Hidden Brain

Do You Have Trouble Sleeping?

People who slept fewer than six hours a night were 4.2 times more likely to catch a cold when exposed to the virus than those who slept more than seven hours. It didn't matter how old you were, your stress levels, whether you smoked, or any other factor the researchers could think of — sleep was the single most important factor in predicting susceptibility to the common cold.

Hidden Brain

Do You Have Trouble Sleeping?

Sleep researchers have found that when we lie awake at night, ruminating about our problems, we're not actually solving them. We're just rehearsing them. The very effort we put into trying to sleep — or trying to solve our problems — can backfire, keeping us alert and awake.

Hidden Brain

Do You Have Trouble Sleeping?

When people are worried about not sleeping, they often do things that make the problem worse. They go to bed earlier, they cancel social engagements, they nap during the day, and they lie in bed tossing and turning. All of this is completely understandable, but it profoundly disrupts the body's ability to consolidate sleep.

Hidden Brain

Do You Have Trouble Sleeping?

People who slept less than six hours a night were 4.2 times more likely to catch a cold when exposed to the virus than those who slept more than seven hours. This was true even after the researchers controlled for other factors like stress, personality, and whether people smoked.

Hidden Brain

Do You Have Trouble Sleeping?

When you're sleep-deprived, you're often the last to know it. People who get six hours of sleep think they're doing just fine, but when you test them, they're performing as badly as people who've been awake for 24 hours straight.

Hidden Brain

Do You Have Trouble Sleeping?

When we try harder and harder to sleep, we make it more difficult. Trying to force sleep is like trying to force yourself to feel relaxed or trying to force yourself to feel hungry — the act of trying itself is counterproductive.

Hidden Brain

Do You Have Trouble Sleeping?

When people feel anxious about sleep, they may start doing things like lying in bed for hours hoping to fall asleep, or napping during the day to compensate for lost sleep at night. These behaviors feel intuitive, but they often backfire — and can actually make insomnia worse over time.

Hidden Brain

Do You Have Trouble Sleeping?

When people sleep poorly, they often blame themselves, thinking they should simply be able to fall asleep or stay asleep. But insomnia is often driven by hyperarousal — a state in which the brain and body are on high alert, making it physiologically difficult to sleep.

Hidden Brain

Do You Have Trouble Sleeping?

People who sleep less than six hours a night are more likely to develop high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. They're more likely to be overweight, to develop type 2 diabetes, and to experience depression. They're even more likely to die younger.

Hidden Brain

Do You Have Trouble Sleeping?

Most people think that sleep problems are caused by our minds—by worry, anxiety, or stress. But researcher Colleen Carney has found that many chronic insomniacs actually have a 24-hour problem, not merely an overnight one. The real issue, she says, is what we do during the day to cope with our poor sleep.

Hidden Brain

Do You Have Trouble Sleeping?

Most people think of sleeplessness as a problem to be solved — a deficit to be corrected. But the anxiety we feel about not sleeping can itself become the thing that keeps us awake, transforming a single bad night into a chronic condition.

Hidden Brain

Do You Have Trouble Sleeping?

Most of us have been told that we need to get eight hours of sleep a night. But Grandner says this advice can actually make insomnia worse. When you're worried about getting enough sleep, you start trying harder and harder to sleep — and that effort to sleep is actually what prevents you from sleeping.

Hidden Brain

Do You Have Trouble Sleeping?

Most people think of sleep problems as a nighttime issue. But Burnett says the seeds of a bad night's sleep are often sown during the day. The way we live our waking hours — how much light we get, how much we move, what we eat and drink, how we manage stress — all of these things shape what happens when we finally lie down and close our eyes.

Hidden Brain

Do You Have Trouble Sleeping?

sleep researcher Chris Barnes says a chronic lack of good sleep can also affect how we make decisions and even what we value.

Hidden Brain

Do You Have Trouble Sleeping?

Most people, when they can't sleep, do the very things that make their insomnia worse. They lie in bed trying to sleep — which is exactly the wrong thing to do.

Hidden Brain

Do You Have Trouble Sleeping?

Most people think of sleep as a passive state — a time when the brain simply shuts down. But researchers have discovered that during sleep, the brain is actually doing some of its most important work, clearing out toxic waste products that build up during the day.

TED Intersections

How Tech Will (and Won’t) Replace Your Doctor | TED Intersections

I think there's a problem when people have to look at their sleep tracker to figure out whether they feel well rested. You shouldn't have to like wake up like a how did I sleep last night? Like that should be something that people can get from kind of being in touch with their own bodies.

Daily Stoic

How to Focus (From the Stoics)

You think you're taking revenge bedtime by staying up and scrolling your phone or watching TV or or even reading, which is isn't is hardly a sin. But by staying up late, you are making it harder to get up early.