The need for sleep seems to be greater in winter, according to a study

It’s quite common to have more trouble getting out of bed in winter. And it seems that there is also in humans, as in certain animals, a seasonality of sleep, indicates a German study which has just appeared in the journal of neurosciences Borders. These researchers from a sleep clinic in Berlin have indeed found that the architecture of our sleep is a little different during the winter. These researchers have found that in winter, the duration of our paradoxical sleep, which corresponds to a phase of important brain activity, for dreams in particular, and which is important for mental recovery, is naturally lengthened by half an hour. by night. Moreover, deep sleep also increases spontaneously during the fall.

To achieve this result, these researchers analyzed over the year the recordings of sleep duration and structure of more than 180 patients who came to the clinic for a sleep assessment. These were patients without drug treatment who had to fall asleep at the usual time. And who were not allowed to set an alarm clock in the morning so that their sleep needs were really taken into account.

This work confirms the essential role of light on our sleep rhythms and in particular the importance of sunlight. We know that to have an effect on the brain and sleep, the light must be intense and indeed, the artificial lighting inside rarely exceeds 250 lux, whereas daylight is equivalent to at least 2,000 lux. “Our study confirms a seasonality of sleep and recovery, and may explain a feeling of sluggish functioning in winter” say the authors. And this, even if we take advantage of artificial light in the evening when the days are getting shorter. The authors admit that these results need to be consolidated by a study in the general population. But in the meantime, the advice remains the same to keep as much energy as possible in winter: you have to be exposed to daylight in the morning and possibly go to bed half an hour or an hour earlier in the evening.