Sleeping is very important especially for seniors whose bodies have a lot to repair! Also, sleeping helps your mind maintain alertness and enables your brain to recuperate faster However, there are hundreds of beliefs associated with sleep that sometimes it gets so confusing. Here are some of the sleep myths you might want to know:

MYTH 1: Seniors are naturally light sleepers. It was said that as you age, your sleep gets lighter and lighter. If you are a light sleeper, it doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t sleep at all, it’s just that when you sleep, you can easily be awakened by just about anything. It is not normal for any person to be a light sleeper and there’s no such thing as short sleepers, it only means that your body cannot fully relax to be able to get a really good sleep.

MYTH 2: Naps will only make you sleepier. Naps work best if you had a good night’s sleep prior to napping. If you are trying to make every sleeping moments as “naps” then your body will eventually tell you that it needs its full sleep thus making you sleepier after naps.

MYTH 3: Never exercise after 6pm. It was said that exercising will only make you wide awake and more alert than ever. However, based on personal experience, good quality sleep is easier to get if you exercise an hour or two before sleeping. If you are quite doubtful about how your exercising affects your sleep, try to experiment a little by exercise two hours before, then three, then four, until you finally get the right timing.

MYTH 4: It is normal for seniors to fall asleep in the middle of something. Of course that is not normal. It’s either you have a sleeping disorder or you are not getting the right amount of sleep for your body to maintain the right amount of energy during the day. Not getting enough sleep night after night can cause or trigger hypertension and diabetes by the way so always remember to have complete hours of sleep when you can even if it means going to bed earlier than your usual time.

MYTH 5: You can pay your sleep debts on weekends when there’s no work to do. Sleep is not something you can pay later. For your own body’s comfort, it needs sleep every single night to recuperate. Think of it as using your body – and damaging it during the day – sleeping is like going to a mechanic and getting it fixed.