Humans not lazy in winter, need longer sleep than in summer, reveals new study

Do people call you lazy, especially in winter? Or do you feel lazy only because you sleep a bit extra as winter starts? If yes, then, you're not lazy. A study has revealed that while we humans do not hibernate, but, we need a bit more sleep during the colder months. 

Published in Frontiers in Neuroscience, the study has found that people get more REM (rapid eye movement) sleep in the winter. However, REM sleep, which is directly linked to the circadian clock and is affected by changing light, was 30 minutes longer in winter than in summer. The research suggests that even in urban areas, people who experience disrupted sleep, experience longer REM sleep in colder months, Guardian reported.

Researchers have claimed that if the study's findings can be replicated in a healthy lifestyle, then it can be done when they adjust their sleep habits, such as going to sleep early.

The team of scientists examined around 292 patients who had undergone sleep studies, which is called polysomnography.

Patients who experience disrupted sleep were asked to sleep naturally in a special laboratory without an alarm clock to monitor the quality, type of sleep and as well as the length of sleep. 

After excluding people taking sleep-affecting medications, technical errors and those who might have skipped the first REM stage, 188 patients remained in the study. 

The author of the study, Dr Dieter Kunz, said, "Seasonality is ubiquitous in any living being on this planet. 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."

Kunz said that in general people need to adjust their sleep including the length and timing of the season, and working schedules.