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Covid inquiry PPE report – a look at the key findings

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Covid inquiry PPE report – a look at the key findings


The scramble to buy PPE during the pandemic saw the UK waste almost £10 billion of taxpayers’ money, the inquiry says, with tens of millions of pounds more spent on other equipment that simply could not be used.

The chair Baroness Heather Hallett criticised the “vast” waste in pandemic procurement, amounting to two-thirds of the £14.9bn total the UK and devolved governments spent on PPE.

Although it was better to have purchased too much PPE in a pandemic than too little, it would “clearly have been better if supply had been calibrated more closely with demand”, the report concluded.

“Better planning would have resulted in fairer, faster and less costly procurement decisions.”

“Had ministers and officials been better equipped with appropriate plans, information and systems, procurement decisions would have been easier, fairer and far less costly – and equipment would have reached those who needed it faster,” Hallett added.



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Meet BK Westbrook – Pro wrestler who has battled obstacles to become rising talent on the scene

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Meet BK Westbrook – Pro wrestler who has battled obstacles to become rising talent on the scene


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The pro wrestling landscape is filled with many talents looking to break through and make a name for themselves. BK Westbrook is one of those wrestlers chasing that crazy dream.

The road hasn’t been easy. Westbrook started to train at a wrestling school in North Carolina in 2018 before it eventually closed down. He started having his first matches at Carolina Wrestling Federation (CWF) Mid-Atlantic before the promotion came to an abrupt end in 2019.

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BK Westbrook is one of the rising pro wrestling talents on the independents. (Provided to Fox News Digital)

He then suffered another setback – the COVID-19 pandemic. But overcoming one obstacle after another was all a part of the journey.

“I’ve had that like multiple times within wrestling and it’s crazy when I saw my school closed down, I was getting my car’s oil changed, was waiting for it, and then next thing you know I get this message saying we’re no longer going to have shows and then I had to think, I didn’t just get into wrestling to just wrestle at this one place even though like this is awful this sucks,” he told Fox News Digital. “And then COVID happens, again, it’s like OK, well I can’t do my thing. right now and this is really, really annoying and I’m just I’m annoyed that I can’t do that and eventually led to me just continuing to put my name even more places and I felt like this can’t be the end for me. I can’t let this little this crazy time, this unprecedented happening with the pandemic,

“I couldn’t just let that get me down man. It was a little difficult because living in North Carolina, it was a little less, I mean it was still strict, but if I was going to go wrestle somewhere, I’d go somewhere where the states didn’t care as much, like Tennessee or South Carolina or something like that, even Georgia. But once things started kind of opening back up and things started to get normal, it was like, OK, we’re going to hit the ground running.”

For Westbrook, the dream was always pro wrestling.

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BK Westbrook looks at the camera

BK Westbrook got his pro wrestling start in North Carolina. (Provided to Fox News Digital)

He said he grew up watching it on TV but really grew to love the sport watching it on YouTube. The mix of athleticism and entertainment was the true draw.

“It was just falling in love with it online growing up,” Westbrook said. “Growing up being a YouTube kid, being on a computer. I discovered it on TV first, but just finding a love for independent wrestling and what I’m doing now kind of grew on me just loving what wrestling is at its core, what you see on WWE or AEW or whatever, I just kind of found even more of a deeper liking for it.

“But it’s just I don’t know. I just think it’s something that if you’re a wrestling fan, you get it, and you understand kind of why you’re drawn to it. To me, it’s easy for me. I like sports, I like entertainment, I like them both kind of together. It’s just it’s different for everybody, but for me it was super simple to like to get into just because I love the athletic blend of competition, and also, just the storytelling aspect of being able to normally tell the story of good versus evil or just even beyond that. I just think wrestling is such an amazing art or medium for art and I get a chance to do it on the weekends. Hopefully more than just the weekends. Hopefully, you know, all the time.”

Westbrook has been putting in the work. He’s wrestled at some of the top independent promotions right now, including Pandemonium Pro, Game Changer Wrestling, Limitless Wrestling, Deadlock Pro-Wrestling, TBD Wrestling and several others. He even made an appearance for All Elite Wrestling.

