{"id":2503,"date":"2026-07-14T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/?p=2503"},"modified":"2026-11-02T15:41:29","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T14:41:29","slug":"surprisingly-busy-business-of-sleeping","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/hr\/surprisingly-busy-business-of-sleeping\/","title":{"rendered":"The Surprisingly Busy Business of Sleeping"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style>\n.eqp .eq-ondark .eqb{color:inherit}\n.eqp .eqb{color:var(--eqp-accent)}\n.eqp .eq-tld{color:var(--eqp-muted);padding:0 .58em;font-weight:400}\n.eqp .eq-ans{color:var(--eqp-accent)}\n.eqp .eq-ondark .eq-ans{color:inherit}\n\n.eqp{--teal:#00373e;--navy:#0b1f30;--blue:#005f8d;--ink:#26302f;--muted:#8d9695;\n  --cream:#fbf6f1;--creamE:#ecdcc9;--mist:#f3f7f6;--mistE:#dde8e7;--amber:#b08d68}\n\n#eqp-rail{position:fixed;top:0;left:0;right:0;height:2px;z-index:9999;pointer-events:none;background:transparent}\n#eqp-rail i{display:block;height:100%;background:var(--eqp-accent);transform:scaleX(0);transform-origin:0 50%;\n  will-change:transform}\n@supports (animation-timeline:scroll()){\n  #eqp-rail i{animation:eqp-grow linear both;animation-timeline:scroll(root block)}\n}\n@keyframes eqp-grow{from{transform:scaleX(0)}to{transform:scaleX(1)}}\n\n#eqp-parts{position:fixed;left:26px;top:50%;transform:translateY(-50%);z-index:60;display:none}\n@media(min-width:1280px){#eqp-parts{display:block}}\n#eqp-parts a{display:flex;align-items:center;gap:11px;padding:7px 0;text-decoration:none;color:inherit}\n#eqp-parts,#eqp-parts a{pointer-events:none}\n#eqp-parts .dot{pointer-events:auto;position:relative;cursor:pointer}\n#eqp-parts .dot::before{content:\"\";position:absolute;top:-9px;right:-9px;bottom:-9px;left:-9px}\n#eqp-parts .dot{flex:0 0 auto;width:9px;height:9px;border-radius:50%;background:var(--eqp-dot);\n  transition:background .2s ease,transform .2s ease}\n#eqp-parts .lbl{white-space:nowrap;font:700 12px\/1 \"Work Sans\",sans-serif;letter-spacing:.1em;\n  text-transform:uppercase;color:var(--eqp-muted);opacity:0;transform:translateX(-4px);\n  transition:opacity .2s ease,transform .2s ease;pointer-events:none}\n#eqp-parts:hover .lbl{opacity:1;transform:none}\n#eqp-parts a:focus-visible .lbl{opacity:1;transform:none}\n#eqp-parts a.on .dot{background:var(--eqp-accent);transform:scale(1.45)}\n#eqp-parts a.on .lbl{color:var(--eqp-accent)}\n\n#eqp-top{position:fixed;right:26px;bottom:26px;z-index:60;display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:8px;\n  padding:11px 17px;border-radius:999px;border:1.5px solid var(--eqp-line);background:#fff;\n  color:var(--eqp-accent);font:600 14px\/1 \"Work Sans\",sans-serif;cursor:pointer;\n  box-shadow:0 2px 14px var(--eqp-shadow);\n  opacity:0;visibility:hidden;transform:translateY(8px);\n  transition:opacity .25s ease,transform .25s ease,visibility .25s}\n#eqp-top.on{opacity:1;visibility:visible;transform:none}\n#eqp-top:hover{color:var(--eqp-accent2);border-color:var(--eqp-line2)}\n#eqp-top svg{width:13px;height:13px}\n\n[data-eqp] .eq-rev{opacity:0;transform:translateY(12px);\n  transition:opacity .38s cubic-bezier(.22,.61,.36,1),transform .38s cubic-bezier(.22,.61,.36,1)}\n[data-eqp] .eq-rev.in{opacity:1;transform:none}\n\n.eq-drop::first-letter{float:left;font-family:\"Playfair Display\",Georgia,serif;font-weight:800;\n  font-size:4.4em;line-height:.84;margin:.06em .10em 0 0;color:var(--eqp-accent)}\n\n.eqp ::selection{background:var(--eqp-sel);color:var(--eqp-accent)}\n\n@media(max-width:520px){\n  .eq-drop::first-letter{font-size:3.5em}\n  #eqp-top{right:14px;bottom:14px;padding:10px 14px}\n}\n@media(prefers-reduced-motion:reduce){\n  .eq-rev,#eqp-top,#eqp-parts .dot,#eqp-parts .lbl{transition:none!important}\n  .eq-rev{opacity:1!important;transform:none!important}\n  #eqp-rail i{animation:none!important}\n}\n\n@media print{\n  #eqp-rail,#eqp-parts,#eqp-top{display:none!important}\n  .eq-rev{opacity:1!important;transform:none!important}\n  h2,h3{break-after:avoid;page-break-after:avoid}\n  a{text-decoration:none;color:#000}\n  .eqp{font-size:11pt}\n}\n\n@media(max-width:600px){\n.eqp .wp-block-group.has-background:has(>.wp-block-rank-math-toc-block){padding-left:20px!important;padding-right:20px!important}\n.eqp .eq-toc summary{flex-wrap:wrap;gap:5px 11px}\n.eqp .eq-toc .chev{order:0}\n.eqp .eq-toc .num{min-width:0;order:1}\n.eqp .eq-toc .cnt{order:2}\n.eqp .eq-toc .ttl{order:3;flex:1 1 100%}\n}\n\n\/* ---- phones: tap targets, back to top, small text (30 Sep 2026) ----\n   Everything here sits inside phone or touch media queries, so tablet and\n   laptop layouts are untouched. 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.row{font-size:12.5px}.eqp .slp-hyp svg .ax{font-size:17px}}<\/style><style id=\"slp-calm\">.eqp .slp-run li{font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.6;color:#4b5a6b}.eqp .slp-run li+li{margin-top:6px}<\/style><div id=\"eqp-rail\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><i><\/i><\/div><nav id=\"eqp-parts\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><a href=\"#part-1\" data-i=\"1\" tabindex=\"-1\"><span class=\"dot\"><\/span><span class=\"lbl\">The hours are not the whole story<\/span><\/a><a href=\"#part-2\" data-i=\"2\" tabindex=\"-1\"><span class=\"dot\"><\/span><span class=\"lbl\">Two systems decide when you sleep<\/span><\/a><a href=\"#part-3\" data-i=\"3\" tabindex=\"-1\"><span class=\"dot\"><\/span><span class=\"lbl\">Your brain is working on the day<\/span><\/a><a href=\"#part-4\" data-i=\"4\" tabindex=\"-1\"><span class=\"dot\"><\/span><span class=\"lbl\">A bad night changes the next day<\/span><\/a><a href=\"#part-5\" data-i=\"5\" tabindex=\"-1\"><span class=\"dot\"><\/span><span class=\"lbl\">Your body is not resting either<\/span><\/a><a href=\"#part-6\" data-i=\"6\" tabindex=\"-1\"><span class=\"dot\"><\/span><span class=\"lbl\">What else the night is working on<\/span><\/a><a href=\"#part-7\" data-i=\"7\" tabindex=\"-1\"><span class=\"dot\"><\/span><span class=\"lbl\">When not enough becomes the pattern<\/span><\/a><a href=\"#part-8\" data-i=\"8\" tabindex=\"-1\"><span class=\"dot\"><\/span><span class=\"lbl\">What actually helps<\/span><\/a><\/nav><button id=\"eqp-top\" type=\"button\" aria-label=\"Back to the top of the article\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M6 10.5V2M2 5.5 6 1.5l4 4\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.7\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/><\/svg>Top<\/button><script>(function(){document.documentElement.setAttribute(\"data-eqp\",\"on\");function init(){var RM=false;if(window.matchMedia){RM=window.matchMedia(\"(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)\").matches;}var 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alignfull eqp spw-post has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-69fa9525 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding:0px 22px\">\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n<div style=\"color:#5a6b7d;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.455), 18px);font-style:normal;font-weight:400;margin-top:54px;margin-bottom:0\" class=\"has-link-color wp-elements-1 wp-block-post-date has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\"><time datetime=\"2026-07-14T10:00:00+02:00\">14 srpnja, 2026<\/time><\/div>\n\n<div style=\"color:#5a6b7d;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.455), 18px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;text-transform:uppercase;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\" class=\"taxonomy-category has-link-color wp-elements-2 wp-block-post-terms has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\"><a href=\"https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/hr\/category\/body-and-mind\/\" rel=\"tag\">Body and Mind<\/a><span class=\"wp-block-post-terms__separator\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/hr\/category\/deep-dive\/\" rel=\"tag\">Deep Dive<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-playfair-display-font-family\" id=\"top\" style=\"color:#2a2622;margin-top:12px;margin-bottom:14px;font-size:clamp(24.034px, 1.502rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 1.814), 40px);font-style:normal;font-weight:800;line-height:1.15\">The Surprisingly Busy Business of Sleeping<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4b5560;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:22px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.55\">What actually happens while you\u2019re asleep &amp; why your brain cares so much about getting enough of it: how much sleep you really need, what your brain does with your day, why one bad night changes the next day, what happens when too little sleep becomes the pattern, and the unglamorous things that actually help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"eq-credit\" style=\"--eq-credit-ac:#29538e\">Written by <a href=\"\/our-team-ivana\/\" rel=\"author\">Ivana<\/a>, psychologist and psychotherapist<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px\"><div class=\"spw-swbox spw-keep\" id=\"spw-swbox\"><div class=\"spw-metarow\"><p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-metat\" style=\"color:#5a6b7d;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-size:15px;line-height:1.5\"><span class=\"spw-mtw\"><span class=\"spw-mt-f\"><strong style=\"color:#29538e\">27 minute read<\/strong> &nbsp;&middot;&nbsp; 6,116 words<\/span><span class=\"spw-mt-p\"><strong style=\"color:#29538e\">18 minute read<\/strong> &nbsp;&middot;&nbsp; 3,960 words<\/span><\/span><\/p><div class=\"spw-seg\" id=\"spw-seg\" role=\"radiogroup\" aria-label=\"Reading version\" aria-describedby=\"spw-sw-h\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"spw-segb\" id=\"spw-seg-full\" role=\"radio\" aria-checked=\"true\" tabindex=\"0\">Detailed<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"spw-segb\" id=\"spw-seg-plain\" role=\"radio\" aria-checked=\"false\" tabindex=\"-1\">Plain words<\/button><\/div><\/div><p class=\"spw-hint\" id=\"spw-sw-h\">Detailed explains the research and the reasons behind each point. 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It never changes the mode. *\/function fromHash(){if(!root.classList.contains(\"spw-plain\")){return;}var id=window.location.hash;if(2>id.length){return;}try{id=decodeURIComponent(id.slice(1));}catch(e4){id=id.slice(1);}var t=document.getElementById(id);if(!t){return;}if(t.getClientRects().length>0){return;}var n=t;while(n.parentElement){if(n.parentElement===root){break;}n=n.parentElement;}var h2=null;while(n){h2=n.querySelector('h2[id^=\"part-\"]');if(h2){break;}n=n.previousElementSibling;}if(h2){h2.scrollIntoView({block:\"start\",behavior:\"instant\"});}}window.addEventListener(\"hashchange\",fromHash);window.addEventListener(\"load\",fromHash);\/* the floating pill: shown only once the masthead control has scrolled up out of view, and never over the ending (the closing panel and the footer, which are parsed after this script, so they are looked up on first use), over the get-checked box and the Be mindful card, or over any figure or caption (the pill sits at a fixed place, so its box is tested against theirs, with 6px of air; the hypnogram handle is in a figure). The observer says when the control leaves the screen; a passive scroll listener recomputes from the real positions as well, because a jump (a contents link, the End key) can skip an observer entirely. *\/var ends=[null,null],busy=false;function update(){busy=false;var h=window.innerHeight,show=false,hide=false,k,r,pr,fg,q,sf,m;if(!ends[0]){ends[0]=document.querySelector(\".spw-end\");}if(!ends[1]){ends[1]=document.querySelector(\"footer\");}r=seg.getBoundingClientRect();if(0>=r.bottom){show=true;}for(k=0;ends.length>k;k+=1){if(ends[k]){r=ends[k].getBoundingClientRect();if(h-72>r.top){if(r.bottom>0){hide=true;}}}}sf=document.querySelectorAll(\".spw-nopill\");for(m=0;sf.length>m;m+=1){r=sf[m].getBoundingClientRect();if(h>r.top){if(r.bottom>0){hide=true;}}}if(!hide){pr=pill.getBoundingClientRect();fg=document.querySelectorAll(\"figure,figcaption\");for(q=0;fg.length>q;q+=1){r=fg[q].getBoundingClientRect();if(r.bottom>pr.top-6){if(pr.bottom+6>r.top){if(r.right>pr.left-6){if(pr.right+6>r.left){hide=true;break;}}}}}}if(show){if(!hide){pill.classList.add(\"spw-pill-on\");return;}}pill.classList.remove(\"spw-pill-on\");}function soon(){if(!busy){busy=true;window.requestAnimationFrame(update);}}window.addEventListener(\"scroll\",soon,{passive:true});window.addEventListener(\"resize\",soon);if(window.IntersectionObserver){new IntersectionObserver(soon).observe(seg);}window.addEventListener(\"load\",soon);\/* a tap inside a figure (a chip, a menu) or a change of mode moves the figures without any scroll *\/document.addEventListener(\"click\",function(){window.setTimeout(soon,80);},true);document.addEventListener(\"spw-plain-change\",function(){window.setTimeout(soon,200);});update();})();\/*>*\/<\/script><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-keep has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family eq-drop wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1f2b2d;margin-top:46px;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.642px, 0.915rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.836), 22px);line-height:1.62\">There\u2019s something a little strange about sleep. You spend roughly a third of your life doing it, and yet from the outside it looks like you\u2019re doing almost nothing. You lie down, close your eyes, switch off from the world around you, and several hours later you wake up and carry on with your day. It\u2019s very easy to think of sleep as a pause. Biologically, though, it\u2019s anything but!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">While you\u2019re asleep, your brain moves through several very different states. Memories are being sorted and reorganized. Hormones follow different patterns. Your immune system and your sleep are in conversation with each other. Your heart and blood vessels change their workload, your metabolism shifts, and the connections between your brain cells are being adjusted. Even the way you react to emotional things the next day can depend on what happened during the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Even how much pain you feel can change depending on how well you\u2019ve been sleeping. So although you\u2019re not consciously doing very much, your body certainly isn\u2019t sitting around waiting for morning. <strong class=\"eqb\">Sleep is a very active biological state, not a pause.<\/strong> You just experience most of that activity from inside a dream, or don\u2019t experience it at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-ptr wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\"><span class=\"spw-nrm\">If you\u2019d like everything in plainer words, flip the switch above.<\/span><span class=\"spw-pln\">You\u2019re reading the plain words version. Flip the switch above for the detailed one.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<style>\n.eqp .eq-short{background:#1c3f6b;border-radius:22px;padding:clamp(30px,4vw,50px);margin:44px 0 12px;\n  color:#fff;font-family:\"Work Sans\",system-ui,sans-serif}\n.eqp .eq-short *{box-sizing:border-box}\n.eqp .eq-short .eyebrow{font-size:12px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.16em;text-transform:uppercase;\n  color:#e8c07a;margin:0 0 14px}\n.eqp .eq-short .hook{font:400 clamp(19px,1.95vw,22px)\/1.55 \"Work Sans\",sans-serif;color:#e6eefa;\n  margin:0 0 34px}\n.eqp .eq-short .hook b{color:#fff;font-weight:700}\n.eqp .eq-short ol{list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0;\n  display:grid;grid-template-columns:repeat(auto-fit,minmax(310px,1fr));gap:26px 44px}\n.eqp .eq-short li{margin:0;display:grid;grid-template-columns:auto 1fr;gap:15px;align-items:start}\n.eqp .eq-short .n{font:800 22px\/1.15 \"Playfair Display\",Georgia,serif;color:#e8c07a;\n  font-variant-numeric:tabular-nums}\n.eqp .eq-short .c{font:700 18px\/1.4 \"Work Sans\",sans-serif;color:#fff;margin:0 0 5px}\n.eqp .eq-short .s{font:400 15.5px\/1.55 \"Work Sans\",sans-serif;color:#bed0e8;margin:0}\n.eqp .eq-short .close{margin:36px 0 0;padding-top:26px;border-top:1px solid rgba(232,192,122,.30);\n  display:flex;align-items:baseline;gap:13px}\n.eqp .eq-short .close svg{flex:0 0 auto;width:15px;height:15px;color:#e8c07a;transform:translateY(2px)}\n.eqp .eq-short .close p{margin:0;font:400 16.5px\/1.6 \"Work Sans\",sans-serif;color:#d5e2f2}\n.eqp .eq-short .close b{color:#fff;font-weight:700}\n@media(max-width:560px){\n  .eqp .eq-short ol{grid-template-columns:1fr;gap:22px}\n  .eqp .eq-short li{gap:12px}\n}\n<\/style>\n<div class=\"eq-short\"><p class=\"eyebrow\">Before lights out<\/p><p class=\"hook spw-n\">Here are six things worth knowing before the long version.<\/p><p class=\"hook spw-sv\">Here are six things to know first.<\/p><ol class=\"spw-n\"><li><span class=\"n\">01<\/span><div><p class=\"c\">You can get used to too little sleep. That isn\u2019t the same as being fine.<\/p><p class=\"s\">People get surprisingly good at living with too little sleep, and once it\u2019s your normal you may stop noticing how tired you are. Your attention, reactions and memory don\u2019t necessarily adjust with you.<\/p><\/div><\/li><li><span class=\"n\">02<\/span><div><p class=\"c\">Sleep is part of learning, not what you do once the work is done.<\/p><p class=\"s\">An all-nighter gives you more hours with the material, but it cuts into the sleep that helps you hold on to it.<\/p><\/div><\/li><li><span class=\"n\">03<\/span><div><p class=\"c\">A bad night doesn\u2019t change the problem. It changes the brain you bring to it.<\/p><p class=\"s\">Too little sleep can make you more emotionally reactive, and it can change how the calming parts of your brain talk to the reacting ones. The same hard conversation can simply take more effort to get through.<\/p><\/div><\/li><li><span class=\"n\">04<\/span><div><p class=\"c\">Poor sleep can make pain hurt more.<\/p><p class=\"s\">Losing sleep can make you more sensitive to pain, and in people living with long-term pain, poor sleep and more pain keep turning up together. Your body probably hasn\u2019t changed. The way your brain processes the signals may have.<\/p><\/div><\/li><li><span class=\"n\">05<\/span><div><p class=\"c\">Your ring is not a sleep laboratory.<\/p><p class=\"s\">Wearables guess at your sleep from movement and heart rate. They\u2019re reasonable at telling how long you slept and much weaker at telling REM from deep sleep. There\u2019s even a word, orthosomnia, for worrying yourself out of sleep over the numbers!<\/p><\/div><\/li><li><span class=\"n\">06<\/span><div><p class=\"c\">Lying awake for months isn\u2019t a willpower problem.