She now gets seven and her mother, who is 80, says she's a much nicer person for it. But there is a horrible smugness about the new refreshed executive. United States anthropologist Lionel Tiger says that showing off about your eight hours is classic one-upmanship. This is a tribute to how splendid you are when you are not comatose. Executive sleep indulgence is also fashionably health-conscious.
Bravado is out of fashion in the higher tiers of the workplace.
Of course we're talking about the chattering classes. Working mothers don't have the luxury of sleeping for prestige. Many workers are sleeping less to ensure that their bosses get eight hours. Simon Folkard, a specialist in shift-work fatigue, says there is evidence to suggest that British workers are sleeping less than ever. Junior doctors still regularly sleep four-hour nights.