Latest news with #socialjetlag
The Sun
26-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- The Sun
Almost ALL Brits suffer Bank Holiday burnout – and finish the weekend more tired than they started, survey reveals
NEARLY nine in 10 Brits have suffered ' bank holiday burnout' – and are more exhausted after a busy long weekend than they were before it started. A poll of 2,000 adults found 42 per cent feel pressure to make the most of the extra day off, losing an average of four hours of sleep compared to normal weekends. 3 And almost one in six (16 per cent) try to fit in as many activities as possible into one long weekend. As a result, 84 per cent have found themselves engaged in a social plan they can't get out of, wishing they'd made time to actually relax instead. Many try to make the most of their time by cramming in productive activities like gardening (33 per cent), cleaning and tidying (29 per cent), and finally tackling long-postponed DIY projects (26 per cent). The research, commissioned by Premier Inn, has found that to fit in their bank holiday plans, 94 per cent will sacrifice sleep by either going to bed later or getting up earlier – or both. But according to sleep experts, this creates "social jetlag", which mimics the symptoms of traditional jetlag. With two thirds of Brits - and almost nine in 10 Gen Z respondents - admitting they have experienced this phenomenon after a bank holiday. Sleep expert for the hotel brand, James Wilson - also known as The Sleep Geek, said: 'We're all guilty of trying to pack too much into a long weekend. 'We tend to stay up later, wake up later, catch up on household chores, eat at odd times, and maybe drink a bit more than usual – all this throws your body clock off track, and you could end up with 'social jetlag'.' The study found that when it comes to what they would prefer to do with their bank holidays, more time outdoors (23 per cent), lounging in the sun (21 per cent), and simply doing nothing (22 per cent) were among the most popular. However, fewer people take the opportunity to venture further afield for some relaxation – only 17 per cent spend a day at the beach, and just 16 per cent go on spontaneous getaways. Instead of relaxing, six in 10 admit to overloading their schedules – agreeing to plans they didn't really want to make (25 per cent), waking up early despite feeling exhausted (25 per cent), or travelling back late and heading straight into work the next day (16 per cent). As a result, 21 per cent of workers feel they need an extra day off to recover, citing going back to work again (15 per cent), not sleeping properly (16 per cent) and trying to please everyone (15 per cent) as the most exhausting parts of the long weekend. And on returning to a four-day working week, 14 per cent are concerned about falling behind on emails, 13 per cent feel worried about their to-do list, and 12 per cent feel stressed about cramming five days of work into four, according to the survey conducted by OnePoll. It also emerged factors which contribute to more restful sleep include fresh sea air (30 per cent), a more comfortable bed (30 per cent) and a change of scenery (11 per cent). A spokesperson for Premier Inn said: 'We want to put the 'holiday' back into 'Bank Holiday'. 'We know how easily those extra Bank Holiday days can fill up with life admin like catching up on emails, running errands and cleaning the house, but it's important to remember that it's supposed to be a holiday. 'Our sleep expert and research highlight the value of taking a proper, well-earned break – whether it's a mini-break to the coast, making time for a spontaneous getaway or just having a change of scenery. 'A change can be as restorative as rest and making time to pause the life admin and truly unwind will leave us feeling refreshed, recharged, and ready for the days ahead.' TOP TIPS FROM SLEEP EXPERT TO RECOVER FROM 'SOCIAL JET LAG' 1. Cut yourself some slack If your sleep isn't great on Monday night, don't feel guilty about it. Having fun is important for your mental health, and by simply accepting that Tuesday might be a bit tougher, you'll probably sleep better just by not stressing about it. 2. Soak up the sunshine Getting some natural light early in the day is like a reset button for your body clock. Even 15-20 minutes during the day can make a huge difference. Do it as early as possible – especially on Tuesday – and keep it going all week. 3. Eat like your rhythm depends on it Your circadian rhythm isn't just driven by light – it's also influenced by when you eat. Try to eat your meals at regular times from Tuesday onwards, and avoid heavy meals less than three hours before bedtime. 4. Move your body, but don't overdo it Exercise is brilliant for sleep. but timing matters. If you're sleep-deprived and usually exercise early, maybe skip that 6am HIIT class on Tuesday. Moving your body is great, but swap high intensity workouts for something gentler like a walk until you're back in sync. 5. Put the sleep tracker down Sleep trackers can be insightful, but if you already know sleep might not be brilliant, staring at a number telling you what you already feel isn't going to help. In fact, obsessing over your sleep (known as orthosomnia) can make it worse – so take the data with a pinch of salt until things are back to normal. 3 3
