You may have desperately resorted to counting sheep in hopes of stopping yourself tossing and turning.
Or maybe, as you crawled under the duvet and tried to relax, you turned on the TV, believing it would relax you and let you drift off into a peaceful dream.
But these hacks are just fables and won’t help you fall asleep, according to a prominent expert.
And sleep guru Dr Lindsay Browning, of the British Psychological Society, has said these aren’t the only lies we’ve been told over the past few decades…
Sleeping too much can be bad for your health and well-being
Counting sheep helps you fall asleep faster
Parents often rely on telling their little ones to count sheep when they are having a hard time settling in for the night.
While it may play a trick on your two-year-old by distracting them, it’s probably not the panacea for adults, according to Dr. Browning, who works with retailer And So To Bed.
There’s no harm in counting sheep, she insists, but you’ll have a much easier time if you put something heavier on yourself.
Dr. Browning said, “Some better distraction techniques are listing your top 10 favorite movies, or counting backwards in sevens from 1000.”
Cheese before bed gives you nightmares
It might just be everyone’s favorite snack.
But for years we haven’t eaten cheese before bed because of warnings that it will cause nightmares.
According to Dr. Browning, it could even “help your sleep.”
She said cheese contains tryptophan, which our bodies use to make melatonin – our sleep hormone.
However, she claimed that studies show that going to bed on a full stomach can result in longer periods of REM sleep, the stage when vivid dreams (and nightmares) can occur.
But “this would happen with any food, not just cheese,” Dr. Browning said.
Consuming alcohol before bed will help you sleep better
Nightcaps are also not the panacea for inducing sleep.
That’s according to Dr. Browning, who said that while booze can make us sleepy, it can disrupt our natural REM cycle.
She said, “As such, our bodies will wake us up throughout the night and make it harder to get back to sleep.”
‘This means that although you fall asleep faster after alcohol, the quality of your sleep is worse.
“To avoid insomnia, it’s helpful to stop drinking alcohol at least four hours before bed so the alcohol can clear your system.”
You can compensate for a lack of sleep by taking a nap
Naps may be the right idea if you feel exhausted in the afternoon.
Yet you don’t benefit at all from hours of kips, Dr. Browning claimed.
Napping for just 10 to 20 minutes at a time will leave you feeling refreshed, she said.
She added, “Sleeping longer, about an hour, isn’t all that helpful…because you wake up from the deepest part of sleep, which leaves you sleep-sluggish and feeling sluggish.”
Sleep inertia is the temporary disorientation we all feel after waking up. While harmless, it can have knock-on effects on our performance (especially at work).
Dr. Browning, also a member of the British Sleep Society, said: ‘Naps should not become a substitute for normal night’s sleep as it could perpetuate your poor sleep at night.
“If you sleep too much during the day, you may have trouble sleeping at night because you’re too awake.
“Like eating, if you snack before your dinner, you won’t be hungry for your main meal — if you take a nap too close to bedtime, you may find it especially hard to fall asleep at night, as you have won’t be so sleepy.’
There is no such thing as sleeping too much
Sleeping a lot can feel very relaxing.
But if you regularly catch more than nine hours, it can lead to a variety of health problems, such as obesity and stroke, studies show.
Dr. Browning said: ‘Also, if someone sleeps too much, it’s often an indication that sleep quality is very poor.
“That means that while they may be getting as much as 10 hours of sleep a night, it’s not as restorative as, say, seven hours of good quality sleep.” Sleep apnea is a good example of that.’
Sleep apnea, when your breathing stops and starts during the night, causes loud snoring.
You can catch up on sleep with a lie in
Sleeping in on Sunday morning might seem like a great idea at the time.
But according to Dr. Browning, “this is not the answer.”
She said: ‘Sleep deprivation and then relying on the weekend to recover may help in the short term, but extra rest can give a false sense of recovery in the long run.
“Even if you have trouble falling asleep during the week, sleeping in on the weekend can make it worse.”
Dr. Browning added, “Maintaining a consistent sleep schedule of around 7-9 hours will provide the most benefit to mental and physical health.
“Try to go to sleep and wake up at the same time on weekends as you do on weekdays to feel refreshed and energized overall.”
Just stay in bed if you can’t get to sleep
Laying in bed for hours staring at the ceiling is not the tactic you need to fall asleep.
If you haven’t dozed off after 20 minutes, it’s more beneficial to get out of bed and take a break, says Dr. Browning.
She said, “If you stay in bed and try to force sleep, it will likely have the opposite effect, as you become increasingly anxious and frustrated with your inability to fall asleep.
“It’s much better to take a break from trying to force sleep and fail before trying again after that break.”
Try listening to music, reading a book, and disconnecting from electronic devices to help, she advises.
Watching TV before bed is a good way to relax
Watching Netflix in the hopes of falling asleep doesn’t help either.
Bright light emitted from new-age TVs can interfere with your brain’s production of melatonin, Dr. Browning said.
As a result, it has the potential to interrupt the body’s internal clock – known scientifically as the circadian rhythm.
Dr. Browning said, “If your brain is over stimulated (especially by something stressful or anxiety-provoking), sleep is likely to be disrupted, which can lead to depression and anxiety in the long run.”
Relaxing yoga or reading a book may help instead, she added.
You should sleep in a warm room to sleep better
Cold rooms will help. Warm ones won’t.
That says Dr. Browning, who says the ideal temperature for a bedroom is between 16 and 19C.
“As we fall asleep, and throughout the night, our body temperature drops,” she said.
Other experts have described this natural process as the brain’s signal to “get cozy in our nest.”
Dr. Browning added, “That’s why the room has to be cool enough to allow that to happen.”
“Try opening a window for a cool breeze and see if you sleep better.”