon. The differences are not very big. Around the new moon, the subjects slept for about 7.0 hours. At full moon, that time shortened to 6.7 hours.
9. Poor sleep makes you fat
True. Your hunger pangs are regulated by hormones. If you get too little sleep, these hormones get out of balance. As a result, you suffer from an insatiable hunger and you continue to eat. You hope that you will feel better if you eat something else. In addition, you also have less energy to resist all the temptations of food when you are tired. So sleep can be a perfect weight loss tool for those people!
10. Men snore more than women
True. Almost twice as many men as women snore. And when they snore, they snore much louder. The explanation has to do with female hormones. These keep you from having your entire upper airway clattering; what causes the snoring sound. But those hormones make you breathe deeper and more actively and you don’t give snoring a chance. Unfortunately, women snore just as loudly after the menopause.
11. The rhythm of the train makes you fall asleep easily
True. As a baby you already love rhythm. Babies sleep better when they are rocked or to the sound of a fan or vacuum cleaner. Doctors suspect this has to do with the sounds in the womb; as a fetus you constantly hear the beating of your mother’s heart. It also works like this for adults; that’s why some people fall asleep on the train or car so easily.