You donāt need to be a jet-setter to suffer from jet lag, according to a new study, which suggests that āsocial jet lagā is messing up everyoneās body clocks.
For the uninitiated, itās the name given to the phenomenon where our circadian rhythms become out of sync when we get to the weekend or go on holiday.
This is because we tend to stick to a decent sleep routine during the week (for work) and then stay up later and sleep in on the weekends, which basically has the same kind of effects as jet lag, but without you leaving the country. And itās not great news for health, with previous studies linking social jet lag to obesity and depression.
One study found that people with different weekday and weekend sleep schedules had triple the odds of being overweight.
For this new study, researchers measured social jet lag in people all over the US by analysing their Twitter activity. There were some interesting findings: people with early commute start times had greater social jet lag, while university students didnāt. This might be because there is reduced weekday pressure on the schedule of students, researchers said. Thatāll be those lie-ins, then.
Changes in the seasons also impacted on social jet lag, with people feeling the effects far less in summer, possibly because schedules change to tailor to the school holidays. February appeared to be the worst time for feeling it.
So should we be worried about social jet lag? And is there anything we could be doing to prevent it?
The obvious answer is to stick to a regular sleeping pattern throughout the week and weekend, so you continue going to bed and getting up at the same time. Enabling the āBedtimeā feature on your smartphone could help you with this.
Lisa Artis, sleep advisor at the Sleep Council, told HuffPost UK a regular bedtime is especially advisable for people who are poor sleepers, as your body clock will tune in to that regular routine.
āBut for people who are good sleepers, thereās no need to really overthink it and worry about it too much,ā she said. āIf youāre a good sleeper, the odd late night or the odd lie-in isnāt going to do any harm.ā
The key to a good nightās sleep, according to Artis, is not overthinking it or becoming anxious at bedtime. Worrying about your sleep pattern is not conducive to a good nightās kip.
āYou want to be in a calm, relaxed state before bed,ā she said. Switching off your gadgets, reading a good book, practising mindfulness and listening to soothing music are all advised.
[Read More: How To Make Your Bedroom A Relaxing Sleep Haven]
āI think itās important people make that time to wind down,ā she added.
Also be aware of the environment youāre sleeping in: a good-sized comfortable bed and a cool room thatās properly dark is the ultimate sleep haven.
As for the study? Researchers believe their findings could prompt an improvement in school schedules and work schedules, so they can be matched to peopleās circadian rhythms, āhelping to optimise performance in an increasingly āround-the-clockā work cultureā.