Sleeping the wrong amount can lead to obesity, headaches, back aches, and heart problems. It can also cause your metabolism to speed up or slow down, and increase your risk of diabetes.

As a very approximate number, we burn around 50 calories an hour1 while we sleep. However, every person burns a different amount of calories during sleep, depending on their personal basal metabolic rate2 (BMR).

But in fact, even though your metabolism is slower at night when you are stationary than when you are active, your metabolism never stops working, even when you are sleeping. Calories consumed at night won’t change your metabolism or count more than calories consumed during the day.

Energy conservation theory posits that the main function of sleep is to reduce a person’s energy demand during part of the day and night when it is least efficient to hunt for food. This theory is supported by the fact that the body has decreased metabolism by up to 10% during sleep.

When a person goes into a deep sleep, the brain becomes inactive. True or False? False, your brain never becomes totally inactive during sleep. The three levels of consciousness indentified by Sigmund Freud are conscious, preconscious, and unconscious.

Some habits that can improve your sleep health: Be consistent. Go to bed at the same time each night and get up at the same time each morning, including on the weekends. Make sure your bedroom is quiet, dark, relaxing, and at a comfortable temperature.

During an ideal night’s sleep, your body has enough time to go through four to five 90-minute cycles that sample different phases of sleep as the night progresses. In general, each cycle moves sequentially through each stage of sleep: wake, light sleep, deep sleep, REM, and repeat.

10 Reasons Why Good Sleep Is Important

• Poor sleep is linked to higher body weight.
• Good sleepers tend to eat fewer calories.
• Good sleep can improve concentration and productivity.
• Good sleep can maximize athletic performance.
• Poor sleepers have a greater risk of heart disease and stroke.
• Sleep affects glucose metabolism and type 2 diabetes risk.

Sleep is an essential function1 that allows your body and mind to recharge, leaving you refreshed and alert when you wake up. Healthy sleep also helps the body remain healthy and stave off diseases. Without enough sleep, the brain cannot function properly.

Some people divide their sleep into a schedule of naps around the clock, sometimes called polyphasic sleeping. It’s often designed to let you get by on less total rest. That’s a bad idea, Kushida says, since adults need at least 7 hours of sleep in 24 hours. There can be major consequences if you cut back, he says.

Most people today don’t have the time to sleep in two separate segments and would probably end up not getting the sleep they need. And one short sleep segment isn’t the answer. “Four to five hours of sleep is not enough,” says Connolly.

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1. Establish a quiet, relaxing bedtime routine.
2. Relax your body.
3. Make your bedroom conducive to sleep.
4. Put clocks in your bedroom out of sight.
5. Avoid caffeine after noon, and limit alcohol to 1 drink several hours before bedtime.
6. Avoid smoking.
7. Get regular exercise.
8. Go to bed only when you’re sleepy.