The weekend is THE time to catch up on missed sleep that's accumulated over the week. Right?!
For most of my life, it was for me...until recently when I started delving into sleep science and the impressive and fascinating work of Professor Matthew Walker, author of 'Why we sleep'.
Something that really caught my attention is 'Social Jetlag' - a fairly new term that's cropped up in the wellness, sleep psychology and Ayurveda circles over the past few years (drop me a comment, btw, if you've heard of this type of 'jetlag').
Social jetlag is a modern-day issue fueled by late nights through the week adding up to a major sleep deficit come Friday and then 'sleep bingeing' at the weekend in an attempt to 'make up' the lost hours of zzzz's.
While you may think there's no harm in setting an alarm through the week then hitting the snooze button all weekend, social jetlag is associated with weight gain, reduced cognitive function and chronic illness.
Social jetlag promotes practically everything that’s bad in our bodies,” Till Roenneberg, says Professor of chronobiology at Ludwig-Maximilian University, who coined the term.
Like normal jetlag, it's a consequence of being forced to shift our bodies between two time zones:
one dictated by work and social obligations,
the other by our internal timing system, the circadian clock.
Around two-thirds of us experience at least one hour of social jetlag a week, and a third experience two hours or more. This is confusing for our bodies which thrive with consistency.
In a study of uni students, despite the total amount of sleep per night being equal in both groups, those who consistently changed their bedtimes had poorer overall sleep quality and a reduced sleep quantity than those who kept to a consistent bedtime.
Key takeout: sleep regularity and consistent bedtimes matter. It's not just about getting the optimum 7-9 hours sleep a night, it's more important to ensure you sleep and awake at roughly the same times each day.
To learn more about sleep + alllll the things you're doing that stop you from getting your best night sleep, come along to my 'Sleep hygiene: biohacking good sleep' workshop tomorrow night (Thur 27 May), there's still a couple spots left!
You'll learn:
why sleep is so crucial to our mental, emotional and physical wellbeing
how to get a better night’s sleep NOW
'tired and wired': why your lifestyle is getting in the way of shut eye
the best foods and supplements to support good sleep
about circadian rhythms and Ayurvedic principles and why they matter
top 4 daily rituals to help you sleep soundly and deeply tonight.
We hope to see you there!
Bianca and the Fast Twitch team x
p.s this event is free for all Fast Twitch members and guests of members, so bring along your bestie, sister, Mum, colleague, anyone who you think will benefit from this information! Share it with them right now by forwarding this email on or you can use the share buttons below :) Thanks gorgeous! Members can book in via the Fast Twitch or Mindbody apps.
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