{"id":918,"date":"2017-04-27T20:49:34","date_gmt":"2017-04-27T20:49:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bettersleeppro.wpengine.com\/?p=918"},"modified":"2017-04-27T20:49:34","modified_gmt":"2017-04-27T20:49:34","slug":"sleep-myths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/better-sleep\/sleep-myths\/","title":{"rendered":"Sleep Myths"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Sleep is something that can seem mysterious to us. After all, we\u2019re not awake while we\u2019re doing it and we don\u2019t remember it, so it\u2019s natural to be a little confused about some of the facts on sleep. The truth about sleep can help you make good choices that will have you sleeping well enough and long enough to feel great. Here are some common myths, debunked:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Saturday sleep-in.<\/strong> Some people think they can catch up on their sleep over the weekend. You can\u2019t ever completely make up for sleep you\u2019ve lost or bank sleep for the future, so it\u2019s best to plan for 7 to 8 hours each night.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Aging out of sleep.<\/strong> A common belief is that older people need less sleep. While older people tend to wake more at night, they still need the same total hours of sleep as anyone else.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Drink to dream.<\/strong> Alcohol does make a person feel sleepy, so many assume drinking before bed can help you sleep. In fact, alcohol is metabolized throughout the night and is likely to disturb your sleep, especially since it reduces rapid eye movement (or REM sleep), so it\u2019s best not to drink it before bed.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Two of a kind.<\/strong> Some people believe that you can save money on your bed by replacing only the mattress and keeping the old box spring. You should always replace both since they are designed to work best together as a set, and the warranty may not apply if you do not.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sheep are not for shut-eye.<\/strong> Counting sheep is a popular suggestion to help you fall asleep. An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/11863237\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oxford University study<\/a> showed doing this actually lengthens how long it takes to sleep. Instead, listen to soothing music or read a book to help you fall asleep.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Firm it up.<\/strong> It\u2019s a common myth that if you have back pain you should only buy a firm mattress. The fact is that mattress choice is a very personal thing and what feels good to one person may not for another. Try out a variety of mattresses to see what seems most comfortable for you.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tripped out on tryptophan.<\/strong> At every Thanksgiving you are sure to hear someone say that the turkey is making them sleepy. Turkey does contain tryptophan which can cause sleepiness, but it doesn\u2019t have more than any other meat and is not the cause of the yawns at the table. Instead, the heavy meal, change in weather, hard work of putting together such a feast and interacting with so many people is likely to blame.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cheesy.<\/strong> Some people are convinced that eating cheese before bed causes nightmares. There is no evidence to support this idea. In general though, it\u2019s a good idea to finish meals or snacks two to three hours before you go to bed if you want to sleep well.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Milky Way.<\/strong> Another common myth is that a glass of warm milk before bed will make you sleepy. While there\u2019s no evidence to support this story, you might find it comforting if it was something that was always given to you as a child.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"blueBoxModuleImage\">\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-919\" src=\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Extended_Article_SleepMyths_674x371.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"674\" height=\"371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Extended_Article_SleepMyths_674x371.jpg 674w, https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Extended_Article_SleepMyths_674x371-300x165.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 674px) 100vw, 674px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Say what? More common myths about sleep.<\/h3>\n<p><em>A 2017 study from the Better Sleep Council found that many Americans still believe these sleep myths.<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>164 million American adults (66%) believe mattresses last about 10 years before you need a replacement. As a general rule, after seven years it\u2019s time to evaluate your current mattress and decide if it\u2019s time for a new one.<\/li>\n<li>American adults (43%) believe that a person can catch up on lost sleep over the weekend. In reality \u2013 you just can\u2019t bank sleep.<\/li>\n<li>151 million American adults (61%) believe that the best mattress for a sore back is one that is very firm. Mattresses are a personal choice, and while in general a firm mattress is often recommended, the mattress that will alleviate back issues for one person may not be the same for another. And one person\u2019s criteria for \u201cfirm\u201d can be very different from another\u2019s.<\/li>\n<li>About 122 million American adults believe it\u2019s illegal to remove mattress tags. Truth be told, it\u2019s fine for consumers to take off the tag after purchase \u2013 there are no mattress police. Men (53%) were more likely to believe this compared to women (45%).<\/li>\n<li>Around 122 million Americans believe some people don\u2019t dream. Everyone has dreams, even if you can\u2019t recall them. Again, men (52%) were more likely to believe this than women (46%).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sleep is something that can seem mysterious to us. After all, we\u2019re not awake while we\u2019re doing it and we don\u2019t remember it, so it\u2019s natural to be a little confused about some of the facts on sleep. The truth about sleep can help you make good choices that will have you sleeping well enough [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":919,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[6,7],"class_list":["post-918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-better-sleep","tag-better-sleep","tag-sleep"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Sleep Myths | The Better Sleep Council<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The truth about sleep can help you make good choices that will have you sleeping well enough and long enough to feel great. Read this and more about common sleep myths.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/better-sleep\/sleep-myths\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sleep Myths | The Better Sleep Council\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The truth about sleep can help you make good choices that will have you sleeping well enough and long enough to feel great. Read this and more about common sleep myths.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/better-sleep\/sleep-myths\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Better Sleep Council | Start every day with a good night\u2019s sleep\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BetterSleepOrg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-04-27T20:49:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Extended_Article_SleepMyths_674x371.