<\/p><p class=\"s\">Insomnia can keep itself going: you go to bed expecting not to sleep, start counting the hours left, and your bed stops meaning sleep. That\u2019s why CBT for insomnia is a first treatment, rather than a longer list of sleep hygiene rules.<\/p><\/div><\/li><\/ol><ol class=\"spw-sv\"><li><span class=\"n\">01<\/span><div><a class=\"spw-svl\" href=\"#part-1\"><p class=\"c\">You can get used to too little sleep. That isn\u2019t the same as being fine.<\/p><p class=\"s\">Once it\u2019s your normal, you may stop noticing how tired you are. Your focus, reactions and memory don\u2019t necessarily adjust with you.<\/p><\/a><\/div><\/li><li><span class=\"n\">02<\/span><div><a class=\"spw-svl\" href=\"#part-3\"><p class=\"c\">Sleep is part of learning.<\/p><p class=\"s\">An all-nighter gives you more hours to study, and it cuts into the sleep that helps you remember what you studied.<\/p><\/a><\/div><\/li><li><span class=\"n\">03<\/span><div><a class=\"spw-svl\" href=\"#part-4\"><p class=\"c\">A bad night can make the next day harder.<\/p><p class=\"s\">Too little sleep can make you more emotionally reactive, so the same hard conversation can take more effort.<\/p><\/a><\/div><\/li><li><span class=\"n\">04<\/span><div><a class=\"spw-svl\" href=\"#part-6\"><p class=\"c\">Poor sleep can make pain hurt more.<\/p><p class=\"s\">Your body probably hasn\u2019t changed, but your brain may handle the pain signals differently.<\/p><\/a><\/div><\/li><li><span class=\"n\">05<\/span><div><a class=\"spw-svl\" href=\"#part-7\"><p class=\"c\">Your ring or watch only guesses at your sleep.<\/p><p class=\"s\">It\u2019s fairly good at telling how long you slept and much weaker at telling the sleep stages apart. Worrying over the scores can keep you awake, and there\u2019s even a word for it, orthosomnia.<\/p><\/a><\/div><\/li><li><span class=\"n\">06<\/span><div><a class=\"spw-svl\" href=\"#part-7\"><p class=\"c\">Lying awake for months isn\u2019t a willpower problem.<\/p><p class=\"s\">Insomnia can keep itself going. That\u2019s why cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, or CBT-I, is a first treatment for it, rather than a longer list of sleep rules.<\/p><\/a><\/div><\/li><\/ol><div class=\"close spw-n\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M2 6h8M6.5 2.5 10 6l-3.5 3.5\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.7\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/><\/svg><p>The long version explains <b>what each of those rests on, and where the evidence stops.<\/b> That includes the parts sleep science hasn\u2019t settled, which is more of it than the internet suggests, and the plain, everyday things that help most.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"close spw-sv\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M2 6h8M6.5 2.5 10 6l-3.5 3.5\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.7\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/><\/svg><p>The parts below go through each of these, along with <b>what sleep science hasn\u2019t worked out yet<\/b> and the everyday things that help most.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-keep has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-dffd5825 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-color:#e2e8f0;border-width:1.5px;border-style:solid;border-radius:22px;background-color:#f7fafb;margin-top:56px;margin-bottom:20px;padding:40px 44px 34px\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#5a6b7d;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:22px;font-size:12px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0.16em;line-height:1.4\">WHAT THIS ARTICLE COVERS &middot; EIGHT PARTS<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\">\n<div class=\"eq-toc\"><details><summary><svg class=\"chev\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M4 2l4 4-4 4\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.7\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"num\">PART 1<\/span><a class=\"ttl\" href=\"#part-1\">The hours are not the whole story<\/a><span class=\"cnt\"><span class=\"spw-n2\"><span class=\"sec\">2 sections<\/span><span class=\"sep\"> &middot; <\/span>2 min<\/span><span class=\"spw-p2\">2 min<\/span><\/span><\/summary><ul><li><a href=\"#so-how-much-sleep-do-we-actually-need\">So, how much sleep do we actually need?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#sleep-is-not-one-single-state\">Sleep isn\u2019t one single state<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/details><details><summary><svg class=\"chev\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M4 2l4 4-4 4\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.7\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"num\">PART 2<\/span><a class=\"ttl\" href=\"#part-2\">Two systems decide when you sleep<\/a><span class=\"cnt\"><span class=\"spw-n2\"><span class=\"sec\">3 sections<\/span><span class=\"sep\"> &middot; <\/span>3 min<\/span><span class=\"spw-p2\">2 min<\/span><\/span><\/summary><ul><li><a href=\"#your-brain-has-an-internal-clock\">Your brain has an internal clock<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#why-does-sleep-pressure-build\">Why does sleep pressure build?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#and-then-you-fall-asleep\">And then you fall asleep<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/details><details><summary><svg class=\"chev\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M4 2l4 4-4 4\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.7\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"num\">PART 3<\/span><a class=\"ttl\" href=\"#part-3\">Your brain is working on the day<\/a><span class=\"cnt\"><span class=\"spw-n2\"><span class=\"sec\">3 sections<\/span><span class=\"sep\"> &middot; <\/span>3 min<\/span><span class=\"spw-p2\">2 min<\/span><\/span><\/summary><ul><li><a href=\"#your-brain-does-not-simply-store-memories\">Your brain doesn\u2019t just \u201cstore\u201d memories<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#this-is-why-all-nighters-are-such-a-questionable-strategy\">This is why all-nighters are such a questionable strategy<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#and-then-there-is-rem-sleep\">And then there is REM sleep<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/details><details><summary><svg class=\"chev\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M4 2l4 4-4 4\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.7\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"num\">PART 4<\/span><a class=\"ttl\" href=\"#part-4\">A bad night changes the next day<\/a><span class=\"cnt\"><span class=\"spw-n2\"><span class=\"sec\">2 sections<\/span><span class=\"sep\"> &middot; <\/span>2 min<\/span><span class=\"spw-p2\">1 min<\/span><\/span><\/summary><ul><li><a href=\"#sleep-changes-the-way-you-process-emotions\">Sleep changes the way you process emotions<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#sleep-and-stress-have-a-complicated-relationship\">Sleep and stress have a complicated relationship<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/details><details><summary><svg class=\"chev\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M4 2l4 4-4 4\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.7\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"num\">PART 5<\/span><a class=\"ttl\" href=\"#part-5\">Your body is not resting either<\/a><span class=\"cnt\"><span class=\"spw-n2\"><span class=\"sec\">3 sections<\/span><span class=\"sep\"> &middot; <\/span>2 min<\/span><span class=\"spw-p2\">1 min<\/span><\/span><\/summary><ul><li><a href=\"#your-immune-system-is-involved-too\">Your immune system is involved too<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#sleep-also-affects-metabolism\">Sleep also affects metabolism<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#your-cardiovascular-system-changes-during-sleep-too\">Your heart works differently at night too<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/details><details><summary><svg class=\"chev\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M4 2l4 4-4 4\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.7\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"num\">PART 6<\/span><a class=\"ttl\" href=\"#part-6\">What else the night is working on<\/a><span class=\"cnt\"><span class=\"spw-n2\"><span class=\"sec\">4 sections<\/span><span class=\"sep\"> &middot; <\/span>3 min<\/span><span class=\"spw-p2\">2 min<\/span><\/span><\/summary><ul><li><a href=\"#the-brain-may-also-be-doing-some-housekeeping\">The brain may also be doing some housekeeping<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#sleep-can-change-pain-sensitivity\">Sleep can change pain sensitivity<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#your-skin-has-a-clock-too\">Your skin has a clock too<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#hormones-follow-the-night-too\">Hormones follow the night too<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/details><details><summary><svg class=\"chev\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M4 2l4 4-4 4\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.7\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"num\">PART 7<\/span><a class=\"ttl\" href=\"#part-7\">When not enough becomes the pattern<\/a><span class=\"cnt\"><span class=\"spw-n2\"><span class=\"sec\">4 sections<\/span><span class=\"sep\"> &middot; <\/span>4 min<\/span><span class=\"spw-p2\">3 min<\/span><\/span><\/summary><ul><li><a href=\"#what-happens-when-you-regularly-dont-get-enough\">What happens when you regularly don\u2019t get enough?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#can-you-just-catch-up-at-the-weekend\">Can you just catch up on the weekend?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#and-then-we-invented-sleep-trackers\">\u2026and then we invented sleep trackers<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#sometimes-the-problem-isnt-that-you-arent-trying-hard-enou\">Sometimes the problem isn\u2019t that you aren\u2019t trying hard enough<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/details><details><summary><svg class=\"chev\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M4 2l4 4-4 4\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.7\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"num\">PART 8<\/span><a class=\"ttl\" href=\"#part-8\">What actually helps<\/a><span class=\"cnt\"><span class=\"spw-n2\"><span class=\"sec\">6 sections<\/span><span class=\"sep\"> &middot; <\/span>4 min<\/span><span class=\"spw-p2\">3 min<\/span><\/span><\/summary><ul><li><a href=\"#so-what-about-the-perfect-bedtime-routine\">So what about the perfect bedtime routine?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#morning-light-is-more-important-than-it-sounds\">Morning light is more important than it sounds<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#sleep-is-also-about-regularity\">Sleep is also about regularity<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#so-should-everyone-aim-for-eight-hours\">So, should everyone aim for eight hours?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#the-part-that-gets-lost-in-all-of-this\">The part that gets lost in all of this<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#the-surprisingly-busy-business-of-sleeping\">The surprisingly busy business of sleeping<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/details><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-keep has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:92px;margin-bottom:34px\"><style>.slp-part.sl-ph .no{flex:0 0 auto;position:relative;overflow:hidden;box-sizing:border-box;width:76px;height:76px;display:grid;place-items:center;background:var(--sky);border-radius:14px;-webkit-text-stroke:0;color:#fce19c;font-size:38px;line-height:1;box-shadow:0 6px 16px -8px rgba(23,39,61,.45)}.slp-part.sl-ph .no::before{content:\"\";position:absolute;inset:0;opacity:var(--stars);background:radial-gradient(1.4px 1.4px at 18% 22%,#fff 98%,transparent),radial-gradient(1.2px 1.2px at 74% 16%,#fff 98%,transparent),radial-gradient(1px 1px at 84% 48%,#dbe7f7 98%,transparent),radial-gradient(1.2px 1.2px at 30% 70%,#dbe7f7 98%,transparent),radial-gradient(1px 1px at 58% 34%,#fff 98%,transparent)}.slp-part.sl-ph .no::after{content:\"\";position:absolute;left:0;right:0;bottom:0;height:var(--glow);background:linear-gradient(0deg,rgba(247,200,112,.82),rgba(247,200,112,0))}.slp-part.sl-ph .no span{position:relative;z-index:1}.slp-part.sl-ph .sl-top{display:flex;align-items:center;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:8px 14px;margin:0 0 6px}.slp-part.sl-ph .sl-top .lb{margin:0!important;white-space:nowrap}.slp-part.sl-ph .tx{flex:1 1 auto}.slp-part.sl-ph .sl-hrs{display:inline-flex;gap:5px;align-items:center}.slp-part.sl-ph .sl-hrs i{display:block;width:12px;height:12px;border-radius:3px;border:1.5px solid #d4e1f2;box-sizing:border-box}.slp-part.sl-ph .sl-hrs i.d{background:#c3d5ee;border-color:#c3d5ee}.slp-part.sl-ph .sl-hrs i.on{width:14px;height:14px;border:0;border-radius:50%;background:transparent;box-shadow:inset -4px -2px 0 0 #dca23a}.slp-part.sl-ph .sl-hrs i.on.sun{background:#f2bf5e;box-shadow:0 0 0 3px #fbe6bd}@media(max-width:560px){.slp-part.sl-ph{flex-direction:column;align-items:flex-start;gap:12px}.slp-part.sl-ph .tx{width:100%}.slp-part.sl-ph .no{width:58px;height:58px;font-size:30px;border-radius:12px}}@media print{.slp-part.sl-ph .no{box-shadow:none}}<\/style><div class=\"slp-part sl-ph\"><div class=\"no\" style=\"--sky:linear-gradient(180deg,#132440,#1d3558);--glow:0%;--stars:1\"><span>01<\/span><\/div><div class=\"tx\"><div class=\"sl-top\"><p class=\"lb\">Hour 1 of 8<\/p><span class=\"sl-hrs\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><i class=\"on\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><\/span><\/div><h2 id=\"part-1\">The hours are not the whole story<\/h2><p class=\"sb\">How much you need varies, and the night is not one single state<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-pl has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-plk wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:38px;margin-bottom:14px;font-size:12.5px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0.16em;line-height:1.4\">In plain words<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\"><strong class=\"eqb\">Sleep medicine organizations recommend that most healthy adults regularly get at least 7 hours of sleep, and around 7 to 9 hours is a reasonable range for many adults.<\/strong> Eight hours sits in the middle of that range, which is probably one reason it\u2019s such a familiar number. Nothing special happens at exactly 8 hours, though. Your brain doesn\u2019t wake up at 7 hours and 59 minutes thinking, \u201cUnfortunately, we were hoping for another minute.\u201d How much sleep you need depends on things like your genes, your age and your health, and it can change over your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">How much you need and how much you\u2019re used to can be very different. Your focus, your reactions, your memory and how well you handle your feelings don\u2019t necessarily adjust with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Sleep also comes in stages. NREM sleep (non-rapid eye movement) runs from light sleep down into deep sleep. In REM sleep (rapid eye movement), your brain is fairly active, your eyes move quickly and most of your muscles are held still. You go through these stages several times a night, and the mix changes as the night goes on.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-n has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" id=\"so-how-much-sleep-do-we-actually-need\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">So, how much sleep do we actually need?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Let\u2019s start with the number everyone wants to know.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-n has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\"><strong class=\"eqb\">Sleep medicine organizations recommend that most healthy adults regularly get at least 7 hours of sleep, and around 7 to 9 hours is a reasonable range for many adults.<\/strong> Eight hours sits nicely in the middle of that range, which is probably one reason it\u2019s become such a familiar number.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-n has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">But there\u2019s no biological switch that flips at exactly 8 hours. Your brain doesn\u2019t wake up at 7 hours and 59 minutes thinking, \u201cUnfortunately, we were hoping for another minute.\u201d How much sleep you need varies from person to person, and it can change over your life. Your genes, age, health, how active you are, your surroundings and more all play a part. Some people genuinely do well on a bit less sleep than average, while others need a bit more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">There\u2019s also an important difference between how much sleep you need and how much you\u2019ve gotten used to getting. People can get surprisingly good at living with too little sleep for a long time. You may stop noticing quite how tired you are, especially once not sleeping enough has become your normal. That doesn\u2019t necessarily mean your attention, reaction time, memory or ability to manage your emotions have gone back to normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">In other words, <strong class=\"eqb\">feeling like you\u2019ve adapted to 6 hours doesn\u2019t necessarily mean 6 hours is enough for you.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" id=\"sleep-is-not-one-single-state\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">Sleep isn\u2019t one single state<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">When you say, \u201cI slept for 8 hours,\u201d it sounds as if sleep was one continuous thing. It isn\u2019t! Through the night, your brain cycles through different stages of sleep, broadly split into <em class=\"eqi\">NREM sleep<\/em>, which stands for non-rapid eye movement sleep, and REM sleep, rapid eye movement sleep. NREM includes several stages, going from lighter sleep down into deeper <em class=\"eqi\">slow-wave sleep<\/em>. REM is a different state altogether: your brain is fairly active, your eyes move quickly, and most of the muscles you move with are strongly held still.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-keep has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div class=\"eq-rev\" style=\"margin-top:54px;margin-bottom:54px\"><figure class=\"slp-fig slp-hyp\"><div class=\"hd\"><p class=\"ti\">One night, five cycles<\/p><p class=\"un\"><span class=\"spw-nrm\">schematic<\/span><span class=\"spw-pln\">simplified<\/span><\/p><\/div><p class=\"hint\"><span class=\"spw-nrm\">The night runs left to right. Drag the handle at the right hand edge to end it earlier.