Have you struggled with sleep and sought advice from your friends and family to no avail? Well, you are not alone. An estimated 10% of the population struggles with insomnia, and many turn to unhelpful ways to deal with it. In this article, we debunk three common misconceptions about sleep, so the next time someone tells you to drink wine before bed, you can make a more informed decision. 

Myth #1: Alcohol improves sleep

First, let’s discuss the effects of alcohol on the body. Alcohol is a depressant, meaning it inhibits activity in the body. The inhibitory effect slows brain activity, calms the mind, and allows alcohol to induce sleep. When alcohol is consumed before bed, its sedative effect lasts for a few hours, decreasing the time it takes to fall asleep (also known as sleep onset latency) [1]. Therefore, alcohol may help individuals fall asleep faster. But at the same time, alcohol interferes with the rapid eye movement (REM) phase of our sleep cycle, shown in the diagram below [1].

REM sleep is associated with better cognitive functioning, such as memory formation, and better mental health. Alcohol has negative effects early on in sleep by limiting the time spent in REM sleep. When an intoxicated person enters the second half of the night, their sleep is disturbed and fragmented, consequently increasing awakenings [1]. Evidently, alcohol’s short-term benefit of reducing sleep onset is quickly reversed by the following negative effects (reduced REM sleep and increased sleep disruptions).

In the long-term, relying on alcohol to induce sleep and then getting poor sleep in the latter half of the night can result in a downward spiral [2]. 

Myth #2: If you stay in bed long enough, you’ll eventually fall asleep

At first glance, this myth appears self-explanatory. If we stay in bed for hours on end, what else can happen? We eventually have to fall asleep, right? While this is true to some extent, it is not the most productive way to fall asleep. When we regularly lay awake in bed for long periods, it turns out that we learn quite a few things. But this learning is not the good kind. In fact, we learn to form negative associations with the bed and bedroom through two psychological mechanisms: operant conditioning and classical conditioning [3]. 

In operant conditioning, we learn to associate certain cues with sleep [3].  When we engage in certain activities (reading, watching television, internet surfing, texting. etc.) in bed throughout the day and at night, we start associating these activities with sleep interference rather than sleep onset. Regularly engaging in these behaviors reinforces the learned association between performing other activities and being in bed awake [3].  As a result, staying awake in bed makes it harder for us to fall asleep. 

Conversely, if we do not engage in these activities in bed, we only learn that the bed (cue) is associated with sleep onset, not with sleep interference [3].  The bed then becomes a strong cue to trigger sleep onset, allowing us to fall asleep faster. In other words, we need to establish specific cues that act as strong signals for our bodies to fall asleep. Additionally, we need to eliminate extra cues (texting in bed) that weaken the relationship between bed and sleep. 

Performing behaviors where the bed cues falling asleep, and reducing behaviors where the bed cues staying awake, is part of stimulus control therapy (SCT) [3].  SCT applies the concepts of operant conditioning and classical conditioning to treat insomnia. If you cannot fall asleep within thirty minutes of getting into bed, you may want to get out of your bedroom and engage in a relaxing activity, such as reading. This prevents individuals from forming inappropriate connections between bedroom cues and sleep onset while strengthening relationships between the correct cues (the bed and bedroom) and sleep onset. 

A similar, yet unique, learning of associations takes place through classical/Pavlovian conditioning. In classical conditioning, we learn to associate a cue with an emotional response [3].  Before classical conditioning, we would not have any emotional responses to the same cues. Regularly laying awake in bed can trigger negative feelings. We may learn to associate the bed and bedroom (cues) with negative emotions like distress and frustration [3].  Other unhelpful cues include mind racing, physiological arousal, and anxiety about being unable to fall asleep. These cues also become associated with being awake, making it harder for us to fall asleep. 

Due to classical and operant conditioning, when we stay in bed too long, we may learn inappropriate associations that hinder our ability to fall asleep. It is best to get out of bed when you cannot fall asleep to prevent these unhelpful associations from forming.  

Myth #3: You need less sleep as you get older 

As people age, their total sleep time, sleep efficiency, and time spent in the deep sleep stage decreases [5]. Their number and duration of nighttime awakenings increase [5]. These changes are associated with age-related changes in health, physiology, and circadian rhythms (the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle). Other factors such as medical and psychiatric illnesses, environmental and social changes may also contribute to age-related sleep problems [5]. Although sleep quality and efficiency are lower in older adults, they may still require the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep [6]. 

Older adults have poorer performance on sleep-dependent cognitive functions [6]. The extent of impairments in the deep sleep stage explains impairments in sleep-dependent learning and memory consolidation [6]. Thus, older adults appear to be less able to achieve the quality of sleep needed to maintain certain cognitive functions. Therefore, older adults may not get good quality sleep as they age, even though they need the same amount of sleep. 

Sometimes, our behaviors cause more harm than good. With science, we can identify the consequences of our behaviors and improve the ones hurting us. 

Please note that these are only three of dozens of unhelpful sleep myths out there. If you are seriously struggling with sleep, consider seeing a sleep specialist. 

References

1. Arnedt, J. T., Rohsenow, D. J., Almeida, A. B., Hunt, S. K., Gokhale, M., Gottlieb, D. J., & Howland, J. (2011). Sleep Following Alcohol Intoxication in Healthy, Young Adults: Effects of Sex and Family History of Alcoholism. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 35(5), 870–878. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-0277.2010.01417.x

2. Colrain, I. M., Nicholas, C. L., & Baker, F. C. (2018). Alcohol and the sleeping brain. Handbook of Clinical Neurology, 125, 415–431. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-444-62619-6.00024-0

3. Bootzin, R. R., & Perlis, M. L. (2011). Stimulus Control Therapy. In Behavioral Treatments for Sleep Disorders (pp. 21-30). Elsevier Inc.. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-381522-4.00002-X

4. Sharma, M., & Andrade, C. (2012). Behavioral interventions for insomnia: Theory and practice. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 54(4), 359. https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5545.104825

5. Li, J., Vitiello, M. V., & Gooneratne, N. S. (2018). Sleep in Normal Aging. Sleep Medicine Clinics, 13(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsmc.2017.09.001

6. Mander, B. A., Winer, J. R., & Walker, M. P. (2017). Sleep and Human Aging. Neuron, 94(1), 19–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2017.02.004