How Sleep Savvy Are You?

Spring ahead for daylight saving time – and test your sleep knowledge.

Young boy sleeping in a hotel bed. (Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images)

Young boy sleeping. (Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images)

Jennifer Papa Kanaan, M.D. (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health Center Photo)
Dr. Jennifer Kanaan, UConn Health sleep medicine specialist (Janine Gelineau/UConn Health Photo)

If you won’t admit that you don’t get enough sleep, why are you lamenting losing an hour of sleep because we reset our clocks this weekend?

Maybe you’re not exactly lamenting. After all, losing a single hour of sleep may not be a huge price to pay for an extra hour of daylight for the next eight months. Still, there’s a good chance you could use more shut-eye.

Here’s a quick quiz for you about sleep, based on information from experts at UConn Health’s Sleep Disorders Center.


  1. How much sleep is recommended for most adults?
    A. At least 6 hours a night
    B. At least 7 hours a night
    C. At least 8 hours a night
    D. At least 9 hours a night
  2. How much sleep is generally recommended for elementary school children?
    A. At least 7 hours a night
    B. At least 8 hours a night
    C. At least 9 hours a night
    D. At least 10 hours a night
  3. True or false: Sleep-deprived children can be misdiagnosed with attention deficit hyperactive disorder.
    True
    False
  4. What is the biggest reason teens tend to fall asleep late and have such trouble waking up for school?
    A. They’re lazy.
    B. Their biology is working against them.
    C. They have too much homework.
    D. They spend too much time on their phones.
  5. Which is a consequence of sleep deprivation?
    A. We don’t do as well at work or in school.
    B. We are more prone to accidents.
    C. We are less efficient at retaining information.
    D. All of the above
  6. Which of the following is NOT a recommended sleep habit?
    A. Keep your bedroom warm and toasty.
    B. Set a nighttime routine that includes a consistent bed time.
    C. Make the bedroom as dark as possible.
    D. Put your cell phone in a different room at bed time.
  7. If you’re sleep-deprived, what’s the best way to reset your sleep schedule?
    A. Take a nap.
    B. Sleep in this weekend.
    C. Wake up early and expose yourself to natural light.
    D. Take an energy drink in the morning and a sleep aid at night.
  8. Which of the following is NOT a potential result of untreated sleep apnea:
    A. Snoring
    B. Obesity
    C. Heart disease
    D. Arthritis
  9. Why do sleep experts recommend not using digital devices or watching television in bed?
    A. The light from the screen can throw off our body’s signals that tell us it’s time to sleep.
    B. It stimulates our brain when we instead should be relaxing and winding down for sleep.
    C. Both A and B
    D. None of the above.
  10. Which of the following is the best way to end your evening for optimal sleep?
    A. Take a warm bath.
    B. Tire yourself out with exercise.
    C. Read a book in bed.
    D. Have a glass of wine or two.
Dr. Adrian Salmon
Dr. Adrian Salmon, UConn Health sleep medicine specialist (Tina Encarnacion/UConn Health photo)

How did you do? Check your answers here:

  1. B: The National Sleep Foundation recommends at least 7 hours of sleep per night for adults to maintain health and peak performance.
  2. D: Sleep experts recommend parents to aim for 10 hours of sleep per night for their elementary school students. Some “tweens” might be able to get by with 9 hours. The National Sleep Foundation recommends at 8 to 10 hours for teens, and 10 to 13 hours a night for preschoolers.
  3. True: Sleep deprivation can have such an impact on school performance that it’s not uncommon for a child to be diagnosed with ADHD when all he needs is more sleep.
  4. B: While all these answers are potential factors depending on the individual, teens are prone to what’s known as delayed sleep phase syndrome, where their body clock doesn’t signal sleep time until well past dark. As a result, many teens find it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep much before midnight, and if they had their way they’d sleep until noon. A recognition of this has led to a few school districts pushing their school start times to later in the day.
  5. D: When we don’t get enough quality sleep we simply don’t operate at peak efficiency. This can impact our performance at work, at school, in relationships, and it can negatively affect our reaction time.
  6. A: While the thought of layers of blankets in a warm and cozy bedroom may seem most comfortably appealing, our best chance at falling asleep and staying asleep comes when our sleeping environment is relatively cool, around 68 degrees.
  7. C: Our body clock essentially is programmed in the morning; the day’s first exposure to light starts the meter running. By evening, guided by your circadian rhythm and melatonin production, you’ll be ready to go to bed at a reasonable hour. Taking a nap can throw off this natural balance. Sleeping in on the weekends will only provide short-term relief that day, but will continue the cycle the next day. Energy drinks and sleep aids come with the risk of interfering with your body clock.
  8. D: Snoring is the most obvious and immediate sign of obstruction of your breathing passage during sleep. Sleep apnea prevents us from consistently getting restful sleep, and in the long run this can lead to obesity, heart diseases, and other health problems. The good news is, sleep apnea is treatable without any drugs or side effects. Talk to your doctor about constant positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy.
  9. C: That screen gives off blue light, which can throw off your production of melatonin, the hormone that signals your body that bedtime is near. And if you’re scrolling through your social media feed or checking emails on your phone or tablet in bed, you’re keeping your brain revved up rather than it’s time to call it a night.
  10. A: A warm bath is a good way to relax, unwind, and embrace your body’s cues for sleep. Exercising may tire you out but it elevates your heart rate and your body usually will need a few hours to get into sleep mode after that. Reading a book in bed – a real book under a soft light as opposed to an e-book emitting blue light – is better than watching TV or using your smartphone, but it’s still exposing you to light at night, which can work against your body clock. And the wine, it may make you drowsy, but when you do fall asleep, it likely won’t be as deep and restful.