The reason why sleep is more disturbed in the summer

According to data from 28,000 Americans over 500,000 nights compiled by Sleep Score Labs, in the summer, bedtime is much longer. The cause can be missed school, work, gatherings with friends and the phenomenon of days longer than night.

During the summer solstice, the body reduces the production of important hormones that help keep awake like melatonin. Because the sun sets later, summer light can trick the brain into thinking it's still daytime. The light signals change the circadian rhythm, causing the brain to delay the release of needed melatonin.

"Light is an important factor in the human circadian rhythm, which determines the timing of the pineal gland's secretion of melatonin. Melatonin is essentially the 'dark hormone', which is secreted when the sun goes down to allow sleep to last. coming," explains Nate Watson, Sleep Score Labs Chairman of the Sleep Advisory Board.

According to Dr. Elie Gottlieb, exposure to a lot of outdoor light in the summer can trick the brain into assuming it is still daytime. This can alter circadian rhythms, causing a person to sleep late and wake up later.

Many people experience sleep disturbances in the summer.

Data from Sleep Score Labs shows that the average American sleep duration fell by 10 minutes during the summer months, from 6 hours 12 minutes to 5 hours 59 minutes.

Although 10 minutes a day may not seem like much, during the three months of summer, each person slept about an hour less a week. "Warm temperatures, plus daytime activities affect how long people sleep and rest," said Dr. Watson.

Sleep quality in the summer is also affected. Typically, experts assess sleep quality by comparing total time spent in bed and actual sleep time. The greater the gap between these two stages, the lower the quality of sleep.

According to scientists, at an ideal sleep time, the actual sleep time accounts for 85% of the total time starting to lay back in bed. For Americans, the rate dropped from about 80% in November to 78% on the June summer solstice, hovering at 77% in July.

The phenomenon of short days and long nights in the summer most affects the sleep of the elderly. During the summer solstice, people over the age of 60 experienced the greatest decrease in average sleep time. Younger Americans, on the other hand, have the longest waking times in the morning. People over 60 get about 40 minutes less sleep than people under 30 every night during the summer solstice.

"The duration and quality of sleep changes drastically throughout our lives. This is quite normal. When older adults experience changes in their sleep cycles, they often sleep less, split into more sleep. every night and wake up earlier in the morning," says Dr. Gottlieb.

There are quite a few methods to keep a deep and quality sleep in the summer. First, scientists suggest sticking to a certain sleep schedule, doing your best to go to bed at a specific time of day. Keeping the bedroom light as low as possible is also a way to stimulate the brain to produce melatonin, making it easier to fall asleep.