Many of us are used to sleeping fewer hours than we would like during the week and trying to make up for it by having a lie in at the weekend. But Management Issues reports that researchers at Northwestern University in Chicago believe this type of sleep might not help us to catch up at all.
By continually sleeping less than the recommended eight hours a night, people can become used to this and stop feeling tired. Feeling awake on less sleep is one thing, but the performance of an individual on tasks can noticably change for the worse. The body can also take a knock in health without enough sleep.
Having the traditional weekend lie in could well be pointless according to the authors of the study. Lead author, Professor Fred W. Turek, suggests the possibility that in regularly sleeping less than we need, "The ability to compensate for lost sleep is itself lost, which is damaging both physically and mentally".
In the fast-paced culture that we live today, it is no wonder that we get by on less rest. Our situation is geared up to doing whatever we want, whenever we want, resulting in a loss of natural cycles. If you say 'let there be light', you can generally get your own way. What your body and brain thinks about the matter, however, could be very different.
