Background
Rethink by BBC Sound is about “how the world should change after the coronavirus pandemic. Leading thinkers from across the globe give us their route maps to a better tomorrow.” This episode features sleep scientist Matthew Walker, the author of Why We Sleep. A short summary of how the global pandemic is impacting people’s sleep and how sleep might help us fight the pandemic.
Sleep Benefits:
- Sleep is a “wonder drug” and a “magic pill” that has virtually no side effects and is free
- Sleep helps improve your memory, metabolism, and immune system
- Sleep helps you absorb information quickly, be more energetic and less anxious, and reduces risk of heart disease
- Employees are more productive when they are well rested and utilize less health care resources
- Proper sleep leading up to flu immunization shots produces a strong antibody response making the vaccine more effective
- Sleep can positively impact the economy and improve organizational productivity. A lack of sleep cost America $400B and 1.23M lost days of work annually.
Sleep and the Pandemic:
- Data from sleep monitoring companies shows us that sleep has changed since the beginning of the pandemic
- Some people are getting less sleep and some people are getting more sleep, but the data shows that people are sleeping more in harmony with their chronotype (fun take on chronotypes here)
Rethinking Sleep Post-Pandemic:
- Walker’s first suggestion is to recognize that society favors the early riser chronotypes. When people return to work, organizations should determine their employees preferred sleep schedule and do their best to accommodate each individual.
- Walker’s second suggestion is to prescreen people’s sleep patterns prior to scheduling their vaccinations. We should time COVID-19 immunizations when people are most rested. This could dramatically boost the effectiveness of the vaccination.
