A: I’m suffering from terrible social jetlag. What can I do?

B: Basically, you need to find a way to make sure that you never get a lie-in, even during weekends and holidays. Then, you need to go to bed earlier.

Note: Jetlag refers to a disturbed sleep pattern caused by rapid long-distance trans-meridian travel. From Monday to Friday, many of us have an early start and a long day. There is often disparity between our working-week sleeping pattern, when our sleep times relate to our responsibilities, and the weekend, when we can wake when we choose. The discrepancy between work and free days, between social and biological time, can be described as “social jetlag.” Night owls, those whose natural rhythm is to wake and go to bed later, suffer most from social jetlags.