😴Our sleep has taken quite the battering over 18 months of restrictions.
The stress of the pandemic has led some to experience sleep difficulties dubbed “coronasomnia”, adding to the third of us who already suffer from sleep problems
Thread 🧵
telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness…
🕑Just one hour’s change is enough to throw you off track, according to Dr Rebecca Robbins, a sleep expert for Savoir
“One hour can indeed be enough to throw our internal clock out of sync,” she tells Jessica Salter from her laboratory in Boston
"I’ve had regular – and long – spells of insomnia, and this means I don’t often top about four or five hours a night" writes Jessica Salter
❌"It’s not a brag – I know it is chronically short of what I need"
💤"Studies that warn of the dangers to my long-term brain health, increased risk of Alzheimer’s, heart problems and life expectancy do nothing to relax me into a good night’s sleep"
📰Fascinating new research published in the journal Science shows just how sleep helps protect the brain.
“We discovered that over the course of the day, the brain produces toxins, the accumulation of which is associated with neuro cognitive decline” says Dr Robbins
🧠“When we sleep, not only does the brain stop producing these toxins, but it also produces a cerebral fluid which, in essence, pressure-washes the brain to remove the toxins that have built up”
🦠“How sleep affects our immunity is so relevant right now” says Dr Robbins
“There is one very interesting study that has looked at rhinovirus. The researchers found that those who are sleep-deprived had more than a twofold greater risk of colds and flu”
💉Being sleep deprived can also affect how we respond to vaccines.
“In those people who are vaccinated, we see an increased development of antibodies to combat the viral pathogen - that’s accelerated when you couple vaccine appointments with healthy sleep duration”
Dr Robbins' number one rule?
🕑Set a consistent bedtime.
“It’s a really common mistake, but just as children need set bedtime routines, so do we,” Dr Robbins says
💤Read Dr Rebecca Robbins's top tips for a good night's sleep 👇
telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness…
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