Getting to sleep at night isn't always easy, and the longer you go without a decent night's sleep, the more likely you are to suffer the consequences of sleep deprivation.
And one doctor has shared a handy test that could help you identify how sleep-deprived you really are - as it tests your brain's perception skills to ensure your mind is functioning at full capacity.
Dr Karan Raj posted the test on his TikTok, where he has gained millions of viewers with his informative videos that provide tips and tricks for dealing with many different health struggles. The video, titled "Take this sleep deprivation test", has been viewed more than 3.5 million times.
The video shows an illustration of a brightly-coloured street scene with people on the pavement, buses on the road, and buildings in the background, with the image flashing black every second or two, and it's supposed to give you an indication as to whether a lack of sleep is affecting your perception skills and overall concentration.
The bad news is that if you didn't notice the scene altering each time - including both big and small changes - you probably need to be going to bed earlier.
Dr Raj says: "Are sleep deprived? Take a look at this scene. If you're not sleeping enough you will experience very short blackouts called microsleeps and these can make you miss things right in front of your eyes.
"Did you notice the bus changing colour, or the disappearing buildings? Or the kid running towards the street?
"If you need an alarm clock to wake you up in the mornings, or fall asleep within five minutes of getting into bed, or need coffee or energy drinks to keep you up during the day, you might want to spend more time in bed."
But if you are struggling to sleep, Dr Raj provided a trick that might be able to help, saying that going to sleep in poorly ventilated rooms can raise the level of carbon dioxide, which in turn can disrupt your sleep.
So he advises keeping a window open - which also drops the temperature of your body, triggering your brain that it's time to sleep.
Commenters on the post were blown away by the test, with many saying they couldn't believe how easy it was for them to miss some obvious changes to the images.
One person said: "I failed very badly."
While another added: "I 100 per cent failed the test and 100 per cent need more sleep, but my three-year-old has other ideas!"
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