Social jet lag: how to get your energy back

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Forget binge boozing, it’s binge snoozing we’re all turning to. According to Australia’s Biggest Health Check*, 51 per cent of you would like to get more sleep – but with limited time Monday to Friday, it can be tempting to oversleep on the weekend.

This constant cat and mouse game played with your kip has just been given a name – it’s called “social jet lag”. And according to a study in Current Biology, it’s a phenomenon that affects 70 per cent of the population. Sound familiar? Let’s dive in.

To wrap your head around social jet lag (aka the shit fight between your social life and your biological clock), you first need a run-down on circadian rhythm (the internal clock that governs your sleep-wake cycle).

Ruled by an area in your brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), your circadian rhythm is a stubborn little bugger. Like that strawberry-shaped birthmark on your bottom, you’re pretty much stuck with the one you were born with and hardwired to crave sleep or feel awake at certain times.

Whenever you mess with your cycle – say, when catching a red-eye flight – your SCN takes a hit before bouncing back (no worries). But if you mess with your rhythm on a regular basis by going to bed or waking up at different times each day – like with shiftworkers – your SCN goes bonkers, pushing your body into perpetual jet lag (now, you should worry).

Nothing sets off social jet lag more than erratic sleep schedules (think: skipping sleep to go for midweek cheeky beers, then sleeping in until lunchtime on the weekend to make up for it) – it’s the equivalent of flying from Sydney to Jakarta and back two nights a week – every week. Believe it.

The issues that come with regular jet lag: fatigue, poor concentration and irritability – escalate into much bigger issues with the more long-term social jet lag. Ignoring your circadian rhythm not only means you’ll have trouble falling asleep when you want to, but everything from your career to your memory to your figure will take a hit, too. Boo!

The price of perma-exhaustion

Ironically, women who mess with their shut-eye to get ahead in their careers may actually be stunting their professional growth.

“When you restrict sleep, you don’t think as clearly,” says Dr Nancy Collop, director of the Emory Clinic Sleep Center in Atlanta, US. “Your response time suffers. You’re simply not working at your peak.”

That’s probably because sleep deficits hamper brainpower in a big way. According to the US Society for Neuroscience, an insatiable need for rest can push a sleep-starved brain to briefly nod off – even while the rest of you is awake. At best, that can lead to embarrassing stumbles (head jerking during a meeting) and at worst, dangerous and sometimes fatal mistakes (microsleeps at the wheel).

Social jet lag may also impede decision-making, restrict brain-cell production and muddle your long-term memory. And an impaired circadian rhythm can short-circuit your neurochemical balance and put you at risk for mental health issues, including depression and seasonal affective disorder, says sleep medicine specialist Dr Iryna Sapieha.

Equally disturbing is the impact social jet lag has on the rest of your body. It can accelerate ageing by shifting hormone production levels to those typically seen in senior citizens. And regardless of how many hours you log at the gym, sleep deprivation adds on the kilos by zapping glucose tolerance (your ability to metabolise sugars) and ramping up hunger hormones that make you feel starved.

The aforementioned Current Biology study found that for every hour of social jet lag – even sleeping in a bit later than normal on weekends – can increase your risk of becoming overweight by 33 per cent. Holy moly.

Messing with your natural sleep needs also stalls your immune system’s production of infection-fighting proteins called cytokines, leaving you more susceptible to common colds and flus. And severe sleep deficits can seriously compound the problem, upping your risk for chronic ailments like high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes.

Pay back your debt

Finally, some good news: as with normal jet lag, the social kind is completely reversible. It just takes a bit more effort than the occasional 12-hour snooze binge, says Dr Sapieha.

First, forget about trying to erase your entire sleep debt by compensating for every moment you’ve missed. “You don’t need to make up lost hours one-to-one,” says Dr Collop. “You need to make up some of those, and your body will help take care of the rest.”

Yep, ever eager for slumber, your brain will help out by sleeping more efficiently (ie, spending more time in restorative sleep stages) when you finally log consistent doona time. Return the favour by spending nine to 10 hours in bed for up to four consecutive nights, says Dr Collop.

Start hitting the sheets early on a Friday or Saturday so you’ll feel better by Monday morning and refreshed by midweek. Now make the most of the time you spend in bed by focusing on your sleep hygiene. No, that doesn’t mean uber-clean sheets; it’s about practising healthy sleep habits: no espressos after 2pm, keep your bedroom dark (the True Blood vamps are onto something), cool (about 20˚C), and power down all electronic devices an hour before turning in. And yes, that includes no checking Instagram on your phone.

Finally, don’t do online banking, have emotional conversations or raise your heart rate (except maybe for sexy times) in the hour before bedtime – you’ll only fire up your mind when it should be winding down, says sleep disorder specialist Dr Emad Alatassi.

Once you’ve shown social jet lag the kerb, don’t let it creep back in. Aim for seven to eight hours of solid sleep every night, says Dr Sapieha. Most importantly, wake up and hit the hay at the same times each day. It might feel restrictive at first, but the health pay-offs are huge.

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Rise and actually shine: Blast yourself through that bleary early-morning haze

Even if you dreamt of Joe Manganiello or slept on 2618 thread-count sheets, mornings can be brutal. We’re all hardwired to be either a night owl or an early riser – and according to Dr Michael Smolensky, author of The Body Clock Guide to Better Health, only 10 per cent of people are natural-born “morning people” (smug gits).

Not part of Team Morning Glory? You still can be. After a long sleep without fluids, your body is thirsty, leading to brain fog, says a University of Connecticut, US, study. So when your alarm goes off, gulp down a glass of water; it may help clear your mind.

Next, give yourself a squeeze. A study by the University of Michigan, US, shows self-acupressure pumps up mental alertness. Once you wake, use a clockwise motion to massage the pressure point between your thumb and forefinger on each hand for two minutes; then switch to an anticlockwise motion.

Once out of bed, reach for some rosemary oil. A study in the International Journal of Neuroscience found sniffing the herb promotes alertness.

Are you sabotaging your sleep? Take our sleep quiz

*A survey of 30,375 people in conjunction with Prevention, Sunrise and Priceline