No, you shouldn’t wear underwear in bed – and 14 other lazy sleep myths, busted
Teenagers need the most sleep: FALSE
“The recommendations are that teenagers aged 13 to 17 should get eight to 10 hours sleep a night, and 18- and 19-year-olds between seven and nine hours,” says Browning. “If teenagers sleep in at weekends or struggle to wake up for school, it’s not because they’re lazy or require more sleep, but that they go to bed later. During puberty, teenagers produce melatonin at a later time than younger children, so they have a biological inclination to go to bed and wake up later. They can also be more sensitive to light in the evening, delaying melatonin production.”
Children dream more than adults: UNCLEAR
“Babies and children spend more time than adults in REM sleep – the stage of sleep when most dreams happen – so it is likely that children dream more, but this has not yet been proved,” says Browning. “Adults may be better at dream recall than young children but it doesn’t necessarily mean they dream more. A child’s eye movement frequency during REM is not as high, suggesting their dreams may not be as intense.”
Never wake a sleepwalker: TRUE
“Although not dangerous, waking a sleepwalker would scare and confuse them, causing an adrenaline rush,” says Wilson. “Instead, talk and reassure them and put them back in bed. I work with lots of clients with parasomnia, from Premier League footballers who head the ball in their sleep to people getting up to make a sandwich.”
If you sleepwalk in deep sleep you are capable of carrying out complex tasks, such as driving a car, because parts of the brain controlling vision, movement and emotion appear to be awake, while areas involved in memory, decision making and rational thinking remain in deep sleep. In REM sleep, however, we are usually paralysed, although those who don’t experience muscle paralysis may act out dreams in a more harmful way, such as punching or kicking in their sleep.
Mitigate the risk of sleepwalking by knowing your triggers, which can include stress and anxiety, caffeine or alcohol before bed, high body temperature or a genetic predisposition.
You always speak the truth when you sleep-talk: FALSE
Sleep talking, or somniloquy, is most common during adolescence and may be caused by stress and mental health conditions, or stimulants such as coffee or alcohol before bed. “Around half of sleep talking tends to be unintelligible groans or mumbles but when someone is sleep talking understandable words, the most common word is ‘no’,” says Browning. “Just as dreams are not always true, people do not always speak the truth when they sleep talk.”
Sleep deprivation could kill you: TRUE
“You can go 19 days without food but only nine without sleep,” says Wilson. “Lack of sleep causes a build up of prion proteins in the thalamus [part of the brain that relays sensory and motor signals], which eventually causes so much damage to the brain and nervous system that sufferers die. But most of us need not worry as sleep is an instinct, like eating and drinking, so if you’re sleep deprived your body will automatically give you ‘microsleeps’, where you mentally zone out and drop into the stage of sleep just before you nod off.”
You sleep better at weekends: FALSE
“Anecdotally, people report sleeping better at weekends and on holiday because they feel more relaxed, but sleeping in isn’t always a good thing,” says Wilson. Consistent sleep patterns help regulate metabolism and a recent King’s College London study found that “social jet lag” from weekend lie-ins led to poor gut health and inflammation, plus an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes. Wilson adds: “There could be a psychological benefit to having a less busy mind at weekends, and sleeping in for 90 minutes won’t be an issue for most people. But long term, it’s better to go to sleep and wake up at the same time to stabilise circadian rhythm.”
Never sleep in your underwear: TRUE (ISH)
“For women, it is not advisable to sleep in tight underwear as it prevents airing of the sensitive vulval skin which can increase the risk of bacterial vaginosis or vulval candidiasis (thrush),” says Saurabh Phadnis, consultant gynaecologist and gynae-oncologist at London’s Nuffield Health St Bartholomew’s hospital. “It can also flare up or exacerbate skin conditions such as eczema, dermatitis and lichen planus and cause itching and discharge.”
However, Wilson suggests it’s worth considering hygiene: “The average person passes gas 15-20 times a day – including in your sleep – and research shows that a small amount of faecal matter comes out of the body at the