{"id":2608,"date":"2019-01-22T16:21:36","date_gmt":"2019-01-22T16:21:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/?p=2608"},"modified":"2024-02-13T15:31:29","modified_gmt":"2024-02-13T15:31:29","slug":"can-you-catch-up-on-lost-sleep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bettersleep.org\/blog\/can-you-catch-up-on-lost-sleep\/","title":{"rendered":"Can You Catch up on Lost Sleep?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Get<\/p>\n

Ever ask yourself, can you catch up on lost sleep?<\/p>\n

Imagine the idea as a scene from a mobster movie. The clock strikes midnight when there\u2019s a startling knock at your door. It\u2019s the boss, Mr. Sandman. He says what you\u2019ve known all along. You\u2019re late on your sleep and he\u2019s come to collect.<\/p>\n

You start spewing all the clich\u00e9d excuses. There\u2019s a big project at work that\u2019s been keeping you late. You\u2019re stressed out about paying for your daughter\u2019s braces. In panicked desperation, you even rat out your beloved sleep partner: \u201cIt\u2019s not my fault, Mr. Sandman! John snores like a horse. He keeps me up! He\u2019s the reason I\u2019m up at night! Blame him!\u201d<\/p>\n

Shame on you. It doesn\u2019t matter why you\u2019ve neglected your sleep. You simply have. And eventually, you\u2019ll have to pay up.<\/p>\n

A bit melodramatic? Sure. But missing out on sleep \u00ad\u2013 even just a little bit each night \u2013 will get you into some serious hot water. Lack of sleep<\/a> can lead to changes in mood, decline in physical performance and cognitive issues. (Think: irritability, impaired driving and difficulty remembering things.) Over time, sleep deprivation can bring on more serious health complications like obesity, depression and heart disease. It\u2019s a steep price to pay just to have some extra hours awake each week.<\/p>\n

Sleep Debt<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

The Better Sleep Council recommends that adults get between 7-8 hours of sleep each night<\/a>; a 2014 survey<\/a> conducted for Better Sleep Council found that fewer than half (48%) of Americans reported getting that much sleep on weekdays. Experts at the Stanford University Sleep Clinic refer to this difference between the amount of sleep you should be getting each night and the sleep you actually get as sleep debt.<\/p>\n

T<\/strong>he Weekend Rebound<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

Many of us use weekends to repay the sleep debt we accumulate during the week. In our 2014 survey, 65% of responders say they get at least 7 hours of sleep on weekends \u2013 a 17% increase versus weekdays.<\/p>\n

Other research echoes these results: in 2018, a study reported in the Journal of Sleep Research<\/em> tracked 38,000 Swedish adults for 13 years and found that catching up on sleep over the weekend can cancel out some of the negative health impacts that come with lack of sleep during the week.<\/p>\n

While sleeping in on the weekends may ease your sleep debt, it\u2019s not a cure-all.<\/p>\n

Take a Sleep Staycation<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

While you can quickly recover from the short-term effects of temporary sleep debt by tacking on an extra hour or two of weekend sleep, don\u2019t expect one extended hibernation session to make up for chronic sleep deprivation. It can take a long time to get back to your natural sleep pattern if you\u2019ve been depriving yourself of adequate sleep for months or years.<\/p>\n

Experts at Harvard Medical School suggest you hit restart by taking a vacation with no agenda or taxing activities. Go to bed whenever you feel tired, unplug the alarm and let your body wake you naturally. In the beginning, you may find yourself sleeping for 10 or 12 hours at a time. As the days pass, and as you erase your sleep debt, your body will identify the innate amount of sleep that\u2019s right for you.<\/p>\n

Avoiding the Sleep Yo-Yo<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

Once you learn how much sleep you truly need each night, it\u2019s important to make sleep part of your daily routine so you don\u2019t slide back into sleep debt:<\/p>\n