Don’t deny—you love to sleep. Who doesn’t? And the reality is—like it or hate it—you and every one of us will spend a third of our lifetimes in a deep slumber. It’s the natural repair mechanism of our bodies; it affects our daily performance and our overall health.

Most of us assume we understand how sleep works, but even researchers are still learning how sleep—or the lack of it—affects our wellbeing.

Curiously, myths about sleep continue to circulate. If you ever tried counting sheep (or in a more modern context, scrolling through your social media feeds) because you’re unable to go to dreamland, you might want to reconsider what you thought you knew about smart sleeping habits. Here are 5 of the most common sleeping habits, debunked:

Sleep Myth 1: Early to bed, early to rise

Reality: The quality of your sleep if relatively more important than the number of hours you stay in bed. Many people believe they are getting the ‘standard’ 7-9 hours of sleep every night but still feel restless throughout the day. Your daytime sleepiness (or restlessness) does not always indicate that you’re short of sleep hours, but often a sign that the quality of your sleep is problematic.

Sleep Myth 2: Watching TV (or using mobile devices) helps you fall asleep

Reality: Using your mobile devices, as well as watching TV before bed with the intention of falling into slumber faster actually robs you of sleep rather than helping promote it.

According to a poll by the National Sleep Foundation, 95% of Americans report watching TV or using their mobile devices as their pre-sleep pastime. As a result, more than 65% of this population experience disruption on their circadian rhythm, or their innate body clocks, causing them to stay awake beyond the ideal bedtime. This is due to the light and radiation emission from screens we use every day, tricking our brains into believing it is daylight.

Sleep Myth 3: Snoring is…okay

Reality: It may simply because of vibrations in the upper airways of the respiratory system due to air obstruction, but snoring is often a sign of a greater problem. Aside from ethical stereotypes and being an embarrassing—if not comical—condition, snoring can be a strong indicator of the serious health problem obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Untreated OSA can have severe consequences including high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

Sleep Myth 4: If you can’t sleep at night, don’t get out of bed

Reality: Sleep is more than just a physiological condition. The reality is, you should associate your bedroom and your mattress as a place to sleep—not a torture chamber. If you wake up and cannot fall back to sleep in 20 minutes, get out of your bed and go to another room. Keep your sleeping area as dark as possible; if you must turn on the light, keep it dim. Avoid activities that require light, so reading a book is a no-no.

Sleep Myth 5: The quality of your mattress doesn’t matter

Reality: A fine mattress is crucial in achieving quality sleep. Finding the right mattress that will give you a good night’s sleep involves getting both the right support as well as the right comfort level. In choosing the right mattress, it’s important to know your body’s posture, your sleeping positions, and the natural shape or curvature of your backbone. Mattresses from Icon Sleep offer different levels of firmness, comfort, and support.