Recently, he battled Amira for the Pandemonium Pro Championship. Though it was a losing effort, Westbrook came away with a few bruises from the women’s wrestler.

“My first time wrestling Amira, like you said last month in Portland, and she’s been kind of running it over there for a while in the Pacific Northwest, specifically that Portland area,” he told Fox News Digital. “My first shot I think I ever even heard of Amira was in the Portland area. I was wrestling for Prestige Wrestling and that was really cool and to see her growth, she’s been doing lots of stuff.

“My fianceé, Ella Envy, she was able to hang out and get a chance to know Amira from like the Lodestone stuff that that Bayley was doing where she was putting on for women’s wrestling. And I think she’s doing really good work. I got a chance to wrestle her. She hits really hard, but other than that, she’s got lots of talent. And if I wasn’t going to be the champion, I’ll say she’s about as good as it gets for being a champion representing over there.”

Westbrook will be a part of Pandemonium: Pro Wrestling’s “JoJo” event on Aug. 2. The wrestling showcase will honor the late Jordan Saint, who died in a car crash on Long Island, New York. The proceeds of the event will go to Saint’s family.

Jordan Saint sitting down

Jordan Saint performed at Shooting Star Fest in Las Vegas, Nevada, in April 2026. (Provided to Fox News Digital)

He will be going up against Epidemius Jr. While he vowed to win the match, he said it was an honor to be a part of the show.

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“I’m excited for the match,” he said. “I’m excited for the show. It’s going to be an incredible event. It’s super sad about the passing of Jordan and I just I hate that. And I know that everybody is looking to have an awesome show in his memory.

“Outside of that, for Pandemonium to run this event with all the proceeds going to his family, it does it helps knowing that his people will be taken care of after that. It’s cool that wrestling is a way and a medium for that to be able to happen. Unfortunately, that his passing did occur, but it is nice to know that we can make a difference in that regard and I’m excited to have a kicka– match in his memory and also in the name of Pandemonium Pro.”

Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.



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Martin Lewis issues vital ‘two-week rule’ for cheaper summer flights

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Martin Lewis issues vital ‘two-week rule’ for cheaper summer flights



Martin Lewis has revealed his “clever” advice on how to save money on summer holidays and flights.

The MoneySavingExpert founder was answering listeners’ questions on how to secure lower prices during the peak season.

One listener sought advice on how to avoid holiday price hikes at peak times, explaining that they had previously paid a fine for taking their children out of school during term time, as this was cheaper.

Lewis suggested those in Scotland should book their breaks before the English school holidays start. For people in England and Wales, he suggested booking in the last two weeks of the school holidays, as this is often much cheaper.

He also advised people in the north of England to consider flying from Scottish airports in late August, after Scottish schools have resumed, for potentially even lower prices.



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Before you connect another smart TV, tablet or phone, lock it down

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Before you connect another smart TV, tablet or phone, lock it down


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If your home Wi-Fi is like most, it is packed with connected devices. Smart TVs, phones, tablets, laptops, refrigerators, robot vacuums and security cameras may all be sharing the same network.

The problem is that most people connect a new device first and think about security later. Some never check the settings at all. That gives hackers, data brokers and nosy companies exactly the opening they want.

Before you connect your next smart TV, tablet or phone, take a few minutes to lock it down.

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A new smart TV, phone or tablet can expose your Wi-Fi network if privacy and security settings are ignored during setup. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Why devices aren’t safe enough right out of the box

When a new gadget arrives in your hands, it isn’t a blank slate. It comes loaded with factory settings designed for convenience instead of protection. Manufacturers want the unboxing experience to feel effortless, so they turn on features, like automatic connections, data sharing and remote access, that make setup easy but leave you exposed.

Smart TVs are some of the worst offenders. Many come with a feature called Automatic Content Recognition (ACR), switched on by default. It works like a fingerprint scanner for your screen, capturing information about everything you watch and sending it back to the manufacturer. You agreed to it somewhere in the terms and conditions you blitzed through when you set it up. Most people have no idea it’s even there.