RNZ News
25-05-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Daylight can boost the immune system's ability to fight infections
By Chris Hall * of How does the immune system know when it's daytime? File photo. Photo: Unsplash Ever found yourself out of sync with normal sleep patterns after late nights or working a night shift? It could be you're experiencing what scientists call social jet lag. The term describes the misalignment between our internal body clock (circadian rhythm) and our social schedule. Social jet lag associated with irregular sleep patterns and inconsistent exposure to daylight is increasingly common, and has been linked with a weakened immune system. Disruption of our circadian rhythms through shift work, for example, has been shown to have a negative impact on our ability to fight infections. These observations reinforce the idea that maintaining a robust circadian rhythm through regular exposure to daylight supports a healthy immune system. But how does the immune system know when it's daytime? That is precisely what our research, published today in Science Immunology, has uncovered. Our findings could eventually deliver benefits for the treatment of inflammatory conditions. Circadian rhythms are a fundamental feature of all life on Earth. Believed to have evolved some 2.5 billion years ago, they enable organisms to adapt to challenges associated with the 24-hour solar day. At the molecular level, these circadian rhythms are orchestrated through a genetically encoded multi-component time keeper called a circadian clock. Almost all cells are known to have the components for a circadian clock. But how they function within different cell types to regulate their behaviour is very poorly understood. In the laboratory, we use zebrafish - small freshwater fish commonly sold in pet stores - as a model organism to understand our immune response to bacterial infection. We use larval zebrafish because their genetic makeup and immune system are similar to ours. Also, they have transparent bodies, making it easy to observe biological processes under the microscope. Chris Hall (left) and co-researcher Guy Warman with the zebrafish used as a model organism in their study. Photo: Supplied / Chris Hall We focus on an immune cell called a "neutrophil", a type of white blood cell. We're interested in these cells because they specialise in killing bacteria, are first responders to infection, and are the most abundant immune cell in our bodies. Because they are very short-lived cells, neutrophils isolated from human blood are notoriously difficult to work with experimentally. However, with transparent larval zebrafish, we can film them to directly observe how these cells function, within a completely intact animal. Our initial studies showed the strength of immune response to bacterial infection peaked during the day, when the animals are active. We think this represents an evolutionary response that provides both humans and zebrafish a survival advantage. Because diurnal animals such as humans and zebrafish are most active during daylight hours, they are more likely to encounter bacterial infections. This work made us curious to know how this enhanced immune response was being synchronised with daylight. By making movies of neutrophils killing bacteria at different times of the day, we discovered they killed bacteria more efficiently during the daytime than at night. We then genetically edited neutrophils to turn off their circadian clocks by carefully removing specific clock components. This is an approach similar to removing important cogs from an analogue clock so it doesn't tick anymore. This led to the discovery that these important immune cells possess an internal light-regulated circadian clock that alerts the cells to daytime (similar to an alarm clock). This boosts their ability to kill bacteria. Our next challenge is to understand exactly how light is detected by neutrophils, and whether human neutrophils also rely on this internal timing mechanism to regulate their antibacterial activity. We're also curious to see if this killing mechanism is restricted to certain types of bacteria, such as those we're more likely to encounter during the day. Or is it a more general response to all infectious threats (including viral infections)? This research unlocks the potential for developing drugs that target the neutrophil circadian clock to regulate the cells' activity. Given neutrophils are the first and most abundant immune cells to be recruited to sites of inflammation, the discovery has very broad implications for many inflammatory conditions. * The research described here was led by PhD candidates Lucia Du and Pramuk Keerthisinghe, and was a collaboration between the Hall laboratory and the Chronobiology Research Group, led by Guy Warman and James Cheeseman, at the University of Auckland's Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences. This story was originally published on The Conversation. * Chris Hall is an Associate Professor of Immunology, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
