According to director of the Centre for Human Sleep Science at the University of California, Berkeley, professor Matthew Walker, his research has shown that a “catastrophic sleep-loss epidemic” is seemingly to blame for a causing a variety of potentially fatal diseases.

In an interview with the Guardian, professor Walker warned that sleep deprivation is not being taken seriously enough by employers and everyday people alike.

In accordance with his research, Walker states there is a “powerful” link between not getting enough sleep and Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity and heart disease, to name but a few.

“No aspect of our biology is left unscathed by sleep deprivation”. Walker states. “It sinks down into every possible nook and cranny. And yet no one is doing anything about it. Things have to change in the workplace and our communities, our homes and families.”