<\/span><span class=\"spw-pln\">The night runs from left to right. Drag the handle on the right to wake up earlier, and see how much deep sleep and REM you still get.<\/span><\/p><div class=\"sc\"><div class=\"gw\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 860 250\" role=\"img\" aria-label=\"Across a night the sleep stages cycle repeatedly. Deep slow-wave sleep is concentrated in the first half of the night and REM periods grow longer toward morning. A handle shortens the night from the morning end.\"><defs><clipPath id=\"slphypcut\"><rect id=\"slphyprect\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\" width=\"860\" height=\"250\"\/><\/clipPath><\/defs><line x1=\"46\" y1=\"40.8\" x2=\"844\" y2=\"40.8\" stroke=\"#e2e8f0\" stroke-width=\"1\"\/><line x1=\"46\" y1=\"78.4\" x2=\"844\" y2=\"78.4\" stroke=\"#e2e8f0\" stroke-width=\"1\"\/><line x1=\"46\" y1=\"116.0\" x2=\"844\" y2=\"116.0\" stroke=\"#e2e8f0\" stroke-width=\"1\"\/><line x1=\"46\" y1=\"153.6\" x2=\"844\" y2=\"153.6\" stroke=\"#e2e8f0\" stroke-width=\"1\"\/><line x1=\"46\" y1=\"191.2\" x2=\"844\" y2=\"191.2\" stroke=\"#e2e8f0\" stroke-width=\"1\"\/><text class=\"row\" x=\"2\" y=\"44.8\" text-anchor=\"start\">Awake<\/text><text class=\"row\" x=\"2\" y=\"82.4\" text-anchor=\"start\">REM<\/text><text class=\"row\" x=\"2\" y=\"120.0\" text-anchor=\"start\">N1<\/text><text class=\"row\" x=\"2\" y=\"157.6\" text-anchor=\"start\">N2<\/text><text class=\"row\" x=\"2\" y=\"195.2\" text-anchor=\"start\">N3<\/text><g class=\"gh\"><rect x=\"107.5\" y=\"184.2\" width=\"66.5\" height=\"14\" rx=\"4\" fill=\"#224677\"\/><rect x=\"267.1\" y=\"184.2\" width=\"36.6\" height=\"14\" rx=\"4\" fill=\"#224677\"\/><rect x=\"453.3\" y=\"184.2\" width=\"16.6\" height=\"14\" rx=\"4\" fill=\"#224677\"\/><rect x=\"208.9\" y=\"71.4\" width=\"16.6\" height=\"14\" rx=\"4\" fill=\"#a2bee5\"\/><rect x=\"345.3\" y=\"71.4\" width=\"29.9\" height=\"14\" rx=\"4\" fill=\"#a2bee5\"\/><rect x=\"486.6\" y=\"71.4\" width=\"39.9\" height=\"14\" rx=\"4\" fill=\"#a2bee5\"\/><rect x=\"631.2\" y=\"71.4\" width=\"46.5\" height=\"14\" rx=\"4\" fill=\"#a2bee5\"\/><rect x=\"777.5\" y=\"71.4\" width=\"49.9\" height=\"14\" rx=\"4\" fill=\"#a2bee5\"\/><path d=\"M46.0,40.8 L66.0,40.8 L66.0,116.0 L75.9,116.0 L75.9,153.6 L107.5,153.6 L107.5,191.2 L174.0,191.2 L174.0,153.6 L208.9,153.6 L208.9,78.4 L225.6,78.4 L225.6,153.6 L267.1,153.6 L267.1,191.2 L303.7,191.2 L303.7,153.6 L345.3,153.6 L345.3,78.4 L375.2,78.4 L375.2,116.0 L383.5,116.0 L383.5,153.6 L453.3,153.6 L453.3,191.2 L469.9,191.2 L469.9,153.6 L486.6,153.6 L486.6,78.4 L526.5,78.4 L526.5,40.8 L533.1,40.8 L533.1,116.0 L541.4,116.0 L541.4,153.6 L631.2,153.6 L631.2,78.4 L677.8,78.4 L677.8,116.0 L687.7,116.0 L687.7,153.6 L777.5,153.6 L777.5,78.4 L827.4,78.4 L827.4,40.8 L844.0,40.8\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"#29538e\" stroke-width=\"2.4\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><\/g><g clip-path=\"url(#slphypcut)\"><rect x=\"107.5\" y=\"184.2\" width=\"66.5\" height=\"14\" rx=\"4\" fill=\"#224677\"\/><rect x=\"267.1\" y=\"184.2\" width=\"36.6\" height=\"14\" rx=\"4\" fill=\"#224677\"\/><rect x=\"453.3\" y=\"184.2\" width=\"16.6\" height=\"14\" rx=\"4\" fill=\"#224677\"\/><rect x=\"208.9\" y=\"71.4\" width=\"16.6\" height=\"14\" rx=\"4\" fill=\"#a2bee5\"\/><rect x=\"345.3\" y=\"71.4\" width=\"29.9\" height=\"14\" rx=\"4\" fill=\"#a2bee5\"\/><rect x=\"486.6\" y=\"71.4\" width=\"39.9\" height=\"14\" rx=\"4\" fill=\"#a2bee5\"\/><rect x=\"631.2\" y=\"71.4\" width=\"46.5\" height=\"14\" rx=\"4\" fill=\"#a2bee5\"\/><rect x=\"777.5\" y=\"71.4\" width=\"49.9\" height=\"14\" rx=\"4\" fill=\"#a2bee5\"\/><path d=\"M46.0,40.8 L66.0,40.8 L66.0,116.0 L75.9,116.0 L75.9,153.6 L107.5,153.6 L107.5,191.2 L174.0,191.2 L174.0,153.6 L208.9,153.6 L208.9,78.4 L225.6,78.4 L225.6,153.6 L267.1,153.6 L267.1,191.2 L303.7,191.2 L303.7,153.6 L345.3,153.6 L345.3,78.4 L375.2,78.4 L375.2,116.0 L383.5,116.0 L383.5,153.6 L453.3,153.6 L453.3,191.2 L469.9,191.2 L469.9,153.6 L486.6,153.6 L486.6,78.4 L526.5,78.4 L526.5,40.8 L533.1,40.8 L533.1,116.0 L541.4,116.0 L541.4,153.6 L631.2,153.6 L631.2,78.4 L677.8,78.4 L677.8,116.0 L687.7,116.0 L687.7,153.6 L777.5,153.6 L777.5,78.4 L827.4,78.4 L827.4,40.8 L844.0,40.8\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"#29538e\" stroke-width=\"2.4\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><\/g><rect id=\"slphypcast\" class=\"ct\" x=\"844\" y=\"26\" width=\"0\" height=\"182\"\/><line id=\"slphypedge\" class=\"ed\" x1=\"844\" y1=\"26\" x2=\"844\" y2=\"208\" hidden\/><text class=\"ax\" x=\"46.0\" y=\"232\" text-anchor=\"middle\">11pm<\/text><text class=\"ax\" x=\"245.5\" y=\"232\" text-anchor=\"middle\">+2h<\/text><text class=\"ax\" x=\"445.0\" y=\"232\" text-anchor=\"middle\">+4h<\/text><text class=\"ax\" x=\"644.5\" y=\"232\" text-anchor=\"middle\">+6h<\/text><text class=\"ax\" x=\"844.0\" y=\"232\" text-anchor=\"middle\">7am<\/text><\/svg><div class=\"hnd\" role=\"slider\" tabindex=\"0\" hidden aria-label=\"Length of the night\" aria-valuemin=\"180\" aria-valuemax=\"480\" aria-valuenow=\"480\" aria-valuetext=\"8 hours 0 minutes, awake at 7:00am\"><i><\/i><b><\/b><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"key\"><span><i style=\"background:#29538e\"><\/i>Where you are in the night<\/span><span><i style=\"background:#224677;height:10px;border-radius:3px\"><\/i>Deep sleep<\/span><span><i style=\"background:#a2bee5;height:10px;border-radius:3px\"><\/i>REM<\/span><\/div><p class=\"spw-po\">N1 and N2 are lighter sleep, and N3 is deep sleep. REM is the stage most linked to vivid dreams.<\/p><div class=\"ro\"><p class=\"big\"><span class=\"hh\">8<\/span><span class=\"u\">h<\/span><span class=\"mm\">00<\/span><\/p><p class=\"sub\">Lights out at 11pm, awake at <b class=\"wk\">7:00am<\/b><\/p><\/div><div class=\"bars\"><p class=\"eyb\"><span class=\"spw-nrm\">What the night still holds<\/span><span class=\"spw-pln\">How much you still get<\/span><\/p><div class=\"br\"><span class=\"lb\">Deep sleep<\/span><span class=\"tr\"><i class=\"d3\"><\/i><\/span><\/div><div class=\"br\"><span class=\"lb\">REM<\/span><span class=\"tr\"><i class=\"dr\"><\/i><\/span><\/div><\/div><figcaption><span class=\"spw-nrm\">These stages don\u2019t simply happen once each. They cycle throughout the night, and their proportions change as the night progresses. Earlier in the night, you generally spend more time in deep slow-wave sleep. Later in the night, REM periods become longer.<\/span><span class=\"spw-pln\">You go through the stages several times a night, in rounds called cycles. You generally get the most deep sleep in the first half of the night, and the REM stretches get longer toward morning.<\/span><\/figcaption><p class=\"nt\"><span class=\"spw-nrm\">A drawn night, not a measurement. How much of each stage a real night holds, and where it falls, varies between people and between nights.<\/span><span class=\"spw-pln\">A drawing of the idea, with no real data in it. Real nights vary from person to person and from night to night.<\/span><\/p><p class=\"live\" aria-live=\"polite\"><\/p><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-keep has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">This is one reason sleep is more complicated than counting the hours. <strong class=\"eqb\">When those hours happen matters too.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-keep has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<style>.eqp .eq-kp{display:grid;grid-template-columns:auto minmax(0,1fr);gap:4px 16px;align-items:start;background:#e9f0f9;border:0;border-left:4px solid #29538e;border-radius:4px 18px 18px 4px;padding:20px 26px;margin:6px 0 34px}.eqp .eq-kp .mk{grid-row:1\/3;width:40px;height:40px;border-radius:50%;background:#fff;color:#29538e;display:flex;align-items:center;justify-content:center}.eqp .eq-kp .mk svg{width:21px;height:21px}.eqp .eq-kp .k{font-family:\"Work Sans\",sans-serif;font-size:12px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.16em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#29538e;margin:2px 0 4px}.eqp .eq-kp .t{font-family:\"Work Sans\",sans-serif;font-size:clamp(15px,calc(10.6px + .72vw),19px);font-weight:500;line-height:1.55;color:#2b302f;margin:0}@media(max-width:560px){.eqp .eq-kp{grid-template-columns:minmax(0,1fr);padding:18px 20px}.eqp .eq-kp .mk{grid-row:auto;width:34px;height:34px}}<\/style><aside class=\"eq-kp\"><span class=\"mk\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.7\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"><path d=\"M6.5 3.5h11a1 1 0 0 1 1 1v15.6a.5.5 0 0 1-.78.42L12 16.4l-5.72 4.12a.5.5 0 0 1-.78-.42V4.5a1 1 0 0 1 1-1z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><p class=\"k\">Worth remembering<\/p><p class=\"t\">Feeling used to 6 hours isn\u2019t the same as 6 hours being enough for you. When too little sleep becomes your normal, you can stop noticing how tired you are.<\/p><\/aside>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-keep has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:92px;margin-bottom:34px\"><div class=\"slp-part sl-ph\"><div class=\"no\" style=\"--sky:linear-gradient(180deg,#162a49,#213c62);--glow:8%;--stars:0.85\"><span>02<\/span><\/div><div class=\"tx\"><div class=\"sl-top\"><p class=\"lb\">Hour 2 of 8<\/p><span class=\"sl-hrs\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"on\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><\/span><\/div><h2 id=\"part-2\">Two systems decide when you sleep<\/h2><p class=\"sb\">The circadian clock, the pressure that builds while you are awake, and what caffeine actually does to it<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-pl has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-plk wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:38px;margin-bottom:14px;font-size:12.5px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0.16em;line-height:1.4\">In plain words<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\"><strong class=\"eqb\">Two systems decide when you feel sleepy.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">The first is your body clock, called the circadian rhythm. It runs on a cycle of roughly 24 hours. The main clock is a tiny group of cells in your brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, and light is one of the main ways it tells the time of day.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-n has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" id=\"your-brain-has-an-internal-clock\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">Your brain has an internal clock<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Sleep is closely tied to your <em class=\"eqi\">circadian rhythm<\/em>, the roughly 24-hour timing system that helps organize sleep and wakefulness, along with a huge number of other processes in your body. One of the main parts of this system is the <em class=\"eqi\">suprachiasmatic nucleus<\/em>, a tiny group of brain cells in the hypothalamus that acts as a kind of master clock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Light is one of its most important signals.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-keep has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div class=\"eq-rev\" style=\"margin-top:44px;margin-bottom:46px\"><figure class=\"slp-fig\"><ol class=\"slp-path\"><li><span class=\"rail\"><\/span><span class=\"n\"><span class=\"spw-nrm\">Signal<\/span><span class=\"spw-pln\">It starts with<\/span><\/span><span class=\"t\">Light<\/span><\/li><li><span class=\"rail\"><\/span><span class=\"n\"><span class=\"spw-nrm\">Sensor<\/span><span class=\"spw-pln\">Picked up by<\/span><\/span><span class=\"t\"><span class=\"spw-nrm\">The retina<\/span><span class=\"spw-pln\">The retina, at the back of your eye<\/span><\/span><\/li><li><span class=\"rail\"><\/span><span class=\"n\"><span class=\"spw-nrm\">Pacemaker<\/span><span class=\"spw-pln\">Sent to<\/span><\/span><span class=\"t\"><span class=\"spw-nrm\">The suprachiasmatic nucleus<\/span><span class=\"spw-pln\">Your brain\u2019s master clock, the suprachiasmatic nucleus<\/span><\/span><\/li><li><span class=\"rail\"><\/span><span class=\"n\"><span class=\"spw-nrm\">Downstream<\/span><span class=\"spw-pln\">Which then times<\/span><\/span><span class=\"t\"><span class=\"spw-nrm\">Melatonin, alertness, temperature<\/span><span class=\"spw-pln\">Melatonin, how alert you feel, body temperature<\/span><\/span><\/li><\/ol><figcaption><span class=\"spw-nrm\">When light reaches specialized cells in the retina, information about the light environment is sent to the brain, helping it determine where you are in the day-night cycle. This information influences the timing of melatonin secretion, alertness, body temperature and numerous other physiological processes.<\/span><span class=\"spw-pln\">Light reaches special cells at the back of your eye. They send news about the light to your brain\u2019s clock, so it can tell where you are in the day. That clock then helps time how alert you feel, your body temperature, melatonin (a hormone that helps tell your body it\u2019s night) and much more.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-pl has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Your organs keep their own daily rhythms too, for things like hormones, body temperature, your immune system and how your body uses energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">The second is sleep pressure. While you\u2019re awake, a chemical called adenosine slowly builds up in your brain and adds to the feeling of sleepiness. While you sleep, the pressure goes back down.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-n has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">And the brain\u2019s clock isn\u2019t working alone. There are daily rhythms all through your body, in your organs and tissues too. Metabolism, hormones, body temperature, immune activity and lots of other processes each have their own daily patterns. So sleep isn\u2019t simply about getting tired enough. <strong class=\"eqb\">Two important systems are at work together: sleep pressure and circadian timing.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-keep has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div class=\"eq-rev\" style=\"margin-top:54px;margin-bottom:54px\"><figure class=\"slp-fig slp-2p\"><div class=\"hd\"><p class=\"ti\"><span class=\"spw-nrm\">Two systems, one clock<\/span><span class=\"spw-pln\">What makes you sleepy, and what keeps you alert<\/span><\/p><p class=\"un\">7am to 7am<\/p><\/div><svg viewBox=\"0 0 860 300\" role=\"img\" aria-label=\"Sleep pressure rises through the waking day and falls overnight, while the circadian alerting signal peaks in the evening and troughs before dawn.\"><rect x=\"567.3\" y=\"26\" width=\"274.7\" height=\"228\" fill=\"#fdf2d3\"\/><line x1=\"567.3\" y1=\"26\" x2=\"567.3\" y2=\"254\" stroke=\"#e8bf5e\" stroke-width=\"1\"\/><text class=\"ax\" x=\"557.3\" y=\"40\" text-anchor=\"end\">awake<\/text><text class=\"ax\" x=\"577.3\" y=\"40\">asleep<\/text><line x1=\"18\" y1=\"254\" x2=\"842\" y2=\"254\" stroke=\"#e2e8f0\" stroke-width=\"1.5\"\/><line x1=\"18.0\" y1=\"254\" x2=\"18.0\" y2=\"259\" stroke=\"#e2e8f0\" stroke-width=\"1\"\/><text class=\"ax\" x=\"4\" y=\"274\" text-anchor=\"start\">7am<\/text><line x1=\"155.3\" y1=\"254\" x2=\"155.3\" y2=\"259\" stroke=\"#e2e8f0\" stroke-width=\"1\"\/><text class=\"ax\" x=\"155.3\" y=\"274\" text-anchor=\"middle\">11am<\/text><line x1=\"292.7\" y1=\"254\" x2=\"292.7\" y2=\"259\" stroke=\"#e2e8f0\" stroke-width=\"1\"\/><text class=\"ax\" x=\"292.7\" y=\"274\" text-anchor=\"middle\">3pm<\/text><line x1=\"430.0\" y1=\"254\" x2=\"430.0\" y2=\"259\" stroke=\"#e2e8f0\" stroke-width=\"1\"\/><text class=\"ax\" x=\"430.0\" y=\"274\" text-anchor=\"middle\">7pm<\/text><line x1=\"567.3\" y1=\"254\" x2=\"567.3\" y2=\"259\" stroke=\"#e2e8f0\" stroke-width=\"1\"\/><text class=\"ax\" x=\"567.3\" y=\"274\" text-anchor=\"middle\">11pm<\/text><line x1=\"704.7\" y1=\"254\" x2=\"704.7\" y2=\"259\" stroke=\"#e2e8f0\" stroke-width=\"1\"\/><text class=\"ax\" x=\"704.7\" y=\"274\" text-anchor=\"middle\">3am<\/text><line x1=\"842.0\" y1=\"254\" x2=\"842.0\" y2=\"259\" stroke=\"#e2e8f0\" stroke-width=\"1\"\/><text class=\"ax\" x=\"856\" y=\"274\" text-anchor=\"end\">7am<\/text><polyline points=\"18.0,181.6 26.6,180.7 35.2,179.7 43.8,178.6 52.3,177.4 60.9,176.1 69.5,174.8 78.1,173.3 86.7,171.8 95.3,170.2 103.8,168.6 112.4,166.8 121.0,165.0 129.6,163.1 138.2,161.2 146.8,159.2 155.3,157.2 163.9,155.2 172.5,153.1 181.1,150.9 189.7,148.8 198.3,146.6 206.8,144.4 215.4,142.2 224.0,140.0 232.6,137.8 241.2,135.6 249.8,133.4 258.3,131.2 266.9,129.1 275.5,126.9 284.1,124.8 292.7,122.8 301.3,120.7 309.8,118.8 318.4,116.9 327.0,115.0 335.6,113.2 344.2,111.4 352.8,109.8 361.3,108.2 369.9,106.7 378.5,105.2 387.1,103.9 395.7,102.6 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206.8,127.4 215.4,124.7 224.0,122.1 232.6,119.6 241.2,117.2 249.8,114.9 258.3,112.6 266.9,110.4 275.5,108.3 284.1,106.3 292.7,104.3 301.3,102.4 309.8,100.6 318.4,98.8 327.0,97.1 335.6,95.5 344.2,93.9 352.8,92.4 361.3,90.9 369.9,89.4 378.5,88.0 387.1,86.7 395.7,85.4 404.3,84.2 412.8,83.0 421.4,81.8 430.0,80.7 438.6,79.6 447.2,78.5 455.8,77.5 464.3,76.5 472.9,75.6 481.5,74.7 490.1,73.8 498.7,72.9 507.3,72.1 515.8,71.3 524.4,70.6 533.0,69.8 541.6,69.1 550.2,68.4 558.8,67.7 567.3,67.1 575.9,79.6 584.5,91.3 593.1,102.0 601.7,111.9 610.3,121.0 618.8,129.4 627.4,137.2 636.0,144.4 644.6,150.9 653.2,157.1 661.8,162.7 670.3,167.9 678.9,172.7 687.5,177.1 696.1,181.1 704.7,184.9 713.3,188.3 721.8,191.6 730.4,194.5 739.0,197.2 747.6,199.8 756.2,202.0 764.8,204.2 773.3,206.2 781.9,208.0 790.5,209.6 799.1,211.2 807.7,212.6 816.3,213.9 824.8,215.1 833.4,216.3 842.0,217.5\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"#29538e\" stroke-width=\"3.