11 Important Facts About Sleeping You Never Knew

Pass that beauty rest test. You know that a good night's sleep is important (thanks, Mom), but there's more to the science of sleep than you think. Brush up on the facts, then move to the head of the class with Sleep Number® SleepIQ® technology.

1. Snoring is often the biggest complaint among people who sleep with their partners.

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Slouching at work is one thing, but how's your sleep posture? A better sleeping position and improved head and neck support have been linked to the elimination of snoring.

2. Those who sleep less are more likely to catch colds.

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When exposed to a cold virus, people who get fewer than seven hours of sleep a day are about three times more likely to develop cold symptoms than those who get eight hours of sleep or more.

3. Pulling an "all-nighter" can reduce your capacity for remembering by up to 40%.

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Attention, procrastinators: Staying up late to cram will actually hurt your chances of acing that test.

4. People with insomnia are more likely to develop major depression.

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That's right: Even insomniacs with no history of depression are four times more likely to become depressed than people with no history of insomnia.

5. Married couples will have spent six to seven years in bed together by their 20th anniversary.

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It's simple math: (8 hours x 365 days) x 20 years. Maybe the secret to a great marriage is in bed...in more ways than one.

6. We sleep less during a full moon (even in a windowless room).

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If you wanna get science-y: Electroencephalogram delta activity during NREM sleep, an indicator of deep sleep, decreased by 30%, and sleep duration was reduced by 20 minutes.

7. A study involving college basketball players showed that more sleep led to a 9% increase in free-throw shooting accuracy.

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The participants reported overall improvements of physical and mental well-being while on the court.

8. A lack of sleep can make sober people act, well, drunk.

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Subjects were observed over a period of 28 hours of sleep deprivation. After 17 hours without their beauty rest, their performances on a series of tests were equivalent to or worse than those with 0.05% BAC.

9. Skin temperature rises when you sleep, which helps topical treatments absorb more effectively.

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Your skincare products can seep deeper into your skin at night for better results. But choose your nighttime treatment regimen carefully — you don't want to interfere with your skin's natural period of regeneration.

10. The best sleep typically happens between 65 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit.

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Kicking off the sheets is totally normal. Your body temperature rises and falls slightly throughout a normal day, and it's all tied to your sleep cycle. If the air in your room is too hot, it may interfere with your body's natural dip in temperature. The result? A restless night's sleep.

11. Insufficient sleep has been linked to weight gain.

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You've got more time to snack if you're not getting any shut-eye. Plus, when you miss sleep, your leptin levels (which tell your brain when enough food has been consumed) go down. Meanwhile, your ghrelin levels (which stimulate your appetite) go up. It's the PERFECT STORM.

It's time to get smart about sleep.

SleepIQ® technology gives you the knowledge to adjust for your best sleep.