The Eye-Opening Truth Behind Four Myths About Sleep

Myth 1: Snoring isn't harmful.

Oh, yeah? Tell that to the person trying to sleep next to the snorer -- or even in the next room. After a long night listening to someone else sawing wood, you might expect your own health to suffer just from lack of sleep, and that might lead you to drastic action, like pouring water over said snorer's head.

In all seriousness, extremely loud snoring can be evidence of obstructions in the breathing passages that the sleeper literally has to blast through. In a sense they're strangling, literally struggling for air, which makes the idea that snoring isn't harmful to the snorer one of the more common myths about sleep.

Myth 2: Older people need less sleep than younger people.

This common myth might seem to have some basis in fact, considering that older people generally do sleep less everyone else. But the effect doesn't necessarily follow from the expected cause. The truth is, they still need as much sleep as ever; they just can't get it as easily.

The root of this myth about sleep derives from that fact that, as a person gets older, it's more likely that some physical ailment or condition will curtail their ability to get a full night's rest. Bladder problems, arthritis, digestive issues, and a hundred other things may limit an older person's ability to get enough sleep.

Myth 3: You can adjust to just two or three hours of sleep per night.

While there may be a few extraordinary people who can make do with this little sleep, most of us need eight hours or so to function at peak efficiency. Oh, it's possible to go for a few days or a week on just a few hours a sleep a night, but it's not something that you can get away with for much longer than that.

Give this myth about sleep a pass. If you get anything less than six hours of sleep per night on a regular basis, you'll soon begin to suffer the effects of sleep deprivation. Aside from the obvious physical issues, the mental results are a real bummer -- everything from irritability to full-blown mental illness.

Myth 4: It's dangerous to awaken a sleepwalker.

According to folklore, waking a sleepwalker could cause them to have a heart attack and die -- but it's not necessarily so. As long as you treat the sleepwalker gently and wake them up carefully without startling them, they'll be fine, though they may be a little confused. Just lead them back to bed, and all will be well.

The truth is, it's more dangerous for them to sleepwalk than it is to wake them; some people have been known to cook or even drive while asleep (!), and running into furniture and tripping are common causes of injury. As is often the case, then, this myth about sleep is completely opposite of the reality.