Tablets and phones bring their own risks. Although many hardware manufacturers like to brag about privacy, lots of tablets and phones will share your location, accept connections from nearby devices, and back up your data to the company’s servers – all by default.

Plus, your home network is only as secure as its weakest device. One poorly configured smart TV or old tablet with an out-of-date OS can give attackers a foothold into everything else connected to the same router.

The 4 things to check before you connect

Before you connect any new smart TV, tablet or phone to your home network, take five minutes to check the settings manually. You do not need to be a tech expert. Focus on the areas that create the biggest openings.

Update the device and change default passwords

First, update the device and change any default passwords or PINs. A brand-new device may have been sitting in a warehouse for months, which means it could already need a security update. Default credentials are also easy for attackers to find online.

Review privacy settings and app permissions

Next, review privacy settings. On a smart TV, look for Automatic Content Recognition, or ACR, and turn it off. Depending on the brand, it may be listed under Viewing Data, Live Plus, SyncPlus, Smart TV Experience or privacy settings. On a phone or tablet, check location, camera, microphone and nearby device permissions.

Turn off features you do not use

Then, turn off connectivity features you do not use. Bluetooth, remote access, file sharing and screen mirroring can all create openings when they stay on all the time.

Add a VPN for another layer of privacy

Finally, consider adding a VPN for another layer of privacy. A VPN encrypts your internet traffic, which helps protect what your smart TV, phone, tablet or laptop sends over the network. A trusted VPN has apps for many popular devices, and it can also run at the router level on compatible routers.

For the best VPN software, see my expert review of the best VPNs for browsing the web privately on your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices at CyberGuy.com.

The full checklist below walks you through each step.

New device security checklist

Next time you bring home a smart TV, tablet or phone, do this before you use it every day.

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Cords are plugged into a WiFi router.

Before adding a new device to Wi-Fi, update software, change default passwords and review app permissions. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

 

1) Put smart devices on a guest Wi-Fi network first

Before you connect the device, open your router app or router settings page. Look for Guest Network, IoT Network or Device Isolation. Create a separate Wi-Fi name for TVs, speakers, cameras and smart home gear.

Use WPA3 Personal if your router offers it. If not, use WPA2 Personal. Give this network a strong password you do not use anywhere else. Then connect the new smart TV or tablet to that network instead of the same Wi-Fi your work laptop uses.

2) Update the software before signing in everywhere

Install updates before you add streaming apps, email accounts or payment info.

  • iPhone or iPad: Open Settings > General > Software Update > Download and Install. Then tap Automatic Updates and turn on iOS or iPadOS updates.
  • Samsung phone or tablet: Open Settings > Software update > Download and install. On some models, go to Settings > System updates. Settings may vary depending on your device’s manufacturer
  • Other Android phone or tablet: Open Settings > System > Software update > System update > Check for update. The exact wording can vary by brand.
  • Samsung smart TV: Go to Settings > All Settings > Support > Software Update > Update Now. Turn on Auto Update, too.
  • LG smart TV: Go to Settings > All Settings > Support > Software Update > Check for Updates. Turn on Auto Update, too.
  • Roku TV or Roku device: Press Home > Settings > System > Software update > Check Now.

3) Change default passwords, PINs and device names

Do not leave factory passwords in place. Change the device PIN, parental control PIN or purchase PIN if the setup screen offers one. Use a password manager to create and store strong, unique passwords. Use a long passcode on phones and tablets instead of a 4-digit code. Also, rename the device. A name like “Kurt’s Bedroom TV” tells more than you need to share. Use something generic like “Living Room TV” or “Tablet 1.”

4) Turn on account protection before adding apps

Before you sign in to Apple, Google, Samsung, Amazon or Roku, turn on two-factor authentication where available. For Roku, set a PIN to help block unwanted purchases, subscriptions and app additions.

