Our sleep expert has decided.
Among the beliefs and ideas that circulate around sleep, we often hear that the hours before midnight count double and are therefore more restorative. Myth or reality? “A bit of both: this sentence is one of the adages that have been deviated from their initial meaninganswers Caroline Rome, sophrologist specializing in sleep and author of the book “Sleep regained” (ed. Solar). Let me explain. In a night’s sleep, there are cycles which follow one another and which are divided into several phases: we start with very light sleep, then a slightly less light sleep, we then have deep sleep during which we really recover. physical and muscular fatigue, then there is paradoxical sleep which allows mental, nervous and intellectual recovery (paradoxical sleep is the one where we dream the most).”
The first part of the night is thus more physically restorative while the second part is less so. “So it’s not the hours before “midnight” that are particularly restorative, but those before “mid-night”, i.e. half the nightrestores our interlocutor. In other words, no matter what time we go to bed, whether at 11 p.m. or 2 a.m., the first hours of our night are perceived as more restorative. “This is why we seem to feel in good shape when we wake up after 3-4 hours in the middle of the night. Because we have this perception of physical recovery.”
That being said, the more “circadian” and respectful of the environment and the day-night alternation, the better it is for recovering while sleeping. “The ideal is to get as close to the sun as possible and to sleep when it gets dark.” for example going to bed between 10 p.m. and midnight. You generally need 7 to 9 hours of sleep to get a good rest, knowing that regular bedtimes are also important.