Here are some common things that are believed about sleep, but that are actually not true:

Myth: It's natural to be sleepy when I get older.

Fact: There is no proof of this. Often drowsiness and fatigue during the day is because of sleep disorders that the sleeper doesn't know about. According to Dr. William Dement, of the Stanford Sleep Center, anyone who snores and has day time drowsiness should be evaluated for sleep disorders.

There may also be things in the environment that are disturbing the sleep, without the sleep being aware. For example, loud noises from traffic, or dogs barking, can disturb sleep without fully awakening the sleeper.

Myth: Anxiety or stress is preventing a good nights sleep.

Fact: Most people, if put in a quiet place, with no stimulation, will give in to the urge to sleep. Apnea, asthma, and chronic disease are more common causes of a lack of good sleep.

Myth: Older people need less sleep.

Fact: Since lack of sleep has been proven to supress immune system function, older people whose bodies are functioning less efficiently, should be careful about sleeping less. Older people need at most 1 hour a night less sleep than younger people, but often younger people need more than 8 hours sleep, so even after this decrease in sleep, an older person might still need more sleep than the average younger person. When a person is given the chance to sleep however long they want, and time and environmental cues are removed, most people stabilize at between 9 and 10 hours a day of sleep.

Myth: Insomniacs get very little sleep at night.

Fact: People are generally very poor at reporting the amount of sleep they get during the night. We are not usually aware of most sleep robing awakenings, and we also can fall asleep without realizing we are sleeping, especially if there is no other source of stimulation.

Myth: Snoring is not important.

Fact: While light snoring is probably OK, any load snoring that seems to be accompanied by pauses in breathing is called sleep apnea, and should be evaluated by a doctor. When the sleeper stops breathing for a time during sleep, the brain will eventually leave the deeper levels of sleep in order to get breathing restarted. These interruptions of deep sleep ruin the overall quality and restfulness of sleep. These breathing interruptions can interrupt sleep several hundred times a night. How can you know if snoring is a sign of problem: Do people tell you that you snore, and you regularly feel daytime drowsiness?  If so, you should visit your doctor and discuss this problem.

Myth: If you are having problems sleeping, just lay in bed until you fall asleep, or read a book in bed.

Fact: If you can not get back to sleep in about ten minutes, get up and do something non-stimulating. Perhaps go sit in your living room and read a book. Laying in bed for what seems like a very long time without sleeping may just make you stressed. And doing things other than sleeping in bed can confuse your brain and cause you to form other associations than sleep with your bed, thus making it more difficult to fall sleep.

Myth: A cigarette before bedtime can help you sleep.

Fact: Cigarrettes are likely to keep you awake because nicotine is a stimulant. Smoking a cigarette could be as bad as drinking a cup of coffee.

Myth: A stiff drink, or a glass of wine, before bedtime will help with sleep.

Fact: Alcohol immediately before bedtime might affect the quality of as much as a nights sleep. Also, many food such as coffee, tea, cola, drinks, or sweets can act as stimulants. A small glass of water, or milk, and a light snack, is the most that should be eaten within 2 hours of bedtime.

Myth: Someday scientists will eliminate the need to sleep.

Fact: This is very unlikely. Even attempting to reduce sleep for short periods of time has been proven, in carefully researched experiments, to reduce productivity and increase many negative and physiological problems such as depression. The reason seems to be that our biological clock is extremely resistant to attempts to change. Instead of cutting down on sleep to spend more time working, or with family and friends, work to improve your sleep hygiene. The pay off will be better performance and cheerfulness, and a better overall quality of life. Remember: If you are under stress, the last thing you want to do is to cheat yourself by loosing sleep.