“There definitely is some evidence that, at least occasionally, it’s possible to prepare for sleep deprivation,” explains Dr Bostock. But before planning the rest of your week’s banking and foregoing sleep, may Dr Bostock emphasise the word ‘occasionally’.

“The problem with doing this constantly is that you end up putting a lot of pressure on your body clock to shift forwards and backwards, and this puts you at an increased risk of disease. Any voluntary assaults on your body is probably a bad idea. Having said that, if you’re in a situation where you can’t get enough sleep during the week, it probably is better to try and rest up beforehand,” she says.

So no, relying on my lazy weekday evenings to get me through intense weekends is not particularly good for me. However, it might be excusable to let myself rest ahead of the odd weekend when I logistically couldn’t prioritise sleep because, for example, I have a big deadline, a friends birthday Zoom, an extra-curricular project and I want to keep up my exercise routine in order to support my mental health.

Can you ‘bank’ sleep? How to handle tiredness during busy periods