Back Then?

Picture this (if you can).

Imagine a time you were amongst the herd - shoulder-to-shoulder with people. With the aim of getting into a place. Maybe a place that you needed to get into quick so you didn’t miss out on getting a seat. Feeling the energy and buzz in the air.

Strangely, this was the sensation when I went to see The Debate between Prof David Dinges (USA) and Prof Jim Horne (UK) at the European Sleep Research Society conference in Prague in 2004.

The topic of The Debate - Was Core Sleep (i.e., the first 4 hrs of sleep) Enough?

I was 5 months away from submitting my PhD, and happened to get a seat right next to Prof Anna Wirz-Justice (who I was to later find out was one of my PhD examiners). I was loving sleep research, and soaking up any information I could.

The Debate was a mental and factual tug-of-war. After each round (and there were quite a few), I was convinced - which meant I kept changing sides.

Then each speaker was allowed their final say.

Dinges from the USA went first. For those who don’t know, Prof Dinges has performed ground-breaking studies examining the consequences of getting different amounts of sleep (eg, zero, 4 hrs, 8 hrs, 10 hrs). His knowledge was astounding - and seemingly hard to beat. Indeed, how was Prof Horne in - any way possible - able to counter-argue?

Prof Horne came up to the podium and said: “When people are asked about what they find pleasurable, sleeping-in is one of the top answers. As sleep researchers, who are we to tell them what to do?”. This phrase has stuck with my the past 16 years.

As sleep scientists, isn’t it our job to inform the public about the safe limits of sleeping? That is what I thought back then on that day in 2004. Even that night, when I passed a homeless man sleeping on a bench (pictured top), I thought of Prof Horne’s words.

Today?

And even today, Prof Horne’s words speak to me - at a time when I am publicly suggesting to people to avoid sleeping-in too much during this worldwide self-isolation (Sweden, in my book, you’re excused).

Yet, I must admit that I am taking pleasure at eating breakfast in bed each weekday at 7:30am - when I usually would be at the bus stop down the road. And I admit that I am taking pleasure at getting out of bed at 8:50am, walking to the lounge room, adorning noise-cancelling headphones, and starting to teach my 3-hr classes at 9am.

Before I go too far, I should mention there are alot of studies demonstrating the problems with sleeping-in too much. And I should know because I have been specialising in the population that do this the most.

Teenagers.

But furthermore, I’ve been helping those teenagers who suffer from Delayed Sleep Wake-Phase Disorder (or DWSPD for short). Most of these teens with DSWPD still attend school, but I’ve also been helping those who cannot get to school - even the ones who can barely leave the house.

And it is for these teenagers where sleeping-in is not OK. Doing so for these guys and gals means they miss out on so much social interaction and school work. To the point that their life has taken a very different path to one that their parents intended. It’s heart breaking.

The experiences these teens have show the rest of us that when sleeping-in causes a major disruption to our lives, then it’s not OK.

So if you trawl the internet you will see that on many occasions I have recommended that people avoid sleeping-in too much. Let me save you time and say “trust me - this is what I have said” - there you go - I’ve saved you heaps of time so you can go use that time for other pleasurable activities like watching that gripping TV series, messaging your friends, reading that hard-to-put-down-book, or having sex.

And tomorrow, you can do that other pleasurable activity - sleeping-in.

Who am I to tell you what to do?