Here is a reality check of your sleep IQ. We all know the importance of sleep in making our world go round but are we blindly trusting in some sleep fads to pacify ourselves the times we are lagging? Read on to know.

1) You can catch up on lost sleep

One extended sleep marathon does not help make up for sleep deficit. Sleep deficit is the difference between the amount of sleep you should be getting and the amount you get. This sleep deficit grows every time we do not complete our sleep. Only sleeping well consistently can help our body and mind recover from accumulated sleep debt. For recovery from sleep deficit, the number of hours and quality of sleep matter, however, remember finding a way to avoid sleep deficit altogether is the only solution to keeping good health.

2) A nap is good for you

Yes, it is but ensures it is the proverbial 40 winks, as sleeping for more than 40 minutes in the afternoon is linked to a host of health threats. A long nap can disrupt many health parameters such as blood pressure, cholesterol level, sugar level and put people at higher risk of getting a life-threatening disease. A study in Costa Rica showed that those who took longer siestas were at a higher risk of coronary problems than those who took shorter naps and only a few days a week.

The danger of siesta is not just regarding the sleep but also waking. When you wake up your blood pressure is known to rise and heart rate increases, making you vulnerable to heart diseases. In this regard, a light nap is indeed what is advisable as any deep sleep would make the waking even harder on the system.

3) Sleeping Pills help you sleep

This quick fix is habit-forming and harmful in the long run. While you may think it is working for you, it is not as it does not ensure nature deep state of sleep that your body so needs for repairing and restoring itself. There is a term for the difficulty one has when they wean off sleeping pills after long; Rebound insomnia that is worse than insomnia first felt before going in for medicines. So it is better to resort to natural ways to sleep better such as meditation, yoga, exercise or in tough times you could try naturopathy such as homeopathy to get by.

4) Caffeine helps stay awake

Caffeine works differently on different people and different age groups. Most coffee consumed in general is not as strong as experts claim work as stimulants. Only if it is a strong espresso can it work as a stimulant? A milky or frothy cappuccino could even put you to sleep. However, if you consume way too many cuppas during the day in a bid to combat your fatigue after a badly rested night, you will ruin your next night’s sleep. So while a cup or two will not do any harm, too many and taken too close to bedtime will surely do.

5) Dream state indicates good sleep

While Dreams are known to happen in the REM state or Rapid Eye Movement phase of your night, where your brain is more active but body relaxed, the truth is we dream at all stages. Sometimes we are half asleep and half away dreaming and not sure of details when we wake up. Most people have these dreams in the NREM (Non-REM) state that even get passed as hallucinations. The majority of us wake up not remembering complete details which is a sign of light sleep and that’s not the best quality of sleep we can have. When you stick to the above mentioned guidelines, ensure you also get the best of the sleep gear from the best mattress manufacturers in India. 

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