Myths about sleep

September 19, 2020 Grandma's Medicine Valli Sarvani No comments

Sound sleep is essential for a healthy mind and body. There are many myths about sleep.

In the past, it was believed that the brain was also dormant along with the body during sleep. But, contrary to the beliefs of many people, your brain does not quit the job during sleep.

It works for all important functions like breathing, heart functioning etc. Your brain can never completely stop its function. It works more during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

Dreaming is common, but most times they can’t be recalled in the morning. Dreams normally occur during REM sleep, but, they are immediately forgotten. This might be due to active suppression of dream memories by certain neurons as shown in a study.

If someone wakes during or just after REM sleep, they can remember a dream. Hence, recalling a dream is a not sign of sound sleep, rather it indicates that you might not sleep well.

Many people believe alcohol ensures good sleep. But it is not true. In fact, it reduces the quality of sleep. Studies proved that alcohol does not provide you with a refreshing sleep.

Alcohol disrupts the brain cycles which is why people cannot feel refreshed despite sleeping for a long time. It is due to the drowsiness that the alcohol causes, one cannot wake easily.

Several believe that eating cheese before bedtime will induce good sleep. But, this is not true. Eating a large meal can cause heartburn or digestive issues which disrupt your sleep. Consuming a high-carbohydrate meal in dinner can cause night sweat due to heat generated by the body while metabolizing the food. It disturbs your sleep.

The reason for this belief may be foods like cheese, milk and cheese have an amino acid called tryptophan which can induce sleep. However, it may not be true for all. Moreover, available studies showed that tryptophan intake does not have a great influence on sleep. Also, amount of this amino acid in a portion of cheese is negligible and cannot induce sleep.

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