ITV doctor shares warning over sleep as expert says ‘we all do it’ – Daily Record
ITV star Dr Alex George has shared a warning over sleep. It came as the former Love Island contestant interviewed Dr Sabina Brennan, a neuroscientist, author, and psychologist for his latest podcast. Dr Alex asked her about everyday practices that are bad for our brain health.
To this, Dr Brennan light-heartedly retorted “just one thing?” implying there are numerous daily behaviours we need to cease. Dr Brennan then added: “Managing stress poorly and not getting enough sleep, I think – that’s most of us. We deprive ourselves of sleep to do something stupid like watch another episode of a Netflix series.” Surrey Live reports that she admits herself that she also does these things sometimes.
Yet people might not recognize the extent to which such habits can affect both their physical and mental state. Not getting enough sleep could effectively disrupt your performance the following day. It could also potentially lead to more serious problems over time. She said: “I do it myself and it’s so silly because it really knocks the impact it has on your cognitive ability the next day as well as your mood and how you feel physically. It’s really stupid, but that’s part of being human.”
Everyone requires different amounts of sleep. As per the NHS, on average: adults need 7 to 9 hours children need 9 to 13 hours toddlers and babies need 12 to 17 hours “You probably do not get enough sleep if you’re constantly tired during the day,” they caution.
If you are having trouble sleeping, you can visit the Insomnia page on the NHS website. According to the NHS’s Every Mind Matters website: “A healthy adult usually needs around 7 to 9 hours of sleep. However, age, health and personal circumstances affect how much sleep we need, plus some people naturally sleep more than others.”
“Teenagers, children and babies need more sleep because they are still growing, but that varies, too, with a newborn sleeping anywhere between 8 to 16 hours.” The site says that signs that you are not getting enough sleep include: having difficulty concentrating, lying awake for long periods at night, waking up early and be unable to get back to sleep, feeling down or having a lower mood, waking up several times during the night, finding it difficult to fall asleep, and being more irritable than usual.
The site also warns that sleep deprivation can also affect our relationships and social life.
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