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1. What Is Sleep Debt? - When we go a number of days without getting enough sleep, we accumulate "sleep debt." Having sleep debt makes us less able to function when we're awake, and what's more, it poses various risks to our health.
2. Can I Store Up Sleep? - Sleeping in longer on your days off does help relieve sleep debt, but you can't store up sleep in advance. If you're able to sleep for a long time, it probably means you've accumulated some sleep debt. It's best to get good, regular sleep every day.
3. What's the Best Amount of Sleep? - The best amount of sleep for you is however much it takes to not feel tired during the day. Try to sleep the same amount every day--even on days off.
4. Short Sleepers - There are a very small number of people in the world who are known to be naturally "short sleepers"--that is, they can go without sleeping very much and still be healthy.
5. We Can't Reduce Our Sleep Needs - We're either born as short sleepers or we aren't. At present, it's just about impossible for us to deliberately turn ourselves into short sleepers.
6. What to Do When Short on Sleep - When we're short on sleep, sleeping should be our top priority. Sleep debt can make it difficult to enjoy our daily activities and easier for us to get sick. It's recommended to save work and studies for later and focus on getting enough sleep.
7. When Should I Go to Bed? - Ideally, we should go to bed at an hour when we can fall asleep easily, rather than going out of our way to match someone else's schedule.
8. Morning People and Night People - People are born as early risers or night owls. It's said to be extremely hard for night people to deliberately become morning people.
9. Nighttime Meals - It's best to eat dinner three to four hours before bed at the latest. Digesting our food thoroughly before sleep is important.
10. Eating and Core Body Temperature - When our core body temperature drops, we get sleepy. Eating makes our internal organs start working, and that raises our core body temperature, making it harder to fall asleep.
11. Why Breakfast Matters (1) - We each run on our own biological clock, and its cycle isn't an exact 24 hours. Having breakfast or taking in sunlight after we wake up resets our biological clock so we can sync up with a 24-hour cycle.
12. Social Jet Lag - If we sleep late on the weekends, we get what's called "socail jet lag." This makes it very difficult to get up on Monday morning and also affects our health and performance.
13. Why Do We Sleep? - It's theorized that sleep lets our brains recover from fatigue. We need sleep so our brains have time for regular upkeep.
14. Body Temperature and Sleep - Having a high core body temperature makes it hard to sleep well. Taking a hot bath raises our core temperature, so a bath right before bed can make fallign asleep a challenge.
15. Baths and Exercise Before Bed - It's recommended to finish up activities that raise core body temperature--such as bathing and exercise--at least an hour before bed.
16. Sleep Cycles - When we fall asleep, we first enter shallow non-REM sleep, then move on to deep non-REM sleep, and then to REM sleep, the stage when we have the most vivid dreams. Repetitions of these stages form our sleep cycles.
17. Number of Sleep Cycles - In one night's sleep, we go through roughly four to six sleep cycles.
18. Length of Sleep Cycles - A single sleep cycle generally lasts around 90 minutes, but their lengths can vary from person to person, day-to-day, or even within the same night's sleep.
19. Non-REM Sleep (1) - Non-REM sleep is thought to be important for reinforcing and strengthening memory and helping our bodies grow and recover from fatigue.
20. REM Sleep (1) - During REM sleep, our brains may be in a state similar to being awake, even though our bodies are asleep.
21. REM Sleep (2) - It was recently discovered that some parts of our brains are more active during REM sleep than when we're awake.
22. What Is Sleepiness? - In order to get to sleep, we need to be sleepy enough--but what exactly is sleepiness? How does it work? No one has a clear answer yet. Research into the question is ongoing.
23. Sleep and Hunger - Some people find it hard to fall asleep when they're hungry. It may be best to avoid eating dinner too early or too late.
24. Careful with Caffeine - Caffeine affects the parts of our brains that are responsible for making us sleepy. It may be good to avoid caffeine starting five to six hours before you go to sleep.
25. Sleep and Body Temperature - It's noted that our body temperature starts to cool around the time we fall asleep and is lowest while we're sleeping. This change in temperature is thought to be another important factor for getting good sleep.
26. Biological Clocks (1) - Our biological clocks are what make us wake up and start functioning when the sun rises and get sleepy when night falls.
27. Biological Clocks (2) - Light is essential for regulating our biological clocks. The sight of sunlight soon after we wake up is what lets our bodies know it's morning.
28. Bright Light at Night - Our biological clocks are managed by a "master clock" in our brains. Seeing bright light at night throws off this master clock and interferes with sleep. It's good to keep our rooms as dark as possible when it's time for bed.
29. Is Staying Up All Night Bad for Us? - It's known that the more sleep we lose, the more prone we are to making mistakes. In other words, pulling an all-nighter to cram for a test can have the opposite effect.
