Dr David Garley, GP and director at The Better Sleep Clinic, explains that a reduction of stress could help explain why many of us feel more sleepy during the Twixmas period. “One of the main disruptors of sleep is stress,” he says. “If you have time off work over the Christmas period, then this reduction in stress may mean that you are sleeping better and for longer.”

Essentially, because you’re finally away from deadlines, important meetings and demanding bosses, your brain and body have the opportunity to chill out. It’s likely you’re not sleeping for ‘too long’, despite how it might feel (or what others might say). Instead, you’re sleeping for the amount of time you need to feel restored going into the new year.

On the flipside, you may find yourself craving naps because you’re so busy at this time of years. “If you have a very packed Christmas schedule and you do not have enough sleep at night, you may feel sleepy during the day,” Dr Garley says.

But shifting schedules aren’t the only reason you may feel more tired right now. Dr Garley explains that it’s “common to drink slightly more alcohol over the Christmas period, [and] alcohol makes it easier to fall asleep”. But booze doesn’t make for good sleep. Instead, it tends to result in slumber that is disrupted and poorer quality than usual. “As a result, you may find yourself needing to sleep for more hours to make up for this reduction in sleep quality,” Dr Garley says.

Something similar happens if you stay up late snacking on Celebrations and cheese on crackers. “Eating food late at night can cause poor sleep,” says Dr Garley. “During the Christmas period, you may be eating more and continuing to eat later into the evening. This can disrupt your sleep as your body is digesting food later, which can cause issues such as heartburn, increased body temperature or just a general uncomfortable feeling of fullness.”

These symptoms can make it harder to switch off and for your body to enter wind-down mode ahead of sleep. It may also disrupt your quality of sleep as your heart rate drops later in the night than you want it to. This is because your body is using energy to digest food rather than contributing to the normal sleep cycle.

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