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Have you ever been unable to sleep, only to lay in bed for hours restless? Even worse, have you ever laid awake for so long that you begin to hear chirping birds outside? Although the sound of morning bird song is beautiful, there’s nothing more daunting than insomnia that lasts all night long. Sometimes, anxiety about insomnia and being unable to sleep only worsens the issue. Other times, medication or a pre-existing condition may be to blame for your sleepless nights. Half of all adults struggle with insomnia, and identifying which kind you’re dealing with is half the battle. Once you uncover whether or not your anxiety is based on short-term environmental factors or a long-term, serious condition, you can seek the proper lifestyle changes and treatment to finally achieve the quality sleep you’ve been dreaming of.

Have you ever felt paralyzed upon waking up in the middle of the night? Maybe you want to speak but can’t, or even worse, you feel a presence in your bedroom but you’re unable to do anything about it. Did someone break in? You feel unsafe, completely unable to move. Finally, you fully wake and look around, feeling immediate relief that the experience may have just been a bad dream. But what if it wasn’t a nightmare? These episodes are known as sleep paralysis, caused by REM sleep sensations and wakefulness overlapping as you rest. These terrifying experiences can feel like they last for a lifetime. If you’re wondering, “how long does sleep paralysis last?” the answer is just minutes. However, it feels longer due to the in-between state of consciousness your brain experiences during these episodes. So why does sleep paralysis occur? While we still have much to learn, it could be due to sleeping position, a sleep disorder, severe sleep deprivation, or certain mental conditions like panic disorder.

Have you ever told someone to have “sweet dreams” before bed? We all would prefer to have blissful, enjoyable dreams over terrifying, peculiar nightmares. If you want to have a nice dream over a bad one, research suggests that a couple of lifestyle changes just might do the trick. While we still have a lot to learn about the science of dreams, bad dreams are linked to our brains either preparing for stressful situations in our waking lives or trying to process traumatic memories we’ve already experienced. Moreover, the more relaxed and calm we are before bed, the greater our chances of experiencing soothing dreams that match our mood. That’s why it’s vital to avoid distressing media or conversations before sleep, along with stimulants like caffeine or food that boost metabolism and brain activity. Alcohol is known to fragment sleep and induce bad dreams, too, so opting for your evening cocktail with any early dinner rather than drinking into the night is best. More research may be needed to reveal the true science of dreaming, but bad dreams don’t have to be a nightly occurrence.

Snoring is infamous for disrupting and fragmenting both your sleep and your partner’s sleep. It’s even known to be a top cause of relationship issues and breakups. If you want to stop snoring for good, you have to first track your snoring and sleep habits. Thanks to modern technology, many snoring trackers allow you to record sleep disturbances, track daily habits, and try out anti-snoring solutions to see what works well for you. Many of the best snoring apps come at no cost as a free smartphone app. We’ve rounded up our top three best snoring trackers to help you monitor and examine sleep and snoring patterns, improve sleep habits, and most importantly, save your relationship from total destruction due to snoring. Once you choose a snoring tracker that offers sleep insights and actionable suggestions, you’ll be able to examine what to avoid before bed to prevent snoring, what to add to your daily routine to help your sleep quality, and you can even play back recordings to understand what noises are pulling you out of deep sleep phases.

Some days you wake up ready to conquer the world, while other days your feet drag the floor and you just can’t seem to get going. Your choices from the day and night before directly influence how you feel upon waking.The world of sleep tracking can feel overwhelming, though, as so many options are available. From expensive, sophisticated wearable devices to free smartphone apps to a simple, DIY bullet journal sleep tracker, there is an option available for your lifestyle and sleep tracking needs.

Like many, you may think that oversleeping is “healthier” than undersleeping. Nonetheless, science suggests otherwise: oversleeping is just as harmful as not getting enough rest. Hitting snooze in the morning often feels euphoric, relaxing, and blissful. However, getting an extra few winks of harmless shut-eye can quickly turn into an extra few hours of sleep. This throws off our sleep patterns and is even thought to cause a handful of health problems that can quickly become life-threatening. Too much REM sleep is known to cause obesity, heart disease, and more. You’re likely wondering, “How much REM sleep should you get, then?” Or: “How much deep sleep do I need?” Research suggests that between 7 and 8 hours every night is the sweet spot. Any more than 9 hours, though, and you’re doing more harm than good.

