You can't sleep facing east-west. I heard it has something to do with the Earth's magnetic field? Superstition or science?

Sleeping may be the biggest thing in daily life besides eating, so it naturally becomes one of the topics that never disappear after dinner.

I have heard people say that sleeping has a direction since I was a child. I have heard this for more than 30 years. So what is the best direction to sleep? It should be north-south, not east-west. If you ask why, they will either say it is related to the earth's magnetic field or to the prosperity of the family. You cannot sleep in an east-west direction. Is this science or superstition? First the facts, then the theory. The fact is that I sleep in an east-west direction, with my head facing east and my feet facing west. I have been sleeping in this direction for five years. I fall asleep quickly when I close my eyes at night and feel energetic when I open my eyes in the morning. I have never felt that my sleep is affected by the direction. As for the idea that the sleeping direction will affect the prosperity of the family, it is even more ridiculous.

So in theory, is sleeping orientation related to the Earth's magnetic field?

Let's first talk about what the Earth's magnetic field is and how it is generated. Scientists currently do not have a satisfactory answer to the generation of the Earth's magnetic field, so the scientific community has proposed many different hypotheses, the more well-known ones are the internal current theory, the charge rotation theory, the piezoelectric effect theory, etc., but one thing is certain, that is, the Earth's magnetic field is essentially an electromagnetic field, and it is a magnetic field generated by the current effect of the electrons in the outer core following the rotation of the Earth. From this we can also know that the generation of the Earth's magnetic field is closely related to the lava activity inside the Earth. The Earth is like an egg. The hard crust part that we touch is actually very thin, and the interior of the Earth is all flowable lava material.

In the Earth's core, there is convection of iron and nickel, and this convection generates a magnetic field under the action of the Coriolis force.

Since the earth has a magnetic field, what is the direction of the magnetic field? We are used to saying north-south and east-west, but in fact, these words are not accurate to describe the direction of the earth's magnetic field, because the geographic pole and the magnetic pole are not the same thing. The earth's magnetic north pole is in the south, and the magnetic south pole is in the north, but the magnetic north pole does not coincide with the geographic south pole, but is just near the geographic south pole, and the magnetic south pole does not coincide with the geographic north pole, but is also just near the geographic north pole. Since the magnetic pole is not due south or due north, the so-called north-south sleeping direction does not completely conform to the direction of the earth's magnetic field. Moreover, the distribution of the earth's magnetic field lines is not the same in different regions.

Near the equator, the direction of the Earth's magnetic field is horizontal, while in the polar regions, the direction of the magnetic field is perpendicular to the surface. The most important thing is that the magnetic field on the Earth's surface will change at any time due to various factors.

So if you really want to make your sleeping direction adapt to the earth's magnetic field, you must flexibly adjust your sleeping direction according to your geographical location, rather than simply defining it as "east-west" or "north-south". The earth's magnetic field is far more complicated than we think. In fact, not only will the magnetic field on the surface of the earth change due to various factors, but even the magnetic poles will move and even flip. Why is the magnetic north pole near the south pole, and the magnetic south pole near the north pole? This is actually not constant. French scientist Brunet found that the earth's magnetic field flipped about 700,000 years ago.

The reversal of the Earth's magnetic field 700,000 years ago was not the first time, and certainly would not be the last. Scientists believe that the reversal of the Earth's magnetic field is periodic.

It can be seen that the changes in the earth's magnetic field are unpredictable, so there has never been any saying that you can adjust your sleeping direction according to the magnetic field. So does the magnetic field have any effect on sleep? In theory, the human body can also be regarded as a small magnetic field. In theory, sleeping in the direction of the earth's magnetic field can indeed reduce the interference of the earth's magnetic field, but this interference itself is minimal. Unless you have a serious sleep disorder, then sleeping in the direction of the earth's magnetic field may feel a little different, but for ordinary people, sleeping in any direction has no effect. It is worth mentioning that sleeping in the north-south direction does not completely conform to the direction of the earth's magnetic field.

In fact, there are many ways to improve sleep quality that are more effective than the direction of sleeping.

The biggest factor affecting sleep is the sleeping environment, and the biggest factors in the sleeping environment are temperature and humidity. Scientific research has found that the most comfortable sleeping temperature is 26 degrees Celsius, and the best sleeping humidity is between 30% and 80%. Another thing is light. Pulling the blackout curtains to create a dark environment can also help improve sleep quality. As for sleeping position, just like sleeping direction, there is no need to worry too much about it. Everyone's situation is different. Some of the best sleeping positions are impossible for some people to fall asleep. So just choose a position that makes you feel most comfortable and easiest to fall asleep. The most suitable one is the best.

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