Are you tired all the time?

Researchers at NYU recently combed through 8,000 websites to find out what people know (or think they know) about getting a good night’s sleep…and it turns out not a lot.

Here are the most common sleep myths:

Five hours of sleep a night is fine.  This is the most DANGEROUS myth about sleep. Regularly getting less than five hours significantly increases your risk for heart disease and early death.

It’s great to be able to fall asleep anywhere, anytime. Not so fast…that’s often a sign that you’re not getting enough sleep or the quality of it isn’t good.

Your brain and body adapts to less sleep.  Again…not true. If you get less than 7-8 hours of shut-eye your mind and body are suffering.

Snoring is annoying but basically harmless.  Loud snoring can be a sign of sleep apnea especially if you can also hear pauses in breathing.  Apnea increases your risk for all kinds of things, including heart attacks, diabetes and cancer…and it affects women as well as men.

Drinking alcohol before bed helps you sleep.  It can help you fall asleep but you don’t get as much DEEP sleep so you’re more likely to wake up feeling tired.

Another study found that people who get just 16 minutes than they usually do have a tough time focusing and processing information the next day.

So don’t try to cut corners…get as much sleep as you can…your body (and mind) will thank you!