• If you slipped under the covers at 2am, knowing your alarm was set for 6am, how do you think you would feel the next morning? • You may be imagining a day of aching eyes and clouded thoughts, but it is perfectly possible to wake up feeling clear-headed and positive, then spend the day happily socialising, or even doing a spot of exercise. • For most of us, this sounds like a dream. • We live in a world obsessed with how little sleep we get and how rubbish that makes us feel. • Many of us chase solutions - wearing eye masks, using blue-light filters, eating sleep-boosting probiotics - all in the pursuit of that golden 8 hours of sleep. • But what if the secret to feeling restored has little to do with how much we have actually slept?

Article Summaries:

  • New research suggests that how we think about sleep may be more important than the actual hours we get. Studies show that a positive sleep mindset can produce mental and physical benefits similar to those of a good night’s rest, and that people often misjudge their sleep quality. A UCLA study of 249 depressed participants over 13 weeks found a large mismatch between smartwatch‑measured sleep and self‑reported sleep, with many reporting poor sleep despite adequate rest. The findings highlight the potential role of sleep beliefs-sometimes called an “insomnia identity”-in shaping daytime well‑being.
  • If you slipped under the covers at 2am, knowing your alarm was set for 6am, how do you think you would feel the next morning? You may be imagining a day of aching eyes and clouded thoughts, but it is perfectly possible to wake up feeling clear-headed and positive, then spend the day happily socialising, or even doing a spot of exercise. For most of us, this sounds like a dream. We live in a world obsessed with how little sleep we get and how rubbish that makes us feel. Many of us chase solutions - wearing eye masks, using blue-light filters, eating sleep-boosting probiotics - all in the pursui

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