Blaise Tapp: Sleep isn’t really for me… I’d rather burn the midnight oil

Figures provided by a leading telecoms company suggest that, on average, we are switching off our devices at 9.20pm - 20 minutes earlier than four years ago - and starting up again 15 minutes earlier in the morning, at 6.20am.

One leading sleep expert says the data shows that many, especially younger folk like Generation Z are taking their kip far more seriously than say my tribe, Gen X, did back during the madness that was the ‘90s. Apparently, this data is further evidence that, in the main, those in their 20s and early 30s are far more health-conscious than those who have gone before.

As much as I recognise that there are clearly many benefits to a decent amount of sleep, I just can’t bring myself to have an early night very often. The earliest I have hit the sack in the past six months is 10.45pm, even though I know that Tapp the Youngest will have me up around 6ish. There is nothing big or clever about this statement as it is more a recognition of the fact that I’ve always found that there are other things that take priority over shut eye.

Life with a full-time job and a young family is pretty hectic, meaning listening to music, speaking to mates on the phone or watching a load of old rubbish on the telly seems a much better way to spend my down time than prematurely snoring does. I’m sure there will be those in the medical profession who will tut at my attitude to sleep but I am a big believer of cramming as much as I can into the time that I have.

Even though I might pay for it the following day, I will always stick around until the end of a night out with pals or will always be the last to go up whenever we have people round. I do know plenty of people of all ages who boast about the amount of sleep they get but, bafflingly, almost all of them complain about being knackered.

Who knows if my liberal attitude to kip will catch up with me in later life? All I know is that I’ve managed to approach my half century without getting very much of it.