Don't Rock Around the Clock

The advent of the 24 hour culture could have a serious detrimental effect on health, Dr Derk-Jan Dijk told the Royal Society of Medicine at a conference last month.

Shift-work, cable television, the internet and later licensing laws have all been blamed for a rise in disrupted sleeping patterns in the UK and recent studies found most people in the UK are only sleeping for six hours a night.

Dr Dijk of the University of Surrey warned that, besides the effects on mood and performance, sleep deprivation can affect blood sugar levels and lead to heart and stomach probelms.

"We don't really know how much sleep we need. We probably don't even know how to measure that. But what we do know is that sleep and it's duration are regulated and there are psychological mechanisms in place to ensure that we take the opportunity to get enough sleep", he said.

Friday, 24 May 2002