The recent controversy over the recommendation to get up at 5 a.m., popularized by Robin Sharma in her bestseller The 5 a.m. Club, has drawn criticism from sleep experts. The advice was to start the day at that time to be able to organize better and lead a more orderly life.

The Spanish Society of Neurology and the psychologist Alfredo Rodríguez-Muñoz have reacted and warned about the lack of scientific foundations in this practice. According to Rodríguez-Muñoz, professor at the Complutense University of Madrid and author of Sleeping to Live, interviewed by La Vanguardia, the tendency to sleep less to be more productive harms physical and mental health. Chronic lack of sleep is associated with cardiovascular disease, obesity, depression and cognitive decline.

"It's a fad and it has to do with the narrative of saving hours of time and taking away sleep, so that when the rest of the people start working, you've already been producing for some time. Getting up so early gives us a feeling of control over our day. But, in reality, getting up at five in the morning doesn't make much sense from a biological point of view," criticizes Rodríguez-Muñoz.

The specialist emphasizes that adequate sleep is one of the three pillars of health, along with good nutrition and exercise. Neglecting any of these aspects negatively affects the others.

The same expert declared to the newspaper As de España: "Chronically insufficient sleep is associated with multiple health problems: increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, obesity, depression or cognitive impairment. It does not mean that a bad night has serious consequences, but when lack of sleep becomes a habit for years, the body ends up paying the price."

Culture of constant productivity

Rodríguez-Muñoz points out that today's society encourages continuous productivity at the expense of rest. The perception of success linked to sleep deprivation can be dangerous as it impacts essential job functions.

"We live in a society oriented towards constant productivity and it seems that those moments in which you stop limit or nullify your perception that you are important and that you have status. However, people are not aware that lack of sleep affects many important functions in the workplace. Leading well begins on the pillow," he says.

“Do not leave for tomorrow what you can sleep today,” says Rodríguez-Muñoz in his statements, collected by Clarín. He warns that it is essential to understand that it is impossible to negotiate with biology.

Strategies for a better rest

To improve the quality of sleep, the psychologist suggests disconnecting from daily demands and establishing a rest rhythm in accordance with biological needs, emphasizing that current culture has distorted the view of sleep as a waste of time.

He explains that “part of sleep problems are associated with hyperarousal: being available, connected and attentive all day, and that does not allow us to rest well.”

Finally, he adds that the idea of ​​sleeping little "is a very powerful cultural construction, because for a good part of history, sleep was not a problem: people went to sleep after dark and rested without guilt."

“The change began when we began to domesticate time: the Industrial Revolution, artificial light, the clock, the working day and, above all, a new morality of performance,” he maintains.

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