  • Apple: Open Settings > your name > Sign-In & Security > Two-Factor Authentication > follow the onscreen instructions.
  • Google: Open your Google Account > Security & sign-in > How you sign in to Google > 2-Step Verification > Turn on 2-Step Verification > follow the onscreen steps.
  • Samsung: Open Settings > your Samsung account name > Security and privacy > Two-step verification > follow the prompts.
  • Amazon: Open the Amazon app > account icon > Your Account > Login & security > Two-Step Verification > Get Started > follow the prompts.
  • Roku: Go to my.roku.com > sign in > Device settings > PIN/Parental controls > choose when a PIN is required for purchases, subscriptions and adding apps > Save.

5) Turn off ACR and ad tracking on smart TVs

Smart TVs often include Automatic Content Recognition, or ACR. It can identify what appears on your screen for ads, analytics or recommendations. Turn it off during setup or immediately after setup.

  • Samsung TV: Press Home > Settings > All Settings > General & Privacy > Terms & Privacy or Privacy Choices. Turn off Viewing Information Services. Also review Interest-Based Advertising and Voice Recognition Services.
  • LG TV: Press Settings > All Settings > Support > Privacy & Terms. Look for Live Plus, Viewing Information or advertising options and turn off tracking you do not want.
  • Roku TV: Press Home > Settings > Privacy > Smart TV Experience. Uncheck Use info from TV inputs. Then go to Advertising and turn on Limit ad tracking.
  • Amazon Fire TV: Go to Settings > Preferences > Privacy Settings. Review Device Usage Data, Collect App Usage Data, Interest-Based Ads and Automatic Content Recognition if that option appears.
  • Vizio TV: On newer Vizio TVs, go to All Settings > Privacy & Legal > Viewing Data and turn it off. On older models, go to System > Reset & Admin > Viewing Data. Also review Interest-Based Advertising and Voice Recognition Services.

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Man typing on his computer.

A separate guest Wi-Fi network can help keep smart TVs and other connected devices away from personal laptops and phones. (Ute Grabowsky/Photothek via Getty Images))

6) Limit location, camera and microphone access

Phones and tablets often ask for more access than an app needs. Give each app the least access possible.

  • iPhone or iPad: Open Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services. Tap each app and choose Never, Ask Next Time or While Using the App. Then review Camera, Microphone, Bluetooth, Contacts and Photos in the same Privacy & Security menu.
  • Samsung Galaxy phone or tablet: Open Settings > Security and privacy > Permission manager. Review Location, Camera, Microphone, Contacts, Nearby devices and Photos and videos. Change apps to Ask every time, Allow only while using the app or Don’t allow when access isn’t needed.

7) Disable wireless features you do not use

Turn off Bluetooth when you do not need it. On phones, tablets and TVs, also look for Nearby Share, Quick Share, AirDrop, file sharing, screen mirroring and remote access.

  • iPhone or iPad: Go to Settings > General > AirDrop. Choose Receiving Off or Contacts Only.
  • Samsung Galaxy or Android phone: Open Settings and search for Quick Share. Tap Who can share with you, then choose a more private option such as Your devices or Contacts instead of making your phone visible to everyone.
  • Smart TV: Open Settings and check Network, Connection or External Device Manager. Turn off remote access, screen sharing or mobile device connection features you do not use.

8) Turn on lost-device protection

Set this up before the device goes missing.

  • iPhone or iPad: Open Settings > your name > Find My > Find My iPhone or Find My iPad. Turn on Find My, Find My network and Send Last Location.
  • Samsung Galaxy phone or tablet: Open Settings > Security and privacy > Lost device protection. Turn on Allow this phone to be found, Send last location and Offline finding.
  • Other Android phone or tablet: Open Settings > Security > Find Hub and make sure Allow device to be located is turned on. The wording may vary by brand.

For tablets used by kids or guests, write down the serial number. Keep it somewhere safe in case you need to report the device lost or stolen.

9) Remove apps you do not need

New devices often come with preinstalled apps. Delete or disable anything you will not use. Then install apps only from the official app store for that device.

