THE STATE OF SLEEP

The brains behind the Vancouver-based start-up Fatigue Science have created wearable technology that can predict the moment your sleepiness impacts your performance on the job. The tech is only offered to heavy industry, the military and professional sports (the Chicago Cubs are fans), but the principles are universal. We asked the company to explain why we’re so tired.

1

We aren’t sleeping enough. According to U.S. studies, we are getting 20 percent less sleep than we did 100 years ago. Worse, you can’t train yourself to survive on less sleep. Most of us require about seven to nine hours.

2

Our quality of sleep is down too. There’s poor sleep (tossing and turning, waking up frequently), and then there’s sleep desynchronization, which is when you sleep out of sync with your body’s natural cycles—e.g., the comedown of jet lag after your last weekend away (which took a turn à la Girls Trip). Shift work also makes you a major candidate for fatigue because the body can’t establish a regular rhythm, which it craves.

3

You are partying too much. Sorry to sound like your mom, but staying up late on the weekend and then sleeping in has been linked to an increase in the chance of developing heart disease. Also, sleep debt is legit: If you pull two all-nighters at that bachelorette on the weekend, you need to pay back that withdrawal during the week. That’s why experts recommend going to bed and waking up at the same time every.single.day.