Most of us have been guilty at one time or another of skipping on sleep to cram more into the day. Late-night work emails, cleaning the bathroom after the kids have gone to bed or even just catching a few hours of late-night TV for “downtime” all rob the body of essential sleep.
And now science is showing us that passing on sleep to pack more in is detrimental to our health; and often in more ways than you may think.
“The biggest problem with sleep is not getting enough,” research fellow at the Centre for Sleep Science at the University of WA Kelly Shepherd says.
“We tend to cram a lot into our lives, get to bed quite late and still have to get up and function the next day, so there’s a sleep deprivation that’s accrued within a working week across all age groups.”
Respiratory and sleep physician at Hollywood Hospital Jack Philpott agrees.
“I see sleep as sort of like a bank,” Dr Philpott says. Read More