On phones and tablets, avoid sideloading apps unless you know exactly where they came from.

On smart TVs, skip random free streaming apps with poor reviews, no clear developer or strange permission prompts.

10) Cover everything with a VPN

A VPN adds a layer of privacy by encrypting your internet traffic before it leaves your device. That can help limit what your internet provider can see and add protection when you use public Wi-Fi.

Look for a trusted VPN that offers apps for phones, tablets, computers and streaming devices. Some VPNs can also run at the router level on compatible routers. That option can be helpful because it may protect devices that do not support a VPN app, such as some smart TVs, game consoles and connected home gadgets.

Once a router VPN is set up, connected devices can receive VPN protection automatically. Just remember that a VPN does not make you invisible online. Websites may still recognize you when you log in, share personal details or use the same browser. Still, for everyday privacy, a reliable VPN can be a smart extra layer.

For the best VPN software, see my expert review of the best VPNs for browsing the web privately on your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices at CyberGuy.com.

Key takeaways

The default settings most devices ship with are designed for the manufacturer’s benefit, not yours. Before you connect your next smart TV, tablet, or phone, take a few minutes to go through the settings, lock down what doesn’t need to be open, and put a VPN between your network and the rest of the internet.

Have you ever found a privacy setting on a new device that surprised you? Let us know by writing to us at CyberGuy.com.

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Copyright 2026 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.

Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.



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PPE failures left NHS staff poorly protected and wasted billions, Covid inquiry finds

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PPE failures left NHS staff poorly protected and wasted billions, Covid inquiry finds


The lives of NHS staff and patients were put at risk in the pandemic because of a lack of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), the Covid inquiry has said.

The inquiry found that of the £14.9bn spent by the UK and devolved governments on PPE, nearly two thirds – almost £10bn – was wasted.

The UK entered the pandemic with its stockpile of masks, gowns and gloves in a “perilous state” with the country “simply not ready to compete” in the global race to get new supplies.

Healthcare staff were unable to properly protect themselves, or those in their care, from dangerous infections, the inquiry concluded.

The inquiry’s chair, Baroness Hallett, described the waste of taxpayers’ money as “vast” and said an overreliance on China to manufacture equipment left the UK “dangerously overexposed”.

When the cost of home testing kits and other equipment, such as ventilators, was included, the total amount spent by the government between January 2020 and June 2022 exceeded £42bn, the inquiry found.

The UK’s emergency stockpile of PPE, meant to last at least 15 weeks before being replenished, was running out by the end of March 2020 as demand from hospitals soared.



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Heavy rain collapses roof and kills 11 people in northwest Pakistan

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Heavy rain collapses roof and kills 11 people in northwest Pakistan


PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Eleven people were killed overnight when heavy rain caused the roof of a mud-brick house to collapse in northwest Pakistan, police and rescue officials said Tuesday.

The accident occurred in Kohat district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to Bilal Faizi of the provincial emergency service.

Rescuers recovered 11 bodies, mostly women and children, and handed them over to relatives for burial, Faizi said.

Heavy monsoon rains also lashed the Gilgit-Baltistan region on Monday, triggering landslides that blocked several roads and damaged homes, according to a statement from regional emergency services.

The government advised tourists to avoid travel to northern Pakistan because of the risk of landslides and flash flooding.

Pakistan experiences heavy monsoon rains every year and the downpours frequently trigger floods and landslides that cause deaths and widespread damage.

In 2022, unprecedented monsoon rains and flooding submerged nearly a third of the country, killing 1,739 people and causing an estimated $30 billion in damage.



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Colombian national killed by ICE agent during operation in Maine

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Colombian national killed by ICE agent during operation in Maine


One witness told the Biddeford Gazette that at around 07:20 local time, he saw lights flashing from an unmarked white SUV, and “at least two officers wearing green ICE vests”.

Lucas Scott, a Biddeford resident, said the agents were shouting as they surrounded a white sedan. He then heard at least four gunshots.

