CANTON, Mass. — Insomnia, sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome: these are just a few of the bedtime maladies affecting Americans. Lots of Americans. It’s estimated at least 50 million of us have some issue with getting enough sleep — and the problem is bound to grow. The American Sleep Apnea Association expects the number will double by mid-century.
“Adults really need between seven and nine hours of sleep for optimal health and well being,” said Rebecca Robbins, MD, a sleep scientist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Apparently, many of those who are not getting enough sleep are turning to an online source for advice: YouTube. Robbins and other researchers recently studied the accuracy of the most widely viewed YouTube “sleep” videos — and found them wanting.
Their study, to be published in the Journal of Sleep Medicine, found a nearly inverse relationship between views and veracity. Sleep videos created by bloggers, health coaches and other non-experts got millions of eyeballs. But the study found two-thirds contained commercial bias — and more than 90 percent contained misinformation.
“The challenging thing is that when videos are widely viewed then that creates a cycle whereby they’re recommended more,” said Robbins. “Some of the videos were developed by bloggers — and they used some provocative images, I think, to catch views.”
By contrast, the study found videos produced by actual sleep experts often lacked eye appeal but also commercial bias and misinformation. Accuracy came with a price. The ‘true’ expert sleep videos had, on average, just a tenth of the viewership of the non expert clips.
“What we believe is that a lot of the claims in these videos... they’re really on the borderline,” Robbins said.
Meaning some may be based on thin reeds of science. For example, one video recommended sock-wearing to improve sleep.
“So one small study has found that wearing socks was associated with a small improvement in sleep outcomes,” Robbins said. “But that was one small study with lots of limitations.”
Similarly, a recommendation to drink tart cherry juice before bed was backed up by a single study.
“They’re statements that don’t necessarily have a strong evidence base and they’re a little bit controversial,” said Robbins. “Things like taking off your clothes before you go to bed.”
As in... sleeping naked.
“There are so many varying factors that are going to affect how well you sleep,” said John Harding, a Sleep Lab Technician at Jordan’s Furniture in Avon. Harding matches customers to mattresses. “We spend one third of our life sleeping, directly affecting how we feel and function the other two thirds of our day.”
What does he think about the YouTube sleep misinformation?
“It’s scary, because these are people who are influencing millions of people and they’re giving them incorrect information,” Harding said. “That’s scary because those people are out there driving on the road beside me every day.”
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