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"674\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"371\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Josh Farmer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@BetterSleepOrg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@BetterSleepOrg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Josh Farmer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/better-sleep\/sleep-myths\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/better-sleep\/sleep-myths\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Josh Farmer\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/#\/schema\/person\/53e17aaac3128096cf11f556ae2b5310\"},\"headline\":\"Sleep Myths\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-04-27T20:49:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-04-27T20:49:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/better-sleep\/sleep-myths\/\"},\"wordCount\":749,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/better-sleep\/sleep-myths\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Extended_Article_SleepMyths_674x371.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Better Sleep\",\"Sleep\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Better Sleep\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/better-sleep\/sleep-myths\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/better-sleep\/sleep-myths\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/better-sleep\/sleep-myths\/\",\"name\":\"Sleep Myths | The Better Sleep Council\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/better-sleep\/sleep-myths\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/better-sleep\/sleep-myths\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Extended_Article_SleepMyths_674x371.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-04-27T20:49:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-04-27T20:49:34+00:00\",\"description\":\"The truth about sleep can help you make good choices that will have you sleeping well enough and long enough to feel great. Read this and more about common sleep myths.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/better-sleep\/sleep-myths\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/better-sleep\/sleep-myths\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Extended_Article_SleepMyths_674x371.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Extended_Article_SleepMyths_674x371.jpg\",\"width\":674,\"height\":371,\"caption\":\"Young girl yawning in pajamas, Better Sleep Council\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/\",\"name\":\"Better Sleep Council | Start every day with a good night\u2019s sleep\",\"description\":\"A program of the International Sleep Products Association\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Better Sleep Council | Start every day with a good night\u2019s sleep\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/bettersleep.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/bettersleep.svg\",\"width\":193,\"height\":81,\"caption\":\"Better Sleep Council | Start every day with a good night\u2019s sleep\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BetterSleepOrg\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/BetterSleepOrg\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/bettersleeporg\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/BetterSleeporg\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/#\/schema\/person\/53e17aaac3128096cf11f556ae2b5310\",\"name\":\"Josh Farmer\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/336103c6515e9b35bf1270d46aa1238e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/336103c6515e9b35bf1270d46aa1238e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Josh Farmer\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/author\/joshfarmer\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Sleep Myths | The Better Sleep Council","description":"The truth about sleep can help you make good choices that will have you sleeping well enough and long enough to feel great. Read this and more about common sleep myths.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/better-sleep\/sleep-myths\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Sleep Myths | The Better Sleep Council","og_description":"The truth about sleep can help you make good choices that will have you sleeping well enough and long enough to feel great. Read this and more about common sleep myths.","og_url":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/better-sleep\/sleep-myths\/","og_site_name":"Better Sleep Council | Start every day with a good night\u2019s sleep","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BetterSleepOrg\/","article_published_time":"2017-04-27T20:49:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":674,"height":371,"url":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Extended_Article_SleepMyths_674x371.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Josh Farmer","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@BetterSleepOrg","twitter_site":"@BetterSleepOrg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Josh Farmer","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/better-sleep\/sleep-myths\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/better-sleep\/sleep-myths\/"},"author":{"name":"Josh Farmer","@id":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/#\/schema\/person\/53e17aaac3128096cf11f556ae2b5310"},"headline":"Sleep Myths","datePublished":"2017-04-27T20:49:34+00:00","dateModified":"2017-04-27T20:49:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/better-sleep\/sleep-myths\/"},"wordCount":749,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/better-sleep\/sleep-myths\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Extended_Article_SleepMyths_674x371.jpg","keywords":["Better Sleep","Sleep"],"articleSection":["Better Sleep"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/better-sleep\/sleep-myths\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/better-sleep\/sleep-myths\/","url":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/better-sleep\/sleep-myths\/","name":"Sleep Myths | The Better Sleep Council","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/better-sleep\/sleep-myths\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/better-sleep\/sleep-myths\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Extended_Article_SleepMyths_674x371.jpg","datePublished":"2017-04-27T20:49:34+00:00","dateModified":"2017-04-27T20:49:34+00:00","description":"The truth about sleep can help you make good choices that will have you sleeping well enough and long enough to feel great. Read this and more about common sleep myths.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/better-sleep\/sleep-myths\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/better-sleep\/sleep-myths\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Extended_Article_SleepMyths_674x371.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Extended_Article_SleepMyths_674x371.jpg","width":674,"height":371,"caption":"Young girl yawning in pajamas, Better Sleep Council"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/","name":"Better Sleep Council | Start every day with a good night\u2019s sleep","description":"A program of the International Sleep Products Association","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/#organization","name":"Better Sleep Council | Start every day with a good night\u2019s sleep","url":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/bettersleep.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/bettersleep.svg","width":193,"height":81,"caption":"Better Sleep Council | Start every day with a good night\u2019s sleep"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BetterSleepOrg\/","https:\/\/x.com\/BetterSleepOrg","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/bettersleeporg\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/BetterSleeporg\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/#\/schema\/person\/53e17aaac3128096cf11f556ae2b5310","name":"Josh Farmer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/336103c6515e9b35bf1270d46aa1238e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/336103c6515e9b35bf1270d46aa1238e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Josh Farmer"},"url":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/author\/joshfarmer\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}