British Science Week: 5 common questions about the Science of Sleep

7th – 16th March is British Science week, so what better time to learn about the science behind one of the body’s most important functions: sleep! We spend approximately a third of our lives asleep, yet there are so many unanswered questions about why we need sleep.

In this post, we shed some light on common questions about our sleep habits – and look into the science behind them.

1: Why do we sleep?

Although we don’t know all the reasons why sleep is so essential to us, we do know that sleep is important for mental and physical recovery at the end of a long day.

Another reason why we need to sleep is to give our brains time to sort through and clear out any information we no longer need to hold on to. During the day, brain cells build connections between different parts of the brain as we learn new things, but not all of those connections are helpful. Sleeping gives our brains time to clear away all these unimportant connections and reinforce the important ones.[1]

2: Why do you feel like you’re falling during your sleep?

Many of us will have experienced the unpleasant feeling of falling when you’re just drifting off to sleep, jerking you back into wakefulness. You may hear this called a “sleep start.”

This feeling is caused by an involuntary muscle movement called a hypnic jerk. While scientists aren’t entirely sure why hypnic jerks happen, according to the Sleep Foundation one theory is that when your body relaxes as you begin to fall asleep, your brain mistakenly thinks you’re actually falling and causes your muscles to jerk in response.[2]

Fortunately though, hypnic jerks like this are very commonplace (experienced by up to 70% of people) and do not seem to be dangerous. There are ways to help reduce the likelihood of experiencing them if you want to avoid them however, such as reducing your caffeine consumption and avoiding high-intensity exercise at night.

3: Can you sneeze while you sleep?

While there hasn’t been much research into it, the Sleep Foundation’s answer is that you can’t sneeze during REM sleep because your muscles are temporarily paralysed during that sleep stage.[3]

In other sleep stages, it’s possible that sneezing may only be possible if you’re somewhat awake, but research hasn’t yet concluded that sneezing during sleep is impossible. If sneezing is often stopping you from drifting off however, it is recommended to remove things that might cause sneezing from your bedroom. For example, using high quality bedding, keeping pets out of the bedroom and keeping your sheets clean may help eliminate any potential irritants.

4: Why do we dream?

Researchers still aren’t entirely sure what the purpose of dreaming is, but the Sleep Foundation reports that there are some possible explanations.

Some experts think that dreaming is a way for the brain to process emotions or analyse things that have happened while we’re awake. Others believe it could be a way for our brain to strengthen memories or get rid of information that’s no longer important.[4]

5: What happens if you don’t get enough sleep?

You may well be familiar with the effects of a bad night’s sleep – for example, being in a more irritable mood and feeling drained of energy all day. With our busy lives, it can be hard to prioritise getting enough sleep when there’s so many things that are important to us and so few hours in the day.

But consistently not getting enough sleep can have an impact on your mental and physical wellbeing. According to the NHS, trouble with your sleep can leave you feeling tired all the time, plus it can make completing daily tasks and maintaining social relationships more difficult[5].

That’s why it’s so important to make sure you get enough quality sleep every night. Practicing good sleep hygiene, having the right mattress and pillow for your needs and making sure your bedroom is a good environment for sleep are a few ways in which you can potentially improve the quality and quantity of your sleep.

What other unanswered questions do you have about sleep? Get in touch with us on Facebook or Instagram!



Sources

[1]: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-32606341

[2]: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/parasomnias/hypnic-jerks

[3]: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-faqs/can-you-sneeze-in-your-sleep

[4]: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/dreams

[5]: https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/mental-health-issues/sleep/