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/><g class=\"cof\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><polyline points=\"292.7,104.3 301.3,128.1 309.8,137.4 318.4,140.2 327.0,139.8 335.6,138.0 344.2,135.6 352.8,132.9 361.3,130.2 369.9,127.4 378.5,124.7 387.1,122.2 395.7,119.7 404.3,117.3 412.8,115.0 421.4,112.7 430.0,110.6 438.6,108.4 447.2,106.4 455.8,104.4 464.3,102.5 472.9,100.7 481.5,99.0 490.1,97.2 498.7,95.5 507.3,94.0 515.8,92.4 524.4,91.0 533.0,89.5 541.6,88.1 550.2,86.8 558.8,85.5 567.3,84.3\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"#b07815\" stroke-width=\"3\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-dasharray=\"1 6\"\/><circle cx=\"292.7\" cy=\"104.3\" r=\"6.5\" fill=\"#fdf2d3\" stroke=\"#b07815\" stroke-width=\"2\"\/><text class=\"ax\" x=\"292.7\" y=\"91.3\" text-anchor=\"middle\">coffee<\/text><\/g><\/svg><div class=\"key\"><span><i style=\"background:#29538e\"><\/i><span class=\"spw-nrm\">Sleep pressure<\/span><span class=\"spw-pln\">Sleep pressure, building while you\u2019re awake<\/span><\/span><span><i style=\"background:#6f97cc\"><\/i><span class=\"spw-nrm\">Circadian alerting signal<\/span><span class=\"spw-pln\">Body clock\u2019s alertness signal (circadian)<\/span><\/span><span><i style=\"background:#fdf2d3;height:10px;border-radius:3px;border:1px solid #e8bf5e\"><\/i>Asleep<\/span><span class=\"cofkey\"><i style=\"background:#b07815\"><\/i>How sleepy you feel after the coffee<\/span><\/div><div class=\"cofbar\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"cofbtn\" aria-pressed=\"false\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 20 20\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M3.5 8h10v4.5a4 4 0 0 1-4 4h-2a4 4 0 0 1-4-4zM13.5 9.5h1.2a2.3 2.3 0 0 1 0 4.6h-1.5M7 2.8c-.8.9.8 1.6 0 2.6M10 2.8c-.8.9.8 1.6 0 2.6\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.6\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span>Add an afternoon coffee<\/span><\/button><p class=\"cofnote\" aria-live=\"polite\" hidden><span class=\"spw-nrm\">The dotted line is roughly how sleepy you\u2019d feel after the coffee. The sleep pressure underneath keeps building the whole time.<\/span><span class=\"spw-pln\">The dotted line is roughly how sleepy you\u2019d feel after the coffee. The solid line, your real sleep pressure, keeps building the whole time.<\/span><\/p><\/div><figcaption><span class=\"spw-nrm\">Sleep pressure builds the longer you\u2019re awake. Circadian timing helps determine when your body is biologically inclined to be awake or asleep. Ideally, these systems line up. When they don\u2019t, you can end up in the slightly ridiculous situation of being absolutely exhausted but somehow wide awake at 1 a.m.<\/span><span class=\"spw-pln\">The longer you\u2019re awake, the more sleep pressure builds. Your body clock adds its own signal about when to be awake and when to sleep. Ideally, the two line up. When they don\u2019t, you can end up in the slightly ridiculous situation of being absolutely exhausted but somehow wide awake at 1 a.m.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-pl has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Caffeine works mainly by blocking the spots in your brain that pick up adenosine. You feel less sleepy, but <strong class=\"eqb\">the pressure is still there, and you still need the sleep<\/strong> (sorry, coffee lovers).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">When you fall asleep and sink into deep sleep, big groups of brain cells start firing together, in time. On a brain recording, this shows up as large, slow waves, which is why deep sleep is also called slow-wave sleep. This is one of my favorite parts of sleep, because the sleeping brain is doing some very specific work with information. <strong class=\"eqb\">Sleep seems to be an important part of how your brain sorts through the day<\/strong>, working out what to keep and what can fade.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-n has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" id=\"why-does-sleep-pressure-build\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">Why does sleep pressure build?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">One of the molecules behind sleep pressure is <span class=\"eq-term\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-describedby=\"gd-1\"><em class=\"eqi\">adenosine<\/em><span class=\"eq-def\" role=\"tooltip\" id=\"gd-1\"><b>adenosine<\/b>A small molecule that accumulates in the brain across the hours you are awake. Its build-up is one of the signals the brain uses to register how long you have been awake.<\/span><\/span>. While you\u2019re awake, adenosine slowly builds up in your brain and adds to the feeling of sleepiness. While you sleep, that pressure goes down. This is part of why caffeine makes you feel more alert. Caffeine mainly works by blocking adenosine receptors, so your brain can\u2019t pick up some of that sleep pressure. It doesn\u2019t remove your need for sleep. <strong class=\"eqb\">Caffeine makes the sleepiness less noticeable, not less real.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Which is handy when you need to function, but it\u2019s also why caffeine can give you the slightly misleading feeling that the problem has been solved. You haven\u2019t necessarily become less sleep deprived. You may simply feel it less (sorry, coffee lovers).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" id=\"and-then-you-fall-asleep\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">And then you fall asleep<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">As you drift from being awake into NREM sleep, your brain activity changes a lot. In deeper NREM sleep, especially slow-wave sleep, large groups of brain cells start firing together, in sync. On an EEG, a recording of the brain\u2019s electrical activity, this shows up as the big, slow waves that give slow-wave sleep its name. This is one of my favorite parts of sleep, because the sleeping brain is doing some very specific work with information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">During the day, you take in an enormous amount of information. Most of it doesn\u2019t matter. Some of it matters. Some of it matters a lot. Your brain has to work out what to keep, what to connect with what you already know, what to strengthen and what can fade into the background. <strong class=\"eqb\">Sleep seems to be an important part of how your brain sorts through the day.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-keep has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:92px;margin-bottom:34px\"><div class=\"slp-part sl-ph\"><div class=\"no\" style=\"--sky:linear-gradient(180deg,#1a2f52,#26426d);--glow:14%;--stars:0.7\"><span>03<\/span><\/div><div class=\"tx\"><div class=\"sl-top\"><p class=\"lb\">Hour 3 of 8<\/p><span class=\"sl-hrs\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"on\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><\/span><\/div><h2 id=\"part-3\">Your brain is working on the day<\/h2><p class=\"sb\">Memory consolidation, why all-nighters cost more than they buy, and what REM is still not explaining<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-pl has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-plk wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:38px;margin-bottom:14px;font-size:12.5px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0.16em;line-height:1.4\">In plain words<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">When you learn something new, the memory starts out fragile. While you sleep, your brain goes over parts of the day, and that helps you remember what you learned. This is called memory consolidation. It can make memories steadier and help fit new things in with what you already know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">NREM sleep, especially deep sleep, seems to play a big part in this, and REM sleep plays a part too. Exactly which stage does what is still being worked out, and it\u2019s less neat than the popular idea of one stage for facts and another for feelings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">That\u2019s why an all-nighter before an exam is a poor trade. You get more hours with your notes, but you lose some of the sleep that helps you hold on to them. Staying up doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019ll fail, and sometimes life does hand you a bad night. When learning is the goal, <strong class=\"eqb\">sleep is part of the learning process!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-n has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" id=\"your-brain-does-not-simply-store-memories\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">Your brain doesn\u2019t just \u201cstore\u201d memories<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">It\u2019s tempting to talk about memory as if your brain were a computer with a folder called <span class=\"fold\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 16 13\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M1 3.2a1.2 1.2 0 0 1 1.2-1.2h3.4l1.5 1.7h6.7a1.2 1.2 0 0 1 1.2 1.2v6.4a1.2 1.2 0 0 1-1.2 1.2H2.2A1.2 1.2 0 0 1 1 11.3z\"\/><\/svg><span>IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER<\/span><\/span>. It\u2019s much more complicated than that. When you learn something new, the first version of the memory is fairly fragile. Then, while you sleep, the brain patterns linked to recent experiences can be replayed and can interact with other brain systems.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-n has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">This process, broadly called <em class=\"eqi\">memory consolidation<\/em>, can make memories more stable and help fit new information in with what you already know. NREM sleep, especially its slow waves and its <span class=\"eq-term\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-describedby=\"gd-2\"><em class=\"eqi\">sleep spindles<\/em><span class=\"eq-def\" role=\"tooltip\" id=\"gd-2\"><b>sleep spindles<\/b>Short bursts of fast, rhythmic brain activity, roughly a second long, that appear on an EEG during lighter NREM sleep.<\/span><\/span>, seems to play an important role in several parts of it. REM sleep is involved in learning and memory too, although the old idea that NREM is simply for facts and REM is simply for emotions or dreams is far too neat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Different kinds of memory seem to connect with different parts of sleep, and the processes overlap rather than sitting in neat, separate boxes.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">It\u2019s part of why sleep matters so much for learning. <strong class=\"eqb\">The work isn\u2019t finished when you close the textbook.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n\" id=\"this-is-why-all-nighters-are-such-a-questionable-strategy\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">This is why all-nighters are such a questionable strategy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Imagine spending a whole night studying before an exam. On paper, it looks productive: you\u2019ve gained several extra hours with the material. But those hours came out of your sleep, and sleep is itself involved in learning, memory, attention and the thinking skills you use to plan and focus. So there\u2019s a slightly unfortunate trade-off going on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">You\u2019re giving yourself more time to put information into your brain, while cutting into some of the processes that help you use it well. That doesn\u2019t mean staying up before an exam guarantees you\u2019ll fail. People are resilient, and sometimes life really does ask you to get through a bad night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">It does mean that when learning is the goal, sleep isn\u2019t just the thing you do after the important work is done. <strong class=\"eqb\">Sleep is part of the learning process!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background spw-keep has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-558bc9ce wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"background-color:#f1f5fb;border-color:#d4e1f2;border-width:1.5px;border-style:solid;border-radius:18px;margin-top:4px;margin-bottom:30px;padding:24px 28px\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:12.5px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0.16em;line-height:1.4;text-transform:uppercase\">If you have an exam coming up<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.568), 19px);line-height:1.6\">\n<li>Where you can, do most of the studying earlier, so the night before can include sleep.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>Count the sleep after studying as part of studying, not time taken away from it.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>If you do end up with a short night, go easy on yourself. One night won\u2019t decide everything.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-pl wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">REM is the stage most linked to vivid dreams, although you can dream in other stages too. During REM, some of your brain activity looks a lot like being awake, while most of your muscles are held still. That\u2019s one of the things that stops you acting out most of your dreams (which, depending on your dreams, is probably for the best).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n\" id=\"and-then-there-is-rem-sleep\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">And then there is REM sleep<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\"><em class=\"eqi\">REM sleep<\/em> is the stage most linked to vivid dreaming, although you can dream during NREM sleep too. During REM, some of your brain activity looks surprisingly like being awake. At the same time, most of your muscles are strongly held still, which is one of the things that stops you from acting out most of your dreams (which, depending on your dreams, is probably for the best).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<style>.eqp .eq-ff{display:grid;grid-template-columns:auto minmax(0,1fr);gap:4px 16px;align-items:start;background:#fff;border:1.5px dashed #a2bee5;border-radius:18px;padding:20px 24px;margin:6px 0 34px}.eqp .eq-ff .mk{grid-row:1\/3;width:40px;height:40px;border-radius:50%;background:#edf2fa;color:#29538e;display:flex;align-items:center;justify-content:center}.eqp .eq-ff .mk svg{width:22px;height:22px}.eqp .eq-ff .k{font-family:\"Work Sans\",sans-serif;font-size:12px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.16em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#29538e;margin:2px 0 4px}.eqp .eq-ff .t{font-family:\"Work Sans\",sans-serif;font-size:clamp(14px,calc(10.2px + .62vw),18px);line-height:1.6;color:#2a2622;margin:0}@media(max-width:560px){.eqp .eq-ff{grid-template-columns:minmax(0,1fr);padding:18px}.eqp .eq-ff .mk{grid-row:auto;width:34px;height:34px}}<\/style><aside class=\"eq-ff\"><span class=\"mk\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.6\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"><path d=\"M12 3.5l1.9 5.1 5.1 1.9-5.1 1.9L12 17.5l-1.9-5.1-5.1-1.9 5.1-1.9zM18.5 15.5l.8 2 2 .8-2 .8-.8 2-.8-2-2-.8 2-.8z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><p class=\"k\">Fun fact<\/p><p class=\"t\">Newborn babies spend about half of their sleep in REM, compared with about a fifth to a quarter for adults.<\/p><\/aside>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-pl wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Why we dream at all is still an open question. Scientists have several interesting ideas, and none of them can be called the answer yet. <strong class=\"eqb\">Science is allowed to say, \u201cWe\u2019re not sure yet.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">REM sleep has been linked to memory, emotional processing and parts of learning, although exactly what REM does is still being worked out. That matters, because sleep science is full of things that are well established, things that are strongly supported but still being refined, and things that are genuinely unresolved.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-n has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Dreaming is a good example. We know a lot about when dreaming happens and which parts of the brain are involved. We still don\u2019t have one agreed answer to the much bigger question of why we have dreams at all. There are some really interesting theories, involving memory, emotion, practicing for threats, the brain making predictions and spontaneous brain activity, but none of them can be called the answer yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\"><strong class=\"eqb\">Science is allowed to say, \u201cWe\u2019re not sure yet.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-keep has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<style>.eqp .eq-kp{display:grid;grid-template-columns:auto minmax(0,1fr);gap:4px 16px;align-items:start;background:#e9f0f9;border:0;border-left:4px solid #29538e;border-radius:4px 18px 18px 4px;padding:20px 26px;margin:6px 0 34px}.eqp .eq-kp .mk{grid-row:1\/3;width:40px;height:40px;border-radius:50%;background:#fff;color:#29538e;display:flex;align-items:center;justify-content:center}.eqp .eq-kp .mk svg{width:21px;height:21px}.eqp .eq-kp .k{font-family:\"Work Sans\",sans-serif;font-size:12px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.16em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#29538e;margin:2px 0 4px}.eqp .eq-kp .t{font-family:\"Work Sans\",sans-serif;font-size:clamp(15px,calc(10.6px + .72vw),19px);font-weight:500;line-height:1.55;color:#2b302f;margin:0}@media(max-width:560px){.eqp .eq-kp{grid-template-columns:minmax(0,1fr);padding:18px 20px}.eqp .eq-kp .mk{grid-row:auto;width:34px;height:34px}}<\/style><aside class=\"eq-kp\"><span class=\"mk\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.7\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"><path d=\"M6.5 3.5h11a1 1 0 0 1 1 1v15.6a.5.5 0 0 1-.78.42L12 16.4l-5.72 4.12a.5.5 0 0 1-.78-.42V4.5a1 1 0 0 1 1-1z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><p class=\"k\">Worth sleeping on<\/p><p class=\"t\">Sleep is part of learning, not what happens after it. The work isn\u2019t finished when you close the textbook!<\/p><\/aside>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-keep has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:92px;margin-bottom:34px\"><div class=\"slp-part sl-ph\"><div class=\"no\" style=\"--sky:linear-gradient(180deg,#1d355b,#2a4977);--glow:20%;--stars:0.55\"><span>04<\/span><\/div><div class=\"tx\"><div class=\"sl-top\"><p class=\"lb\">Hour 4 of 8<\/p><span class=\"sl-hrs\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"on\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><\/span><\/div><h2 id=\"part-4\">A bad night changes the next day<\/h2><p class=\"sb\"><span class=\"spw-nrm\">More reactive emotions, more regulatory effort, and the loop between stress and sleep<\/span><span class=\"spw-pln\">Bigger reactions, more effort to stay calm, and how stress and sleep affect each other<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-pl has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-plk wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:38px;margin-bottom:14px;font-size:12.5px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0.16em;line-height:1.4\">In plain words<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">After a bad night, things can hit you harder. Studies have found that too little sleep can make you more emotionally reactive. The amygdala, a small part deep in your brain that helps pick out what matters emotionally, can react more strongly. Its link with the calming areas at the front of your brain can change too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Sleep deprivation doesn\u2019t make you irrational, but when you\u2019re tired, <strong class=\"eqb\">the same moment can take more effort to handle.