Sleep myths

It seems like I’ve heard this one several times lately, and every time it makes me want to correct them. When giving advice on what to do and what to avoid to get a good night’s sleep, there are those who always say that exercise before bed is bad. One thing I read yesterday said 3-4 hours before going to sleep will interfere with your sleep. Another I heard the other day said 6-7 hours before sleep. In a country with such a staggering obesity rate, I really don’t think telling people not to exercise is a good idea, regardless of its effect on sleep.

Sure that might be true for some people, but I want to set the record straight and declare that such is not the case for me. In fact, I’m the exact opposite. If I go out running for 4-5 miles in the late evening, come home and shower and then go to bed, that’s the best sleep in the world. I’m more relaxed and loose when I wake up. I wake up more refreshed. I have absolutely no problem falling asleep. If anything I have a problem showering before I fall asleep because sleep seems like the perfect idea at that point.

I would also like to point out that the advice to get out of bed and go do something until you are tired if you can’t seem to fall asleep is very very bad advice for me. If I do that, I’ll probably end up staying up doing stuff all night and not get any sleep at all. But if I get in bed and keep my eyes closed long enough, before I know it I’ll have fallen asleep.

I’m sure there are those for whom the advice about exercise and getting out of bed are good ideas. But I wanted to make sure it is out there in the world that there are those for whom that advice is very bad.