I woke up this morning feeling like crap. I didn’t get enough sleep. It wasn’t because I had sick kids, a work deadline, or even insomnia. My fatigue was self-inflicted. I had stayed up too late watching television. “Urgh,” I thought, as I wrangled my two kids through their breakfast. “There’s no way I’m getting through today uncaffeinated.”The crazy thing is that I fully intended to go to bed early last night. In fact, I was in bed by 9:00pm. But I recently learned that a certain online streaming service is available on my phone and when the one episode... Read full article »

If you’re really into a TV show at the moment and guilty of a few too many late night binge-watching sessions, then you’re probably going to hate reading this. If you’re prone to late-night Facebook habits, or enjoy staying up to play video games or shop online, then you probably will too. This blog post is about the scientific evidence showing there’s a connection between regularly not getting enough sleep and having bad health. It’s also about how I think one of the keys to good health is to switch off the TV, and put away your smart-devices after sunset.... Read full article »

If you’re anything like me, then you will be familiar with Monday-itis. It’s a terrible affliction, with symptoms usually presenting at the start of the working week. You feel tired and flat and you have to drag yourself out of bed. While you might think that motivation is the issue because you don’t want your weekend to be over, it turns out that you may actually be suffering from something called “social jet lag,” and it has a lot to do with your sleep. I recently spoke with Professor Till Roenneberg from Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich who is a sleep... Read full article »

I woke up yesterday and immediately knew something was different. A familiar but unusual feeling came over me. Like kindling a fire, at first it was delicate and tentative, but as I began my morning routine, the feeling grew until it was a roar. That feeling was energy. I was switched on. Alive. Motivated. Before I’d even had my breakfast, three great ideas had popped into my head.   Energy is not something I’ve had in abundance lately. In fact, some days I’ve felt wiped, especially in the early evenings when I’ve been turning into a zombie. So what was... Read full article »