<\/strong> Something mildly annoying can feel much more irritating, and you may have less patience and less room to pause before you react. After a good night\u2019s sleep, the same situation can feel easier. <strong class=\"eqb\">Sleep may not have changed the problem at all. It may have changed the brain you\u2019re bringing to it.<\/strong> So after a bad night, remember it may be partly the tiredness talking. If you can, save the difficult conversation for a day when you\u2019ve slept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Stress and sleep also affect each other. Stress can get in the way of sleep, and poor sleep can make your stress system harder to settle the next day. Research suggests poor sleep can make some of your body\u2019s stress responses stronger. That can turn into a loop, where you feel more overwhelmed and the next night is harder too. This is one reason <strong class=\"eqb\">sleep problems that keep coming back deserve more than being told to \u201crelax.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-n has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" id=\"sleep-changes-the-way-you-process-emotions\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">Sleep changes the way you process emotions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">If a bad night has ever left the next day feeling strangely different, there\u2019s a reason for that. Losing sleep changes the way you process emotions.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-n has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Experiments have found that too little sleep can make you more emotionally reactive, and can change how the parts of the brain that create emotional reactions talk to the parts that help calm them down. The <span class=\"eq-term\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-describedby=\"gd-3\"><em class=\"eqi\">amygdala<\/em><span class=\"eq-def\" role=\"tooltip\" id=\"gd-3\"><b>amygdala<\/b>A pair of small structures deep in the brain that help pick out what is emotionally significant and set a response going. It works as part of a network rather than as a fear center on its own.<\/span><\/span>, for example, can react more strongly to emotional things after sleep deprivation, while its connection with the regulating areas at the front of the brain can change.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-n has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Sleep deprivation doesn\u2019t make you irrational, but <strong class=\"eqb\">the same emotional experience can take more effort to handle when you\u2019re tired.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:30px\"><ul class=\"slp-run\"><li>Something mildly annoying may feel much more irritating.<\/li><li>A difficult conversation may feel harder to get through.<\/li><li>A small problem may seem disproportionately important.<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">You may have less patience, less flexibility and less ability to pause before you react. And after a good night\u2019s sleep, the exact same situation can sometimes feel noticeably easier to handle. <strong class=\"eqb\">Sleep may not have changed the problem at all. It may have changed the brain you\u2019re bringing to it.<\/strong> So after a bad night, it can help to remember that it may be the tiredness talking, and, if you can, to save the difficult conversation for a day when you\u2019ve slept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" id=\"sleep-and-stress-have-a-complicated-relationship\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">Sleep and stress have a complicated relationship<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Stress can get in the way of sleep, and poor sleep can make your stress system harder to settle. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, usually shortened to the <em class=\"eqi\">HPA axis<\/em>, is one of your body\u2019s main systems for responding to stress. <a href=\"\/cortisol-101\/\" style=\"color:#29538e;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1.5px;text-decoration-color:rgba(41,83,142,.42)\">Cortisol<\/a>, one of its best-known hormones, follows a strong daily rhythm, and healthy sleep and daily rhythms help keep that pattern organized.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-n has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Disrupted sleep can change how your stress system responds, and research suggests poor sleep can make some of your body\u2019s stress responses stronger.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-n has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">This can turn into a rather unpleasant loop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:30px\"><ul class=\"slp-run loop\"><li>You are stressed, so you don\u2019t sleep well.<\/li><li>You don\u2019t sleep well, so your nervous system is more reactive the next day.<\/li><li>You feel more overwhelmed.<\/li><li>Then you have another difficult night.<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">This is one reason <strong class=\"eqb\">sleep problems that keep coming back deserve more than being told to \u201crelax.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-keep has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:92px;margin-bottom:34px\"><div class=\"slp-part sl-ph\"><div class=\"no\" style=\"--sky:linear-gradient(180deg,#213b65,#2e4f81);--glow:27%;--stars:0.4\"><span>05<\/span><\/div><div class=\"tx\"><div class=\"sl-top\"><p class=\"lb\">Hour 5 of 8<\/p><span class=\"sl-hrs\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"on\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><\/span><\/div><h2 id=\"part-5\">Your body is not resting either<\/h2><p class=\"sb\"><span class=\"spw-nrm\">Immune signaling, glucose and appetite, and a cardiovascular system working under different conditions<\/span><span class=\"spw-pln\">Your immune system, blood sugar and appetite, and your heart at night<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-pl has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-plk wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:38px;margin-bottom:14px;font-size:12.5px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0.16em;line-height:1.4\">In plain words<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\"><strong class=\"eqb\">Your immune system and your sleep affect each other.<\/strong> Sleep changes the signals your immune system sends around your body. When you\u2019re ill, you often feel sleepy. That\u2019s part of how your body responds to illness, and those changes in your sleep may help support your immune system. Long-term poor sleep has been linked to changes in inflammation. It\u2019s a complicated relationship, and inflammation isn\u2019t simply \u201cbad\u201d or something to get rid of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Sleep also affects your metabolism, which is how your body uses food for energy. Too little sleep can affect how your body handles blood sugar. It can also change your appetite and the food you choose. You may have read that it all comes down to two hunger hormones, and the real picture is more complicated. Over time, <strong class=\"eqb\">regularly sleeping too little is linked to a higher risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes<\/strong>. That link runs both ways, and lots of other things play a part, so sleep is one piece of the puzzle and no magic weight-loss tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">In healthy NREM sleep, your heart rate and blood pressure usually drop. Your heart is still working, under a different set of conditions. <strong class=\"eqb\">Regularly short or broken sleep has been linked to a higher risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.<\/strong> A link doesn\u2019t automatically mean poor sleep causes every heart problem, because poor sleep often comes along with other things that affect the heart, like obesity, depression, sleep apnea, long-term stress and shift work. Even so, the evidence is strong enough that sleep is more and more seen as part of heart health.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-n has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" id=\"your-immune-system-is-involved-too\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">Your immune system is involved too<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Your immune system doesn\u2019t clock out just because you\u2019ve gone to bed. Sleep and your immune system are closely connected, and in both directions.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-n has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Sleep affects immune signaling, including the activity of various <span class=\"eq-term\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-describedby=\"gd-4\"><em class=\"eqi\">cytokines<\/em><span class=\"eq-def\" role=\"tooltip\" id=\"gd-4\"><b>cytokines<\/b>Small signaling proteins that immune cells use to communicate with each other and with the rest of the body. Some raise inflammation and some settle it down.<\/span><\/span> and immune cells. At the same time, when your immune system is switched on, your sleep can change.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-n has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Think about what happens when you\u2019re ill. You often feel sleepy, sluggish and much more interested in lying down. That isn\u2019t necessarily your body being inefficient. Sleep is part of how your body responds to illness, and those changes in sleep may help support your immune system. Long-term sleep disruption, meanwhile, has been linked to changes in inflammation and immune signaling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">It\u2019s a complicated relationship, and inflammation isn\u2019t simply \u201cbad\u201d or something to get rid of. Immune signaling is essential for a healthy body. But the bigger point is fairly simple: <strong class=\"eqb\">Sleep and your immune system are in constant conversation.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" id=\"sleep-also-affects-metabolism\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">Sleep also affects metabolism<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">This is where sleep starts to matter for almost every part of your health. Too little sleep can affect how your body handles blood sugar, how well it responds to insulin, your appetite, what you eat, and your autonomic nervous system, the part that runs things like your heart rate without you thinking about it. You\u2019ll often read online that sleep controls two simple hormones, one that makes you hungry and one that makes you full, like a little hormonal remote control. It\u2019s more complicated than that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\"><em class=\"eqi\">Leptin and ghrelin<\/em> are involved in appetite, but human studies don\u2019t always show the clean pattern that popular explanations suggest. Losing sleep can affect appetite in several overlapping ways, including changes in how your brain responds to reward, the food you choose, blood sugar and hormones. Over time, <strong class=\"eqb\">regularly not getting enough sleep is linked to a higher risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes<\/strong>, although the relationship runs both ways and lots of other things play a part. So sleep is one piece of metabolic health, not a magic weight-loss tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" id=\"your-cardiovascular-system-changes-during-sleep-too\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">Your heart works differently at night too<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">During healthy NREM sleep, your heart rate and blood pressure usually drop compared with when you\u2019re awake. Your autonomic nervous system shifts its balance, and your heart has a different workload. Again, that isn\u2019t the same as your heart simply \u201cresting.\u201d It\u2019s working under a different set of conditions. <strong class=\"eqb\">Regularly short or broken sleep has been linked to a higher risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-n has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">There\u2019s an important caveat here. A link doesn\u2019t automatically mean that poor sleep directly causes every heart problem seen in large population studies. Sleep problems often come alongside other things, like obesity, depression, sleep apnea, long-term stress and shift work, and those affect heart health themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-n has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Still, the evidence is strong enough that sleep is more and more seen as part of heart health, rather than a separate lifestyle issue.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-keep has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:92px;margin-bottom:34px\"><div class=\"slp-part sl-ph\"><div class=\"no\" style=\"--sky:linear-gradient(180deg,#24416e,#32568b);--glow:34%;--stars:0.25\"><span>06<\/span><\/div><div class=\"tx\"><div class=\"sl-top\"><p class=\"lb\">Hour 6 of 8<\/p><span class=\"sl-hrs\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"on\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><\/span><\/div><h2 id=\"part-6\">What else the night is working on<\/h2><p class=\"sb\">Waste clearance, pain, skin and hormones, and where the popular version runs ahead of the evidence<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-pl has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-plk wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:38px;margin-bottom:14px;font-size:12.5px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0.16em;line-height:1.4\">In plain words<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">You may have heard that your brain cleans itself while you sleep. There\u2019s real science behind the idea. Some animal studies found that the fluid around the brain moves through it more during sleep and carries more waste away. A recent study in mice found the opposite, though. <strong class=\"eqb\">Even the animal evidence is still argued over, and in humans it\u2019s less settled still.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n\" id=\"the-brain-may-also-be-doing-some-housekeeping\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">The brain may also be doing some housekeeping<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-n has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-66cb9a2b wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-left-color:#d4e1f2;border-left-width:4px;border-left-style:solid;border-radius:0px;margin-top:30px;margin-bottom:30px;padding:2px 0px 2px 26px\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#5a6b7d;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:8px;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.227), 16px);line-height:1.5\">You may have heard the phrase:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.625), 19.5px);font-weight:600;line-height:1.5\">\u201cYour brain cleans itself while you sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">It\u2019s a very appealing idea, and there\u2019s a real scientific story underneath it, involving the <span class=\"eq-term\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-describedby=\"gd-5\"><em class=\"eqi\">glymphatic system<\/em><span class=\"eq-def\" role=\"tooltip\" id=\"gd-5\"><b>glymphatic system<\/b>A proposed route by which cerebrospinal fluid moves through brain tissue and carries waste products away. Much of the direct evidence so far comes from animal studies.<\/span><\/span> and the way cerebrospinal fluid, the fluid around your brain, moves through it. Some animal studies have found that this fluid movement and waste clearance increase during sleep. That has led to a lot of interest in whether sleep helps the brain clear away waste and keep its environment in balance. But a recent mouse study found the opposite. <strong class=\"eqb\">Even the animal evidence is still argued over, and in humans it\u2019s less settled still.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">There\u2019s evidence linking sleep with how cerebrospinal fluid moves and with processes that might be involved in clearing waste, but exactly how it works, how big the effect is and how much it matters for health in humans are all still being studied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:34px;margin-bottom:36px\"><div class=\"slp-pair\"><div class=\"side cream\"><p class=\"lab\"><span class=\"spw-nrm\">A little too tidy<\/span><span class=\"spw-pln\">Too simple<\/span><\/p><p class=\"q\">Eight hours of sleep literally \u201cflushes the toxins out of your brain.\u201d<\/p><\/div><div class=\"rule\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div><div class=\"side mist\"><p class=\"lab\"><span class=\"spw-nrm\">Interesting science<\/span><span class=\"spw-pln\">What the research says so far<\/span><\/p><p class=\"q\"><span class=\"spw-nrm\"><strong class=\"eqb\">Sleep seems to support some important ways your brain keeps its environment in balance.<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"spw-pln\"><strong class=\"eqb\">Sleep seems to help keep your brain\u2019s inner environment in balance.<\/strong> How much it clears waste in people is still being studied.<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-pl wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Sleep and pain affect each other. Pain can make it hard to sleep, and <strong class=\"eqb\">losing sleep can make you more sensitive to pain<\/strong>. Studies of people living with long-term pain keep finding the same link. Pain is something your nervous system puts together from lots of information, including your body, your surroundings and what your brain expects, and sleep affects your nervous system. So after a bad night, your body isn\u2019t necessarily more damaged. Your brain may be handling the signals differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-pl wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Your skin is part of your body (shocking, I know), so it has daily rhythms too. There\u2019s growing evidence that poor sleep can affect it, although that research is much less certain. Hormones follow the night as well. <strong class=\"eqb\">Growth hormone<\/strong> is closely tied to deep sleep, and <strong class=\"eqb\">melatonin<\/strong>, a hormone that helps tell your body it\u2019s night, rises in the evening when the lights are low. <strong class=\"eqb\">Good sleep is about how long you sleep, and also when, how regularly, how unbroken and how good it is.