A sleep expert from the University of Eastern Finland suggests a vacation may be a good time to implement new sleep habits, according to Times Live.

Professor Henri Tuomilehto, a sleep specialist at Oivauni Sleep Clinic, works mainly with patients who are sleep deprived due to the stress and hours at work, and is also a specialist in the sleep of professional athletes, working with Finnish football and ice-hockey teams, the Finnish Olympic Committee, and the Finnish Ski Sport Foundation.

In his role he stresses to patients the importance of good sleep habits throughout the year, and points out that a vacation is not a quick fix for bad sleep.

“People tend to work very hard before the holidays, thinking that’s when they’ll have time to sleep. Sadly, it doesn’t work that way. If you’ve slept poorly over a long period of time, your holidays will get spent on just recovering.”

However, it’s not all bad news, with Tuomilehto suggesting that although a vacation won’t repay the sleep debt, it is a good time to start implementing good sleep habits for when you return home, saying, “If you’ve neglected your sleep all year, you can’t really expect things to suddenly change when you start your holidays. Having said that, there’s no need to get anxious. There’s always the next year’s holidays, and now is a good time to look in the mirror and think about possible changes.”

View the full story at www.timeslive.co.za