30. Do I Need Sleep to Grow? - Getting enough sleep is very important for the healthy growth of our bodies and brains.
31. Why Do We Dream? - No one knows for sure why we dream, but some have suggested it has to do with the way our brains perform maintenance on themselves in our sleep.
32. How Long Kids Need to Sleep - How long we need to sleep depends on how old we are. Kids need to sleep for longer than adults do.
33. What Matters Most About Sleep - In our everyday lives, we tend to get less sleep than we should. First and foremost, you should try to prioritize getting as much sleep as you need.
34. Why We Roll Over in Our Sleep - If we stay in the same position the whole time we sleep, it can put strain on our bodies. Rolling over helps lighten that strain.
35. Too Much Tossing and Turning - When we sleep comfortably, we don't roll over too often. If we sleep on bedding that's too soft or too hard, we roll over more often to reduce the strain on our bodies.
36. The Effects of Snoring - Snoring a lot is known to make our sleep unstable. If you get the feeling you haven't been sleeping well, it may be worth looking into how much you've been snoring.
37. Sleep and Seasons - The changing of the seasons seems to be a factor in how long we sleep. It's said that we sleep less when days are longer and more when days are short.
38. Microsleeping - Building up lots of sleep debt can be dangerous. It may cause us to experience microsleeps--seconds-long losses of consciousness--throughout the day. To prevent this, it's very important to sleep enough and in a consistent way every day.
39. Nodding Off during the Day - If you often find yourself suddenly falling asleep during the day, it may be a sign that you've built up lots of sleep debt. Please try your best to get enough sleep.
40. Do Dreams Come in Types, Too? - What stage of sleep we're in is known to affect what kinds of dreams we have. For example, research shows our dreams tend to be more vivid and clear when we're experiencing REM sleep.
41. Sleep and Inspiration - We're said to be more creative after a good night's sleep, as opposed to nights we stay awake.
42. Sleep and Immunity - How much sleep we get may be linked to our bodies' natural defenses. Some research suggests not getting enough sleep can make us more prone to catching colds.
43. Lights Before Bedtime - Being in too brightly lit places before bed can impact our sleep. Adjusting the light in our surroundings may help bring healthier sleep.
44. Exhaustion and Sweet Cravings - If we don't get enough sleep, we may develop more of a sweet tooth than usual. This is said to be because lack of sleep affects the part of our brain that regulates food preferences.
45. When Sleepiness Strikes Midday - If you find yourself tired during the day, taking a 15- to 20-minute nap may help. But getting enough sleep at night is best, so don't forget to prioritize that.
46. When Sleep is Elusive - If you have trouble falling asleep, it's better to not go to bed when you aren't sleepy. It's important to do something relaxing and wait for sleepiness to set in, rather than try to force sleep.
47. Warm Feet - Research has shown that just warming up our feet before bed can help us sleep better. A foot bath before bed may be worth a try.
48. Why Breakfast Matters (2) - Eating breakfast within an hour after waking up is important for regulating our biological clocks. Even when we're busy, skipping breakfast and waiting until lunch isn't the best idea.
49. Chewing Is Important, Too - Eating without chewing your food well is said to throw off your sleep cycle. That means in order to sleep well, you need to chew well, too.
50. Keeping It Quiet During Sleep - Keeping your room as quiet as possible is one important factor in getting good sleep. It's said that sounds like people talking can be especially disruptive to sleep.
51. Room Temperature During Sleep - When you're sleeping, try to maintain the right temperature for you all the way until morning. Being too hot or too cold isn't good for your sleep.
52. Keeping the Room Dark - When going to sleep at night, it's best to be in as complete darkness as possible. If you feel unsafe, using a night light or other dim light is OK.
53. Effects on Sports and Music - The memories managed while we sleep include body movements like the ones we use for sports and playing instruments. Getting good sleep after practicing soccer, basketball, or piano fingerwork might be a shortcut to improvement.
54. REM Sleep (3) - We know our bodies don't move during REM sleep as our muscles don't exert strength. It's thought this may be to prevent our bodies from moving intensely in reaction to our dreams.
55. Sleep Helps Improve Mood - We know that when we don't get enough sleep, it's much easier for us to get irritated or feel down. This may be because lack of sleep makes it difficult for our brains to properly control our anger or doubts.
56. Memory and Sleep - Memories of things we learned and experienced during the day are managed during sleep so we can recall them when we need to. Body movements such as those used for sports or playing instruments may also improve faster when we sleep well.
57. Non-REM Sleep (2) - Our brains are active even while we're experiencing non-REM sleep, although in different ways than when we're awake. Just because we're sleeping doesn't mean our brains are resting.
58. Chewing Is Important, too! - It can be difficult to sleep peacefully when our stomachs are upset. Chewing thoroughly when we eat helps our stomach and intestines digest, and that can lead to better sleep.