Robin Bailey is so tired she's in tears. Know the feeling?

“What time do you get up?” and “How much sleep do you get?” are the two questions I have answered a million times over the 25 years that I have worked in breakfast radio.

And the answers I usually give to these questions are simple: ‘Too bloody early’ and, ‘Not enough’.

But the real answers are: 2.45am and about four or five hours.

Yes, I am so sleep deprived that I feel like a car running out of petrol… living my life hoping like I’ll make it through but knowing full well I am probably damaging myself in the process.

My friend and co-host of The Well, Rebecca Sparrow is so worried about my lack of sleep that she staged an intervention on the latest episode of the show. You can hear that, here: 

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But even before Bec stepped in, I knew it’s not nearly enough.

Sadly, despite knowing that some pretty impressive people get less than that (hello, Richard Branson and Winston Churchill), I know my life choices are badly impacting me, with the very real consequence of long-term damage, something Bec takes great pleasure in informing me.

So why don’t I just sleep more? It’s pretty simple. I am a breakfast radio announcer but I’m also a single mum who is trying to run a household of three teenage boys and give my all to both my job and my kids. But despite that being a great excuse in my world, it just doesn’t cut it with Bec. And she’s right.

Let’s be honest, how many of us are also making a choice to do other things rather than sleep?

Watch Robin and Bec talk about The Well:

I don’t want to preach at you… it won’t work. I know my family have been doing it for years, but I will say, when faced with the overwhelming reality and me finally admitting my one failing when it comes to this… I do break down.

Real tears of frustration at myself and my inability to make significant changes to this ongoing problem… and that’s the thing about sleep, we have the opportunity to get this right or wrong every single day.

That scares me, as I do consider myself a pretty intelligent, highly functioning woman who can juggle a million things and look fabulous in the process (yeah, right.)

What I can tell you is that we finish this podcast with some practical tips that will not only help the sleep-deprived like me… but also those of you who do prioritise sleep but want to learn more.

I already have started doing two of these homework suggestions and one of them is absolutely changing my life.

So grab a coffee (oh, or not a coffee, doesn’t help!), relax and listen as we digest sleep but whatever you do , for God’s sake , don’t fall asleep YET! We’ll give you ten mins to do that after The Well and as you will learn that is actually all you need.

Listen to the full episode of The Well, and hear Robin and Bec’s tips for getting a good sleep, as well as what a lack of sleep can do to your mind, your body, and your relationships with others. For more episodes, subscribe to The Well in iTunes, find us on The Mamamia Podcast app, or download the show via your favourite podcast app.