Fox News – When it comes to setting healthy resolutions for the New Year, sleep is just as essential as nutrition and exercise, experts agree.
Below are nine of the most noteworthy sleep findings that Fox News Digital has covered over the past 12 months.
Each of these findings can bring you better sleep in the year ahead.
1. Catching up on sleep during the weekends could have health benefits
A study published in the journal Sleep Health found that people who slept for at least one hour longer on weekends had lower rates of cardiovascular disease compared to those who didn’t get catch-up sleep.
The biggest benefit was seen in those who got less than six hours of sleep on weekdays and slept for at least two extra hours on weekends.
Although this was an observational study, Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, said he believes the finding is valid.
“More sleep brings your metabolism down to a lower level where the risks are lower,” he said.
2. Not everyone needs 8 hours of sleep each night
Suffering from indigestion after stuffing yourself with holiday leftovers? Sleeping on your left side can greatly reduce reflux, according to the Canadian Society of Intestinal Research.
Most people tend to focus on the number of hours of shuteye they get each evening, but experts say that might not be the most important metric …
3. Sleep tracking is beneficial — until it goes too far
Using a wearable tracking device can help people get a healthy duration and quality of sleep — but when they fixate too much on that data, it can lead to a disorder called orthosomnia …