Another witness told the Associated Press (AP) news agency that the man who was killed lived nearby with his wife and daughter.

“I watched a wife fall to her knees looking at her husband’s dead body on the ground,” Mary Hayes said.

“I watched a little girl crying with a little pink backpack on because she’s never going to see her father again.”

Senator King said that Mullin, the head of DHS, had told him the man was shot after attempting to drive his car at police.

“He was in a vehicle – pulled out in the vehicle, and the term the secretary used was ‘weaponised’ the vehicle and was shot by an ICE agent,” King said.

He added that officers involved did not wear body cameras, and that officials would be investigating whether deadly force was necessary.

“That’s what this investigation is all about and I certainly intend to stay after it to do everything I can to be sure the investigation is as transparent and thorough as possible,” King said, according to the AP.

The incident draws renewed scrutiny on DHS and ICE.

On 7 July, an ICE officer fatally shot 52-year-old builder Lorenzo Salgado Araujo as he was driving to a construction site in Houston.

Federal officials later acknowledged that the Mexican man was not the intended target of the enforcement operation, but they said he had tried to run over an ICE agent.

Mullin took over leadership of DHS in March, replacing Kristi Noem after she was fired by US President Donald Trump.

Noem’s tenure saw fatal shootings by immigration officers of two protesters, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, both American citizens.

The deaths of Pretti and Good came after the Trump administration announced immigration enforcement surges in Minnesota and other states.

Federal officials launched a similar operation in Maine, in January, dubbed Operation Catch of the Day.

Civil rights organisations filed a lawsuit against alleging aggressive tactics by federal agents during enforcement surges.



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Video Boat rescue plays out as reporter records story

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Video Boat rescue plays out as reporter records story



The rescue played out in a river in Idaho just as a local reporter was recording a news story only feet away.



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What is sleep debt? An expert explains what happens when you don’t get enough rest

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What is sleep debt? An expert explains what happens when you don’t get enough rest


Maybe you’re a new parent or someone who lies awake at night. If so, you may have started to worry you’re not getting enough sleep.

Sleep wearables don’t help. They can show your “sleep debt”, a running total of how far you’ve fallen behind.

But the word “debt” assumes your sleep works like a bank account. It assumes lost hours stack up, carry over, and you must eventually repay them in full.

But sleep doesn’t really work this way. And chasing “enough sleep” may not be helping.

What is a sleep debt?

Two systems control your sleep. One is your body clock, which helps keep wakefulness and sleep aligned with the day and night. The other is the one that matters here: sleep pressure.

Sleep pressure builds the longer you stay awake and eases while you sleep. At its highest, it’s hard to resist. Someone pulling an all-nighter might find themselves nodding off unintentionally.

This biological process is what “sleep debt” is trying to describe. If you sleep less than your body needs, pressure for sleep builds. Given the opportunity to recover after lost sleep, you sleep longer. In this broad sense, the debt metaphor works.

Sleep pressure builds the longer you stay awake and eases while you sleep (Getty/iStock)

But this metaphor has some assumptions that don’t fit with our biology.

If you have a financial debt, the maths is exact: you owe a precise sum, which stays there until you pay it down. Sleep pressure does none of those things. Our sleep systems are more dynamic and adaptable.

What happens next?

To study the effects of short sleep, researchers bring volunteers into a lab and restrict how much they can sleep, such as four or six hours a night, sometimes for a week or two. Watching what happens under these conditions tells us how our body handles the shortfall.

The first thing it does is reorganise. When sleep is cut short, the body protects its deepest sleep (the stage that does most of the restorative work) and sacrifices lighter sleep.

People also fall asleep faster and spend less time awake in bed. In other words, given less time, the body spends that time more carefully and efficiently.

When people are freed from sleep restriction conditions, we watch what the body does to recover. “Recovery sleep” is characterised by a few nights of longer, deeper sleep. After this point, the debt appears to be cleared. But you do not sleep “back” the same number of hours you lost.