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-pl wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Some of this is well established, like the effect of too little sleep on attention, mood, learning and physical health. Other questions are still open, such as what dreams are for and how much sleep cleans the human brain. There isn\u2019t one single explanation yet for why we sleep at all, and that\u2019s one of the things I find most interesting about sleep science!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n\" id=\"sleep-can-change-pain-sensitivity\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">Sleep can change pain sensitivity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Sleep and pain have a particularly interesting relationship, because it goes both ways. Pain can make it hard to sleep. But poor sleep can also make you more sensitive to pain.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-n has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Experiments have found that <strong class=\"eqb\">losing sleep can make people more sensitive to pain<\/strong>, and research in people living with chronic pain keeps finding a link between disturbed sleep and more pain.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-n has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">That makes sense once you remember that pain isn\u2019t simply a direct readout of damage in your body. Pain is an experience your nervous system creates after putting together information from your body, your surroundings, and your brain\u2019s predictions and expectations. Sleep affects that nervous system. So after a poor night\u2019s sleep, your body hasn\u2019t necessarily become more damaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Your brain may simply be processing the signals differently. That\u2019s why sleep can matter so much for people living with pain that doesn\u2019t go away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" id=\"your-skin-has-a-clock-too\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">Your skin has a clock too<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Your skin follows daily rhythms too. Things like its protective barrier, blood flow, temperature control, cell growth and parts of repair all change across the day. There\u2019s growing evidence that disrupted sleep can affect the skin\u2019s barrier, inflammation and parts of skin aging, although this is nowhere near as well established as the research linking sleep to thinking or heart health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">So no, eight hours of sleep won\u2019t magically give you perfect skin. But it would also be wrong to think sleep has nothing to do with your skin. Your skin is part of your body (shocking, I know). So it\u2019s not really surprising that <strong class=\"eqb\">your skin responds to the same daily rhythms as the rest of you.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" id=\"hormones-follow-the-night-too\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">Hormones follow the night too<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Sleep and your hormones are closely intertwined. <strong class=\"eqb\">Growth hormone<\/strong> release is strongly tied to slow-wave sleep. <strong class=\"eqb\">Cortisol<\/strong> follows a daily rhythm. <strong class=\"eqb\">Melatonin<\/strong> rises in the evening, as long as the lights are low, and helps tell your body it\u2019s night. Other hormones are shaped by the way sleep, your body clock, eating and being awake all interact. This is another reason why sleep timing matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Two people could spend exactly the same number of hours asleep on very different schedules, and those schedules can fit differently with their body clocks. So sleep health isn\u2019t only about how long you sleep. <strong class=\"eqb\">It\u2019s about how long, when, how regularly, how unbroken and how good your sleep is.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-n has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">We know that too little sleep affects attention, mood, learning and several parts of physical health. We have strong evidence that how long you sleep matters, and more and more evidence that timing and regularity matter too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Other areas are more tentative. What dreaming is for is still debated. The human version of the \u201cbrain cleaning\u201d story is fascinating, but nowhere near as settled as social media sometimes makes it sound. And there isn\u2019t one single explanation for why we sleep in the first place. That isn\u2019t a weakness of sleep science. It\u2019s one of the things I find most interesting about it! The more we learn, the clearer it becomes that sleep isn\u2019t one simple function waiting to be explained.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-keep has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:92px;margin-bottom:34px\"><div class=\"slp-part sl-ph\"><div class=\"no\" style=\"--sky:linear-gradient(180deg,#284677,#375c96);--glow:42%;--stars:0.12\"><span>07<\/span><\/div><div class=\"tx\"><div class=\"sl-top\"><p class=\"lb\">Hour 7 of 8<\/p><span class=\"sl-hrs\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"on\"><\/i><i class=\"\"><\/i><\/span><\/div><h2 id=\"part-7\">When not enough becomes the pattern<\/h2><p class=\"sb\">One bad night isn\u2019t the problem, trackers aren\u2019t sleep laboratories, and some of this isn\u2019t insomnia at all<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-pl has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-plk wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:38px;margin-bottom:14px;font-size:12.5px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0.16em;line-height:1.4\">In plain words<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">One short night isn\u2019t a disaster. Really! Your body is good at recovering from the odd bad night. <strong class=\"eqb\">The bigger worry is when too little sleep, or broken sleep, becomes the pattern.<\/strong> Over time, that\u2019s been linked to poorer attention, slower reactions, weaker focus, changes in metabolism, heart risk and poorer mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Sleeping longer on the weekend does help you recover. It isn\u2019t necessarily the same as getting enough sleep all week, though, and researchers are still working out how fully the effects of long-term sleep loss reverse. So if your week looks like this:<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-n has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" id=\"what-happens-when-you-regularly-dont-get-enough\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">What happens when you regularly don\u2019t get enough?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">One short night isn\u2019t a catastrophe. Really! You can sleep terribly because of travel, stress, an exam, a baby, illness, a noisy neighbor or no reason you can find at all. Your body is remarkably good at recovering from the odd bad night. <strong class=\"eqb\">The bigger concern is when too little or broken sleep becomes the pattern.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-n has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Regularly getting too little sleep has been linked to poorer attention, slower reactions, weaker planning and focus, changes in metabolism, heart risk and poorer mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">And one of the stranger things about long-term sleep loss is that how you feel doesn\u2019t always keep up with how you\u2019re actually doing. You may feel like you\u2019re functioning normally because you\u2019ve gotten used to your baseline. That\u2019s very different from knowing your baseline is the best it could be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n\" id=\"can-you-just-catch-up-at-the-weekend\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">Can you just catch up on the weekend?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Extra sleep after a run of short nights really does help. If you\u2019ve been sleeping too little, letting yourself sleep longer can help you recover. But weekend catch-up sleep isn\u2019t necessarily the same as getting enough sleep all week. Different effects recover at different speeds, and researchers are still working out how completely the effects of long-term sleep loss reverse once you\u2019re sleeping normally again. So if your week looks like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:30px\"><div class=\"slp-week\"><span class=\"b\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><i style=\"height:40%\"><\/i><\/span><span class=\"b\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><i style=\"height:35%\"><\/i><\/span><span class=\"b\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><i style=\"height:44%\"><\/i><\/span><span class=\"b\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><i style=\"height:33%\"><\/i><\/span><span class=\"b\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><i style=\"height:38%\"><\/i><\/span><span class=\"b we\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><span class=\"z\">zz<\/span><i style=\"height:70%\"><\/i><\/span><span class=\"b we\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><span class=\"z\">zzz<\/span><i style=\"height:78%\"><\/i><\/span><span class=\"d\" aria-hidden=\"true\">M<\/span><span class=\"d\" aria-hidden=\"true\">T<\/span><span class=\"d\" aria-hidden=\"true\">W<\/span><span class=\"d\" aria-hidden=\"true\">T<\/span><span class=\"d\" aria-hidden=\"true\">F<\/span><span class=\"d\" aria-hidden=\"true\">S<\/span><span class=\"d\" aria-hidden=\"true\">S<\/span><p class=\"wk\">Monday to Friday: survive<\/p><p class=\"wn\">Saturday + Sunday: hibernate<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-pl wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Then your body will probably appreciate the weekend sleep, but it would likely prefer a bit more consistency through the week. <strong class=\"eqb\">Sleep isn\u2019t really designed as a weekly accounting system.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-pl wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Sleep trackers in watches and rings guess at your sleep from your movement and heart rate. <strong class=\"eqb\">They\u2019re fairly good at telling how long you slept and much less accurate at telling the sleep stages apart.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-pl wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\"><strong class=\"eqb\">Worrying too much about perfect sleep scores even has a name, orthosomnia, and it can make sleep harder.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">then your body will probably appreciate the weekend sleep, but it would likely prefer a bit more consistency through the week. <strong class=\"eqb\">Sleep isn\u2019t really designed as a weekly accounting system.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n\" id=\"and-then-we-invented-sleep-trackers\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">\u2026and then we invented sleep trackers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">This is where modern sleep gets a bit funny. We now have watches and rings that estimate how long you slept, how much REM you supposedly got, how much deep sleep you supposedly got, and whether your recovery score is apparently acceptable. Some of these devices are genuinely useful, and they can help you spot patterns. But <strong class=\"eqb\">a watch or a ring is not a little sleep laboratory.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-n has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Clinical sleep studies record your brain waves with an EEG, along with your eye movements and muscle activity, which lets them tell the sleep stages apart and pick up what\u2019s happening in the body. Consumer wearables guess at your sleep from movement, heart rate and other signals. <strong class=\"eqb\">They can be fairly useful for estimating how long you slept and spotting broad trends, but they\u2019re much less accurate at telling the sleep stages apart.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">And there\u2019s another issue that doesn\u2019t get talked about much. If your tracker says your REM sleep was 14% instead of 19%, you might spend the whole morning worrying about whether your brain is working properly. The worrying itself isn\u2019t very helpful. Sleep is one of those things that gets harder when you start treating it like a performance you have to get exactly right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">There\u2019s even a word for this, <em class=\"eqi\">orthosomnia<\/em>: an unhealthy preoccupation with getting supposedly perfect sleep scores. The irony is almost too good. <strong class=\"eqb\">You can get so worried about sleeping correctly that you make sleep harder!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background spw-keep has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-558bc9ce wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"background-color:#f1f5fb;border-color:#d4e1f2;border-width:1.5px;border-style:solid;border-radius:18px;margin-top:4px;margin-bottom:30px;padding:24px 28px\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:12.5px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0.16em;line-height:1.4;text-transform:uppercase\">If your tracker is keeping you up<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.568), 19px);line-height:1.6\">\n<li>Use it for the big picture, like how long you\u2019re sleeping over a few weeks, rather than one night\u2019s REM or deep sleep numbers.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>Go by how you feel during the day as much as by the score.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>If checking the numbers makes you anxious, it\u2019s fine to put the tracker away for a while.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-pl wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">If you\u2019ve been lying awake for hours every night for months, being told to work on your sleep hygiene, the usual list of good sleep habits, may not be enough. <strong class=\"eqb\">Insomnia can keep itself going.<\/strong> You go to bed expecting not to sleep, check the clock, count the hours left, get frustrated and worry about tomorrow, and your body gets more wound up. Over time, your bed starts to feel linked with lying awake and watching the clock. That\u2019s why <strong class=\"eqb\">CBT-I, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, is recommended as a first treatment for long-term insomnia.<\/strong> It works on the habits and thought patterns that keep insomnia going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n\" id=\"sometimes-the-problem-isnt-that-you-arent-trying-hard-enou\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">Sometimes the problem isn\u2019t that you aren\u2019t trying hard enough<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">This matters most with chronic insomnia. If you\u2019ve been lying awake for hours every night for months, \u201cjust practice better sleep hygiene\u201d isn\u2019t necessarily an adequate answer. <strong class=\"eqb\">Insomnia can keep itself going.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"spw-n\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:30px\"><ul class=\"slp-run loop\"><li>You go to bed expecting not to sleep.<\/li><li>You start monitoring the clock.<\/li><li>You calculate how many hours you have left.<\/li><li>You become frustrated.<\/li><li>You worry about how terrible tomorrow will be.<\/li><li>Your physiological arousal increases.<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">And now your bed has become linked not only with sleep, but with watching the clock and feeling frustrated. That\u2019s why <strong class=\"eqb\">cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, or CBT-I, is recommended as a first treatment for chronic insomnia.<\/strong> It works on the habits and thought patterns that keep insomnia going, rather than simply telling you to try harder to relax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background spw-keep has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-558bc9ce wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"background-color:#f1f5fb;border-color:#d4e1f2;border-width:1.5px;border-style:solid;border-radius:18px;margin-top:4px;margin-bottom:30px;padding:24px 28px\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:12.5px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0.16em;line-height:1.4;text-transform:uppercase\">If you\u2019re lying awake<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.568), 19px);line-height:1.6\">\n<li>Waking for a moment in the night is normal, and it happens more as you get older. It\u2019s the long stretches of lying there that are worth working on.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>Turn the clock away, so you\u2019re not counting the hours.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>If you\u2019ve been awake for what feels like a long while, get up, do something calm in dim light, and go back to bed when you feel sleepy.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>If a worry keeps circling, <a href=\"\/worry-time\/#a-notepad-by-the-bed\" style=\"color:#29538e;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1.5px;text-decoration-color:rgba(41,83,142,.42)\">write it down and leave it for the morning<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>Get up at your usual time the next day, even after a bad night.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-pl wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Sometimes feeling sleepy all the time isn\u2019t insomnia at all. Sleep apnea (when your breathing keeps stopping and starting in your sleep), restless legs syndrome, body clock disorders, medicines, depression, anxiety, pain and many medical conditions can all affect your sleep or how alert you feel during the day. <strong class=\"eqb\">If you\u2019re regularly sleeping enough but still feel really sleepy or unrefreshed, that\u2019s worth getting checked, rather than buying another supplement.