Discoveries

March 03, 2023

Sleepy Seasons

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Humans cannot hibernate but a new study shows that people need more sleep during the winter months, the Guardian reported.

Scientists analyzed the results from more than 180 people who had undergone sleep studies called polysomnographies. These studies help monitor the quality, type and length of sleep in patients experiencing sleep-related difficulties.

The analysis showed that people get more rapid eye movement sleep – or REM sleep – during the winter period.

During REM sleep, brain activity increases and people often dream. The researchers noticed that in winter this type of sleep – which is linked to the circadian clock – was 30 minutes longer than in summer.

They noted that this trend also seems present in urban populations experiencing disrupted sleep.

The team noted that if the findings can be replicated in people with healthy sleep, they could provide the first evidence of the need to adjust sleeping patterns throughout the seasons – such as going to bed earlier in the colder months.

“Seasonality is ubiquitous in any living being on this planet,” said co-author Dieter Kunz. “Even though we still perform unchanged over the winter, human physiology is down-regulated, with a sensation of ‘running-on-empty’ in February or March.”

This story originally appeared in the March 03, 2023 newsletter, Beyond the Horizon.