The Sleep Periodical
Volume 4 | Issue 20
Is it possible to recover lost sleep? Does sleeping in on weekends and taking naps compensate for the hours missed during the week?
There are two types of sleep debt: acute and chronic. Acute sleep debt occurs when you experience a short-term lack of sleep, which you can usually recover from. It’s described as the "cumulative amount of sleep you've missed compared to what your body needs."
This type of sleep debt can have immediate impacts on your health, such as a weakened immune system, impaired motor skills, slower reaction times, mood changes, and even weight fluctuations.
Acute sleep debt - You can make up for lost sleep by going to bed earlier the next night if you stay up late one evening. However, trying to catch up on sleep by sleeping in the next day doesn't work as effectively. Chronic sleep debt -I compare sleep loss to missing days at the gym. You can't make up for missed workouts by exercising harder for a single day. Once you skip gym days, they're lost, and if too many are missed, potential muscle gains might be lost as well.
Similarly, if sleep is lost one day, the same amount of sleep can not be regained the next. A nap can be taken or an earlier bedtime to re-regulate, but the amount of sleep lost, is lost.
The myth of catching up on sleep
A 2020 study published in the journal Sleep Medicine found that trying to catch up on sleep by sleeping longer on weekends and taking naps does not fully help pay off sleep debt collected throughout the week.
The study took a nationwide sample and found:
35.9% of people studied were sleeping less than six hours per night, and the 27.7% who reported having “sleep debt” reported being in at least 90 minutes of sleep debt.
75.8% of the people studied didn’t attempt to balance their sleep debt.
Of the people who attempted to balance their sleep debt, 18.2% chose to catch up on sleep during the weekends, and 7.4% napped.
What to do to improve your sleep
The best tips are the hardest to follow, even for a sleep expert such as myself. There are just too many fun things to do in the world. However, seeing a massive body of research pointing to the benefits of sleep, it is essential to give it the priority it needs.
According to Deseret News, incorporating a simple routine like having a bowl of "Sweet Dreams" cereal can help establish a calming ritual to ease into sleep. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also emphasizes the importance of maintaining a consistent sleep schedule—going to bed and waking up at the same time each day—as part of a healthy bedtime routine.
Board-Certified Pediatrician
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Behavioral Sleep Specialist
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Sleepless in Nola
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Author
Speaker
Dr. Nilong Vyas
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