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-pl wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">If seeing a doctor isn\u2019t easy for you, a pharmacist or a nurse or telehealth line can be a first step, and CBT-I is offered more and more as a structured online program. The signs to look out for are in the box below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">And sometimes feeling sleepy all the time isn\u2019t insomnia at all. Sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, body clock disorders, medications, depression, anxiety, pain and many medical conditions can all affect your sleep or how alert you feel during the day. <strong class=\"eqb\">If you\u2019re regularly sleeping enough but still feel really sleepy or unrefreshed, that\u2019s worth getting checked, rather than buying another supplement.<\/strong> If seeing a doctor isn\u2019t easy for you, a pharmacist or a nurse or telehealth line can be a first step, and CBT-I is offered more and more as a structured online program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background spw-keep spw-nopill has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-558bc9ce wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"background-color:#f1f5fb;border-color:#d4e1f2;border-width:1.5px;border-style:solid;border-radius:18px;margin-top:4px;margin-bottom:30px;padding:24px 28px\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:12.5px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0.16em;line-height:1.4;text-transform:uppercase\">When to get your sleep checked<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.568), 19px);line-height:1.6\">\n<li>Someone has noticed you snoring loudly, gasping, or stopping breathing for a moment in your sleep.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>You get an urge to move your legs in the evening or at night that keeps you from settling.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>You\u2019ve had trouble sleeping at least three nights a week for three months or more.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>Low mood or anxiety is keeping you awake.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>You nod off during the day without meaning to. If you\u2019re ever struggling to stay awake at the wheel, stop driving. That\u2019s the one tiredness that can\u2019t wait.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-keep spw-nopill has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<style>.eqp .eq-kp{display:grid;grid-template-columns:auto minmax(0,1fr);gap:4px 16px;align-items:start;background:#e9f0f9;border:0;border-left:4px solid #29538e;border-radius:4px 18px 18px 4px;padding:20px 26px;margin:6px 0 34px}.eqp .eq-kp .mk{grid-row:1\/3;width:40px;height:40px;border-radius:50%;background:#fff;color:#29538e;display:flex;align-items:center;justify-content:center}.eqp .eq-kp .mk svg{width:21px;height:21px}.eqp .eq-kp .k{font-family:\"Work Sans\",sans-serif;font-size:12px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.16em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#29538e;margin:2px 0 4px}.eqp .eq-kp .t{font-family:\"Work Sans\",sans-serif;font-size:clamp(15px,calc(10.6px + .72vw),19px);font-weight:500;line-height:1.55;color:#2b302f;margin:0}@media(max-width:560px){.eqp .eq-kp{grid-template-columns:minmax(0,1fr);padding:18px 20px}.eqp .eq-kp .mk{grid-row:auto;width:34px;height:34px}}<\/style><aside class=\"eq-kp\"><span class=\"mk\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.7\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\"><path d=\"M6.5 3.5h11a1 1 0 0 1 1 1v15.6a.5.5 0 0 1-.78.42L12 16.4l-5.72 4.12a.5.5 0 0 1-.78-.42V4.5a1 1 0 0 1 1-1z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><p class=\"k\">Be mindful<\/p><p class=\"t\">Lying awake most nights for months, or sleeping enough and still waking up exhausted, isn\u2019t a willpower problem. It\u2019s worth getting checked.<\/p><\/aside>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-keep has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:92px;margin-bottom:34px\"><div class=\"slp-part sl-ph\"><div class=\"no\" style=\"--sky:linear-gradient(180deg,#2b4c80,#3b63a0);--glow:52%;--stars:0\"><span>08<\/span><\/div><div class=\"tx\"><div class=\"sl-top\"><p class=\"lb\">Hour 8 of 8<\/p><span class=\"sl-hrs\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"d\"><\/i><i class=\"on sun\"><\/i><\/span><\/div><h2 id=\"part-8\">What actually helps<\/h2><p class=\"sb\">Light, regularity, and why sleep doesn\u2019t need to become another project<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-pl has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-plk wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:38px;margin-bottom:14px;font-size:12.5px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0.16em;line-height:1.4\">In plain words<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">The internet has turned sleep into a ritual, with everything from magnesium to mouth tape. Some of these things can help some people, but none of them replaces the basics. For most adults, those are <strong class=\"eqb\">enough time in bed to get the sleep you need<\/strong>, <strong class=\"eqb\">a fairly steady schedule<\/strong>, <strong class=\"eqb\">the right light at the right time<\/strong>, <strong class=\"eqb\">regular exercise<\/strong>, <strong class=\"eqb\">a bedroom that works for you<\/strong>, and <strong class=\"eqb\">sorting out any substances or medicines that get in the way of your sleep<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\"><a href=\"\/alcohol-101\/#what-it-does-to-your-sleep\" style=\"color:#29538e;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1.5px;text-decoration-color:rgba(41,83,142,.42)\">Alcohol<\/a> is the one people most often underestimate: a lot of it can help you drop off faster, but even a couple of drinks cuts into your REM sleep, and the more you drink, the more of it you lose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">If you have long-term insomnia, <strong class=\"eqb\">a proven behavioral treatment like CBT-I matters much more than collecting the world\u2019s most impressive set of bedtime products<\/strong>. And if you have a sleep disorder, treating the disorder matters more than perfecting your evening routine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Your body clock uses light to work out the time of day, and it does best with clear signals that day is day and night is night. Modern life blurs them, with bright lights at midnight and mornings spent indoors. The box below has the steps that help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\"><strong class=\"eqb\">Regular sleep times seem to help too<\/strong>, because they give your body clock clearer signals. You don\u2019t have to get up at exactly the same minute every day. When your sleep times shift a lot between workdays and days off, it\u2019s called social jet lag. You can get enough hours and still pull your body clock back and forth every week.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d12c95ff wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n\" id=\"so-what-about-the-perfect-bedtime-routine\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">So what about the perfect bedtime routine?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">The internet has made sleep sound like an elaborate ritual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"spw-n\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:30px\"><ul class=\"slp-pill\"><li>blue-light-blocking glasses<\/li><li>magnesium<\/li><li>special teas<\/li><li>cold rooms<\/li><li>hot baths<\/li><li>mouth tape<\/li><li>red lights<\/li><li>sleep supplements<\/li><li>breathing exercises<\/li><li>weighted blankets<\/li><li>sleep trackers<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Some of these things can help particular people. None of them replaces the basics. For most adults, the biggest pieces are surprisingly unglamorous: <strong class=\"eqb\">enough opportunity for sleep<\/strong>, <strong class=\"eqb\">a reasonably consistent schedule<\/strong>, <strong class=\"eqb\">appropriate exposure to light<\/strong>, <strong class=\"eqb\">regular physical activity<\/strong>, <strong class=\"eqb\">a sleep environment that works for you<\/strong>, and <strong class=\"eqb\">dealing with substances or medications that get in the way of sleep<\/strong>. <a href=\"\/alcohol-101\/#what-it-does-to-your-sleep\" style=\"color:#29538e;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1.5px;text-decoration-color:rgba(41,83,142,.42)\">Alcohol<\/a> is the one people most often underestimate: a lot of it can help you drop off faster, but even a couple of drinks cuts into your REM sleep, and the more you drink, the more of it you lose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">If you have chronic insomnia, <strong class=\"eqb\">a proven behavioral treatment matters much more than collecting the world\u2019s most impressive set of bedtime products<\/strong>. And if you have a sleep disorder, treating the disorder matters more than perfecting your evening routine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n\" id=\"morning-light-is-more-important-than-it-sounds\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">Morning light is more important than it sounds<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">One particularly useful piece of the puzzle is light. Your body clock uses the light around you to work out where you are in the day. <strong class=\"eqb\">Getting bright light, especially outdoor light, earlier in the day can help anchor your body clock.<\/strong> In the evening, cutting down on bright light can help your body shift toward night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">You don\u2019t have to live in darkness after sunset. Your brain just does best with fairly clear signals that daytime is daytime and nighttime is nighttime. Modern life is unusually good at blurring those signals. You can sit under bright lights at midnight and then spend the next morning indoors with hardly any daylight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">From the point of view of your ancient body clock, that\u2019s a slightly strange arrangement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n\" id=\"sleep-is-also-about-regularity\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">Sleep is also about regularity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">It\u2019s easy to focus only on how long you sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-n has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-66cb9a2b wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-left-color:#d4e1f2;border-left-width:4px;border-left-style:solid;border-radius:0px;margin-top:30px;margin-bottom:30px;padding:2px 0px 2px 26px\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.625), 19.5px);font-weight:600;line-height:1.5\">\u201cHow many hours did you get?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">But sleep regularity seems to matter too. Going to bed and waking up at roughly the same times gives your body clock more predictable signals. That doesn\u2019t mean you have to get up at exactly 6:47 a.m. every single day, or that an extra hour on Sunday is dangerous. <strong class=\"eqb\">A fairly steady pattern is generally easier for your body to organize than constantly switching between very different schedules.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">You can see this most clearly with <em class=\"eqi\">social jet lag<\/em>, when your sleep times shift a lot between workdays and days off. You can be getting enough sleep on paper while still pulling your body clock back and forth every week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background spw-keep has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-558bc9ce wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"background-color:#f1f5fb;border-color:#d4e1f2;border-width:1.5px;border-style:solid;border-radius:18px;margin-top:4px;margin-bottom:30px;padding:24px 28px\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:10px;font-size:12.5px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0.16em;line-height:1.4;text-transform:uppercase\">What helps your body clock<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.568), 19px);line-height:1.6\">\n<li>Get bright light earlier in the day, outdoors if you can.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>Turn the lights down in the evening rather than sitting under bright light late at night.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>Wake up at roughly the same time most days, days off included, give or take a little.<\/li>\n\n\n<li>Give yourself enough time in bed to actually get the sleep you need.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-pl wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Eight hours is a good target if it works for you, and it\u2019s fine if you need closer to 7 or 9. <strong class=\"eqb\">What matters is getting enough sleep, regularly, at a time that suits your body.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-pl wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">And if you\u2019re exhausted all the time even though you\u2019re giving yourself enough time to sleep, that matters far more than whether your average happens to be 7 hours and 52 minutes. Your body is telling you something. It\u2019s worth listening to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-pl wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\"><strong class=\"eqb\">Sleep isn\u2019t wasted time<\/strong>, and it doesn\u2019t need to become another project either. You don\u2019t need perfect sleep, and <strong class=\"eqb\">one bad night doesn\u2019t undo your health!<\/strong> Give your body a fair chance to sleep enough, most of the time, and pay attention if something keeps getting in the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-pl wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">From the outside, sleep looks like doing nothing. Inside, it\u2019s an extraordinarily organized state. And you don\u2019t consciously experience most of it. That\u2019s probably part of why sleep is so easy to underestimate. <strong class=\"eqb\">But some of the most important things your brain does happen exactly when you\u2019re not paying attention.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n\" id=\"so-should-everyone-aim-for-eight-hours\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">So, should everyone aim for eight hours?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Eight hours is a perfectly good target if it works for you. It\u2019s also completely fine if your natural need turns out to be closer to 7 or 9 hours. <strong class=\"eqb\">The point isn\u2019t to hit a magic number. It\u2019s to get enough sleep, regularly enough, at a time that suits your biology.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">And if you\u2019re exhausted all the time even though you\u2019re giving yourself enough time to sleep, that matters far more than whether your average happens to be 7 hours and 52 minutes. Your body is telling you something. It\u2019s worth listening to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n\" id=\"the-part-that-gets-lost-in-all-of-this\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">The part that gets lost in all of this<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">Sleep has somehow ended up with two opposite reputations. On one side, it\u2019s treated as wasted time, something you can sacrifice when life gets busy. On the other, it\u2019s become one more thing to optimize, complete with scores, supplements, routines and ever more complicated rules about what counts as \u201cgood\u201d sleep. Neither is very helpful. <strong class=\"eqb\">Sleep is not wasted time.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">But it doesn\u2019t need to become another project either. You don\u2019t need perfect sleep. You need to give your body a fair chance to sleep enough, most of the time. You need to pay attention if something keeps getting in the way. <strong class=\"eqb\">And you need to remember that one bad night doesn\u2019t undo your health!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n\" id=\"the-surprisingly-busy-business-of-sleeping\" style=\"color:#29538e;margin-top:80px;margin-bottom:20px;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">The surprisingly busy business of sleeping<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">From the outside, sleep looks like doing nothing. Inside, it\u2019s an extraordinarily organized state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family spw-n wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#2b302f;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:26px;font-size:clamp(14.082px, 0.88rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.786), 21px);line-height:1.68\">And you don\u2019t consciously experience most of it. That\u2019s probably part of why sleep is so easy to underestimate. When you\u2019re awake, you can see what you\u2019re getting done. When you\u2019re asleep, you can\u2019t. <strong class=\"eqb\">But some of the most important things your brain does happen exactly when you\u2019re not paying attention.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-keep has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background slp-morning has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e27886f6 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"background-color:#eef3fb;border-radius:22px;margin-top:56px;margin-bottom:44px;padding:46px 50px\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4b5a6b;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:8px;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.341), 17px);line-height:1.6\">So maybe sleep isn\u2019t the time when your brain stops working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#4b5a6b;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:18px;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.341), 17px);line-height:1.6\">Maybe it is the time when, finally, it gets to work on some of the things it cannot do quite as well while you\u2019re busy being awake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#224677;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-size:clamp(16.293px, 1.018rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.989), 25px);font-weight:600;line-height:1.5\">And that makes those eight hours look a little less like lost time.