It’s no surprise that we’re all chronically stressed. Our world is faster-paced than ever before, and it only seems to be moving quicker and quicker by the day. The majority of adults report that chronic stress impacts their physical and mental health. High stress is proven to cause depression, anxiety, heart problems, and more. Therefore, learning to manage our stress is key to managing our health. It may be as easy as breathing, according to recent research. Certain breathwork patterns are known to shift our mental states and invoke calming emotions. When we’re happy, we breathe slowly and deeply. Therefore, breathing slowly and deeply during periods of stress can shift the body and mind from overdrive into a relaxed state. Using breathing techniques to de-stress is not only simple to implement into your daily routine; it’s backed by scientific research as an effective tool for stress reduction.

Grogginess upon waking is normal. However, if it lasts for most of your morning or disrupts your productivity, it quickly becomes a problem. Intense grogginess and confusion upon waking is called sleep inertia. While we aren’t completely sure what causes it, many researchers theorize that sleep inertia is the brain’s way of preventing us from waking up at every little sound or disturbance throughout the night. In extreme cases of sleep inertia, sometimes called sleep drunkenness, this phenomenon quickly becomes dangerous, putting you and everyone around you at risk of injury due to delayed reaction times. High sleep debt caused by sleep deprivation worsens sleep inertia. Moreover, your sleep chronotype influences whether or not you’re likely to experience it. High adenosine levels that build up due to lack of sleep are also to blame, which lower as you pay down sleep debt and establish a consistent sleep routine.

Many of us think we can just “catch up” on sleep once we finally make it to the weekend. This is wishful thinking, as sleep debt quickly accumulates. Sleeping in over the weekend doesn’t correct your sleeping patterns for the long haul, and long-term sleep deprivation has serious consequences. A lack of sleep causes inflammation markers in the body to rise, increasing our chances of illness and disease. Moreover, sleep debt lowers our immune response and recovery time, meaning you’re more likely to get (and stay) sick if you don’t get enough sleep. As if that isn’t bad enough, sleep deprivation is known to cause a build-up of protein in the brain known to cause Alzheimer’s disease. If you want to reduce brain inflammation, correcting your sleep patterns and sleep-wake cycle is essential.

Chances are, you’ve heard of the Wim Hof method at some point or another. This technique, created by Dutch athlete Wim Hof, involves combining controlled breathwork with cold exposure. Many claim that Wim Hof workshops are a secret weapon for improving wellness and longevity, while others question whether the method is just the latest health fad. Before you write off the Wim Hof method, consider that the benefits of both cold therapy and breathwork are backed by scientific research. For example, many athletes rely on ice baths to recover from exertion quicker, while controlled breathing techniques have been used for centuries to improve focus, concentration, and mood. Wim Hof himself has participated in recent research that validates the immune-boosting benefits of his breathwork and cold therapy practices.

Does it seem like you just can’t get going in the morning? Or do you have no issue rolling out of bed? Some people hit the ground running as soon as they wake up,  prepared to conquer the day with a smile. Others have to ease into productivity, ramping up their energy as the day goes on. Beyond that, certain people find it hard to wake up and even harder to fall asleep at night. Are these people just night owls or early birds? Science says it’s much more complex than that. In fact, modern research has proven that there are at least four different types of sleep chronotypes that determine the time of day we’re biologically the most productive and focused. You’re either a bear, wolf, lion, or dolphin sleep chronotype – and you may even be a mix of more than one. If you’re not sure which chronotype you most closely identify with, certain online quizzes can help you determine yours.

The early bird gets the worm, while the night owl is usually framed as less productive. But is this really true? As it turns out, night owls are typically more creative than early birds, but not without sacrifice. Night owls are statistically at a greater risk for health issues like diabetes, mental health challenges, and metabolic issues. Moreover, as the onset of your sleep routine becomes delayed, your chances of developing harmful sleep disorders like sleep apnea rise. This worsens the problem – but can you break the cycle? Or is being a night owl just a biological predisposition that you can’t change? While certain pre-existing conditions may cause you to feel more creative and active during the wee hours of the night as opposed to the morning time, tidying up your circadian rhythm and sleep cycles can help you become the early bird you’ve always dreamed of being. By paying closer attention to your sleep hygiene, light exposure, caffeine intake, and more, you can shift your sleep cycle forward each day until you reach the routine you’ve always desired.