People fall asleep faster and spend less time awake in bed
People fall asleep faster and spend less time awake in bed (Getty/iStock)

What this means in everyday life is that after a run of short nights, you tend to sleep a little longer and deeper for a night or two, then your sleep settles back to its usual length.

What about the sluggishness that follows after a few nights of short sleep?

These same sleep experiments also measure sleep-sensitive outcomes such as cognitive performance.

These outcomes follow their own recovery timelines and often take a little longer to return to baseline. You may have had all the recovery sleep you are going to get, but you still need a few more nights of normal sleep before your cognitive performance catches up.

Could knowing my sleep debt make things worse?

Receiving feedback about the previous night’s sleep seems to affect your mood, energy levels and alertness the next day.

One study showed that giving participants negative feedback about their sleep – for example “your sleep quality was poor” – made them feel more tired and negative the next day.

You have insomnia if you regularly:

  • find it hard to go to sleep
  • wake up several times during the night
  • lie awake at night
  • wake up early and cannot go back to sleep
  • still feel tired after waking up
  • find it hard to nap during the day even though you’re tired
  • feel tired and irritable during the day
  • find it difficult to concentrate during the day because you’re tired

Another small experiment showed that people’s cognitive performance was influenced by how long participants believed they had slept.

No study has directly examined what happens if we tell people how much sleep debt they have. But, based on what we know, it is possible that knowing it can make you more worried about your sleep, and have worse sleep as a result.

False precision and moving targets

There is a deeper problem with the whole idea of calculating a sleep debt.

To calculate a debt, you need to know exactly what you owe in the first place, that is, a precise idea of how much your body needs. Trackers try their best to model how much sleep you need, but it is a slippery number.

Amelia Scott is an Honorary Affiliate and Clinical Psychologist at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, and a Macquarie University Research Fellow.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

How much sleep someone needs varies widely from person to person. Some healthy adults feel fine on around six hours, others need closer to nine.

How much sleep you need is not fixed. You need more sleep when unwell or start training hard at the gym. Sleep shifts with the seasons, with people generally sleeping more in winter.

Sleep trackers also estimate how much sleep you had overnight. They are increasingly accurate, but this is still an estimate, not the truth. So, trackers measure one guess (how much we slept) against another (how much we need).

The bottom line

Sleep debt is a handy metaphor to help us understand sleep regulation. Sleep pressure builds the longer you’re awake, and a short night can leave you needing a longer one to follow.

However, the way our bodies manage short sleep is not an ever-accumulating tally you must repay in full. To calculate a debt, you’d also need to be certain how much you need and how much you have, which are both hard to know.

The good news is that we are built to withstand and recover from the times life gets in the way of a good night’s sleep. There’s no need to carry a ledger or chase a sleep debt to zero.



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Woman’s Hour – ADHD and hormones, When co-habiting couples separate, God of War – BBC Sounds

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Woman’s Hour – ADHD and hormones, When co-habiting couples separate, God of War – BBC Sounds


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What impact do hormones have on women with ADHD? A first of its kind study by King’s College and Queen Mary University in London is putting the link to the test, by asking 50 women who have ADHD and are taking medication for it to track their menstrual cycle. They will log the impact it has on their ADHD symptoms, and daily life more broadly. Report academic Dr Jessica Agnew-Blais and Laura Mears-Reynolds from the charity ADHDAF+ join presenter Nuala McGovern to discuss.

We hear about the current government consultation aiming to give added financial security to more than 3.5 million unmarried couples when they separate. It’s hoped the overdue reforms will help protect women and better meet the needs of modern relationships. Nuala discusses this with Mandip Ghai, a lawyer from the legal charity Rights of Women, who have campaigned for new laws, and Jenny Allen who is feeling the long-term impact of her separation on her finances now she is semi-retired.

Video game God of War will have a female protagonist for the first time in the form of Laufey, both a powerful woman and a mother. Nuala is joined by player and journalist Vicky Jessop and The Guardian’s games editor Keza Macdonald to discuss the significance and online backlash.

Presented by: Nuala McGovern
Produced by: Sarah Jane Griffiths

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