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-keep has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-69c879e7 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"background-color:#f7fafb;border-color:#e2e8f0;border-width:1.5px;border-style:solid;border-radius:18px;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:44px;padding:30px 34px\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#5a6b7d;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:14px;font-size:12px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0.16em;line-height:1.4\">REFERENCES<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" style=\"color:#524a42;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:12px;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.17), 15.5px);line-height:1.7\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1155\/2010\/759234\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:rgba(41,83,142,.42)\">Balbo, M., Leproult, R., &amp; Van Cauter, E. (2010). Impact of sleep and its disturbances on hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis activity. <em>International Journal of Endocrinology, 2010<\/em>, Article 759234.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5664\/jcsm.6472\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:rgba(41,83,142,.42)\">Baron, K. G., Abbott, S., Jao, N., Manalo, N., &amp; Mullen, R. (2017). Orthosomnia: Are some patients taking the quantified self too far? <em>Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 13<\/em>(2), 351-354.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s00424-011-1044-0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:rgba(41,83,142,.42)\">Besedovsky, L., Lange, T., &amp; Born, J. (2012). Sleep and immune function. <em>Pfl\u00fcgers Archiv, 463<\/em>(1), 121-137.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/7185792\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:rgba(41,83,142,.42)\">Borb\u00e9ly, A. A. (1982). A two process model of sleep regulation. <em>Human Neurobiology, 1<\/em>(3), 195-204.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/jsr.12371\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:rgba(41,83,142,.42)\">Borb\u00e9ly, A. A., Daan, S., Wirz-Justice, A., &amp; Deboer, T. (2016). 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P., Grandner, M. A., Brown, D., Conroy, M. B., Jean-Louis, G., Coons, M., &amp; Bhatt, D. L. (2016). Sleep duration and quality: Impact on lifestyle behaviors and cardiometabolic health: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association. <em>Circulation, 134<\/em>(18), e367-e386.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3945\/an.116.012336\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:rgba(41,83,142,.42)\">St-Onge, M. P., Mikic, A., &amp; Pietrolungo, C. E. (2016). Effects of diet on sleep quality. <em>Advances in Nutrition, 7<\/em>(5), 938-949.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/ijo.2013.114\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:rgba(41,83,142,.42)\">St-Onge, M. P., Wolfe, S., Sy, M., Shechter, A., &amp; Hirsch, J. (2014). Sleep restriction increases the neuronal response to unhealthy food in normal-weight individuals. <em>International Journal of Obesity, 38<\/em>(3), 411-416.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.cub.2016.12.041\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:rgba(41,83,142,.42)\">Stothard, E. R., McHill, A. W., Depner, C. M., Birks, B. R., Moehlman, T. M., Ritchie, H. K., Guzzetti, J. R., Chinoy, E. D., &amp; Wright, K. P. Jr. (2017). Circadian entrainment to the natural light-dark cycle across seasons and the weekend. <em>Current Biology, 27<\/em>(4), 508-513.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.neubiorev.2016.07.004\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:rgba(41,83,142,.42)\">Tobaldini, E., Costantino, G., Solbiati, M., Cogliati, C., Kara, T., Nobili, L., &amp; Montano, N. (2017). Sleep, sleep deprivation, autonomic nervous system and cardiovascular diseases. <em>Neuroscience &amp; Biobehavioral Reviews, 74<\/em>(Pt B), 321-329.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/sleep\/zsaa289\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:rgba(41,83,142,.42)\">Tomaso, C. C., Johnson, A. B., &amp; Nelson, T. D. (2021). The effect of sleep deprivation and restriction on mood, emotion, and emotion regulation: Three meta-analyses in one. <em>Sleep, 44<\/em>(6), Article zsaa289.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.7326\/M14-2841\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:rgba(41,83,142,.42)\">Trauer, J. M., Qian, M. Y., Doyle, J. S., Rajaratnam, S. M. W., &amp; Cunnington, D. (2015). Cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic insomnia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. <em>Annals of Internal Medicine, 163<\/em>(3), 191-204.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1001\/jama.284.7.861\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:rgba(41,83,142,.42)\">Van Cauter, E., Leproult, R., &amp; Plat, L. (2000). Age-related changes in slow wave sleep and REM sleep and relationship with growth hormone and cortisol levels in healthy men. <em>JAMA, 284<\/em>(7), 861-868.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/s0022-3476(96)70008-2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:rgba(41,83,142,.42)\">Van Cauter, E., &amp; Plat, L. (1996). Physiology of growth hormone secretion during sleep. <em>Journal of Pediatrics, 128<\/em>(5 Pt 2), S32-S37.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.smrv.2017.10.002\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:rgba(41,83,142,.42)\">van Dalfsen, J. H., &amp; Markus, C. R. (2018). The influence of sleep on human hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis reactivity: A systematic review. <em>Sleep Medicine Reviews, 39<\/em>, 187-194.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/sleep\/26.2.117\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:rgba(41,83,142,.42)\">Van Dongen, H. P. A., Maislin, G., Mullington, J. M., &amp; Dinges, D. F. (2003). The cumulative cost of additional wakefulness: Dose-response effects on neurobehavioral functions and sleep physiology from chronic sleep restriction and total sleep deprivation. <em>Sleep, 26<\/em>(2), 117-126.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1037\/a0016570\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:rgba(41,83,142,.42)\">Walker, M. P., &amp; van der Helm, E. (2009). Overnight therapy? The role of sleep in emotional brain processing. <em>Psychological Bulletin, 135<\/em>(5), 731-748.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5665\/sleep.4716\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:rgba(41,83,142,.42)\">Watson, N. F., Badr, M. S., Belenky, G., Bliwise, D. L., Buxton, O. M., Buysse, D., Dinges, D. F., Gangwisch, J., Grandner, M. A., Kushida, C., Malhotra, R. K., Martin, J. L., Patel, S. R., Quan, S., &amp; Tasali, E. (2015). Recommended amount of sleep for a healthy adult: A joint consensus statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society. <em>Sleep, 38<\/em>(6), 843-844.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.cub.2013.06.039\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:rgba(41,83,142,.42)\">Wright, K. P., Jr., McHill, A. W., Birks, B. R., Griffin, B. R., Rusterholz, T., &amp; Chinoy, E. D. (2013). Entrainment of the human circadian clock to the natural light-dark cycle. <em>Current Biology, 23<\/em>(16), 1554-1558.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1126\/science.1241224\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:rgba(41,83,142,.42)\">Xie, L., Kang, H., Xu, Q., Chen, M. J., Liao, Y., Thiyagarajan, M., O\u2019Donnell, J., Christensen, D. J., Nicholson, C., Iliff, J. J., Takano, T., Deane, R., &amp; Nedergaard, M. (2013). Sleep drives metabolite clearance from the adult brain. <em>Science, 342<\/em>(6156), 373-377.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.cub.2007.08.007\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:rgba(41,83,142,.42)\">Yoo, S. S., Gujar, N., Hu, P., Jolesz, F. A., &amp; Walker, M. P. (2007). The human emotional brain without sleep: A prefrontal amygdala disconnect. <em>Current Biology, 17<\/em>(20), R877-R878.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1212\/01.CON.0000427209.21177.aa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:rgba(41,83,142,.42)\">Zee, P. C., Attarian, H., &amp; Videnovic, A. (2013). Circadian rhythm abnormalities. <em>Continuum, 19<\/em>(1 Sleep Disorders), 132-147.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#5a6b7d;margin-top:30px;margin-bottom:14px;font-size:12px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0.16em;line-height:1.4\">BOOKS FROM OUR SHELF<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" style=\"color:#524a42;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:12px;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.17), 15.5px);line-height:1.7\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.penguin.co.uk\/books\/321815\/life-time-by-foster-russell\/9780241529317\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"color:inherit;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-color:rgba(41,83,142,.42)\">Foster, R. G. (2022). <em>Life time: The new science of the body clock, and how it can revolutionize your sleep and health<\/em>. Penguin Life.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"eq-lastrev\" style=\"margin:34px 0 0;font-family:&quot;Work Sans&quot;,sans-serif;font-size:12px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.15em;text-transform:uppercase;line-height:1.5;color:#5a6b7d\">Last reviewed October 2026<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<style>.eqp{--rc-accent:#29538e;--rc-band:#e9f0f9;--rc-hover:#d9e5f4;--rc-bg:#f7fafb}.eqp .eq-rc-btn{display:none}.eqp .eq-rc{position:relative}.eqp .eq-rc li[hidden]{display:block;margin:0;padding:0;height:0;line-height:0;font-size:0}.eqp .eq-rc li.rc-off{display:none}.eqp .eq-rc.is-collapsed::after{content:\"\";position:absolute;left:0;right:0;bottom:0;height:76px;background:linear-gradient(to bottom,transparent,var(--rc-bg) 94%);pointer-events:none}.eqp .eq-rc ~ .eq-rc-btn{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;justify-content:center;gap:8px;box-sizing:border-box;min-width:260px;min-height:48px;margin:22px 0 0;padding:12px 26px;background:var(--rc-band);color:var(--rc-accent);border:1.5px solid var(--rc-accent);border-radius:9px;font-family:\"Work Sans\",system-ui,sans-serif;font-size:15px;font-weight:600;line-height:1.3;letter-spacing:normal;text-transform:none;text-decoration:none;text-align:center;box-shadow:none;cursor:pointer;-webkit-appearance:none;appearance:none;-webkit-tap-highlight-color:transparent}.eqp .eq-rc ~ .eq-rc-btn:hover{background:var(--rc-hover);color:var(--rc-accent)}.eqp .eq-rc ~ .eq-rc-btn:focus-visible{outline:3px solid var(--rc-accent);outline-offset:3px}.eqp .eq-rc-chev{flex:0 0 auto;width:8px;height:8px;margin-top:-4px;border-right:2px solid currentColor;border-bottom:2px solid currentColor;transform:rotate(45deg);transition:transform .2s ease}.eqp .eq-rc-btn[aria-expanded=\"true\"] .eq-rc-chev{margin-top:4px;transform:rotate(-135deg)}@media (max-width:640px){.eqp .eq-rc ~ .eq-rc-btn{display:flex;width:100%;min-width:0;margin:18px 0 0;padding:12px 10px}}@media (prefers-reduced-motion:reduce){.eqp .eq-rc-chev{transition:none}}@media print{.eqp .eq-rc-btn{display:none!important}.eqp .eq-rc::after{display:none!important}.eqp .eq-rc li[hidden]{display:list-item!important;content-visibility:visible!important;height:auto!important;font-size:inherit!important;line-height:inherit!important}.eqp .eq-rc li.rc-off{display:list-item!important}}<\/style>\n<style id=\"eq-sweep-2503-21oct\">\n\/* 21 Oct sweep (2503), no text change.\n   D1 Part titles stay at least 2px above section headings at every width (they were equal at 768 to 899).\n   D2 Contents box, the 20 Oct toc fix: 13px part labels and header, minutes in the body grey, titles balanced,\n      the open arrow level with the first title line on phones, tablets and touch screens.\n   D3 Hypnogram stage names (Awake, REM, N1 to N3) at 12px or more on tablets (they were 9.3 to 11.5px).\n   D4 Hypnogram handle 44px wide below 900px and on any touch screen (it was 38px from 641px up).\n   D6 Lone last words: pretty on running text, balance on headings and short labels only. 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wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div class=\"eq-rev\" style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:44px\"><a class=\"slp-next\" href=\"\/your-brain-on-stress\/\"><span class=\"eyb\">Read next<\/span><span class=\"ti\">Your Brain on Stress<\/span><span class=\"wy\">The other half of the loop in part four: what the stress response does in your brain and body, and what helps it settle.<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group spw-keep spw-end has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d2a766d4 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n<div class=\"eq-rev\" style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1708\" src=\"https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/mid-shot-woman-therapist-taking-notes-clipboard-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A therapist taking notes on a clipboard during a session, with the other person&#39;s hands clasped in front of them\" class=\"wp-image-230\" style=\"width:100%;height:340px;object-fit:cover;object-position:center 40%;border-radius:22px 22px 0 0;display:block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/mid-shot-woman-therapist-taking-notes-clipboard-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/mid-shot-woman-therapist-taking-notes-clipboard-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/mid-shot-woman-therapist-taking-notes-clipboard-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/mid-shot-woman-therapist-taking-notes-clipboard-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/equilibriumpsychotherapy.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/mid-shot-woman-therapist-taking-notes-clipboard-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-background eq-ondark has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-f761ea3b wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"background-color:#29538e;border-radius:0px 0px 22px 22px;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:80px;padding:52px\">\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#c3d5ee;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:14px;font-size:12px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0.16em;line-height:1.4\">WORKING WITH THIS<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family\" id=\"when-sleep-is-the-thing-that-keeps-not-working\" style=\"color:#ffffff;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:18px;font-size:clamp(18.434px, 1.152rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 1.201), 29px);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:1.28\">When sleep is the thing that keeps not working<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#d6e4f6;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:30px;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.455), 18px);line-height:1.7\">If you\u2019ve been lying awake for months, or you\u2019re sleeping enough and still waking up exhausted, that deserves a proper look rather than another workaround. And if what\u2019s keeping you awake is stress, worry or something you haven\u2019t been able to put down, that\u2019s exactly the kind of thing therapy can help with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-text-color has-background has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-element-button\" href=\"\/individual-session\/\" style=\"border-radius:9px;color:#2b302f;background-color:#fdf3da;padding:15px 30px;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.284), 16.5px);font-weight:700\">Book a session<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button footer_b\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-text-color has-work-sans-regular-font-family wp-element-button\" href=\"\/contact\/\" style=\"border-color:#93b3dd;border-width:1.5px;border-style:solid;border-radius:9px;color:#ffffff;padding:15px 30px;font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.284), 16.5px);font-weight:600\">Get in touch<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<script>\n(function(){\n  var fig=document.querySelector('.slp-hyp');\n  if(!fig){ return; }\n  var gw=fig.querySelector('.gw'), hnd=fig.querySelector('.hnd');\n  var rect=fig.querySelector('#slphyprect'), edge=fig.querySelector('#slphypedge');\n  var cast=fig.querySelector('#slphypcast');\n  if(!gw){ return; }\n  if(!hnd){ return; }\n\n  var X0=46, X1=844, PPM=1.6625, LO=180, HI=480;\n  var REM=[[208.9,225.6],[345.3,375.2],[486.6,526.5],[631.2,677.8],[777.5,827.4]], N3=[[107.5,174.0],[267.1,303.7],[453.3,469.9]];\n  var REMT=0, N3T=0, i;\n  for(i=0;i<REM.length;i++){ REMT=REMT+(REM[i][1]-REM[i][0]); }\n  for(i=0;i<N3.length;i++){ N3T=N3T+(N3[i][1]-N3[i][0]); }\n\n  var hh=fig.querySelector('.hh'), mm=fig.querySelector('.mm'), wk=fig.querySelector('.wk');\n  var d3=fig.querySelector('.d3'), dr=fig.querySelector('.dr'), live=fig.querySelector('.live');\n  var mins=HI, timer=null;\n\n  function kept(runs,x){\n    var t=0, j, a, b;\n    for(j=0;j<runs.length;j++){\n      a=runs[j][0]; b=runs[j][1];\n      if(x>a){ t=t+(Math.min(b,x)-a); }\n    }\n    return t;\n  }\n  function clock(m){\n    var t=(23*60+m)%1440, h=Math.floor(t\/60), n=t%60, ap='am';\n    if(h>=12){ ap='pm'; }\n    var h12=h%12;\n    if(h12===0){ h12=12; }\n    return h12+':'+(n<10?'0':'')+n+ap;\n  }\n  function words(m){\n    var h=Math.floor(m\/60), n=m%60, s=h+' hour';\n    if(h!==1){ s=s+'s'; }\n    if(n>0){ s=s+' '+n+' minutes'; }\n    return s+', awake at '+clock(m);\n  }\n  function draw(){\n    var x=X0+mins*PPM;\n    rect.setAttribute('width',String(x));\n    cast.setAttribute('x',String(x));\n    cast.setAttribute('width',String(Math.max(0,844-x)));\n    edge.setAttribute('x1',String(x));\n    edge.setAttribute('x2',String(x));\n    if(mins<HI){ edge.removeAttribute('hidden'); }\n    else{ edge.setAttribute('hidden',''); }\n    hnd.style.left=(x\/860*100)+'%';\n    hh.textContent=String(Math.floor(mins\/60));\n    mm.textContent=(mins%60<10?'0':'')+(mins%60);\n    wk.textContent=clock(mins);\n    d3.style.transform='scaleX('+(kept(N3,x)\/N3T)+')';\n    dr.style.transform='scaleX('+(kept(REM,x)\/REMT)+')';\n    hnd.setAttribute('aria-valuenow',String(mins));\n    hnd.setAttribute('aria-valuetext',words(mins));\n  }\n  function say(){\n    if(timer){ clearTimeout(timer); }\n    timer=setTimeout(function(){\n      var x=X0+mins*PPM;\n      live.textContent=words(mins)+'. 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