How long does a “Sleep Debt” last?

by Steve@Zeo on July 11, 2011

Q: If over a week you sleep with one ‘deficit’ night and six normal nights, can you ‘rollover’ your need for a night of ‘repayment’ until the NEXT week…or even, the week after that?

A: The effects of an accumulated sleep debt can last for weeks– even months–and require substantial recovery sleep. A single night of sleep restriction is more difficult to follow over subsequent nights, though it depends largely on how big the one “deficit” night is.

    If it’s a night of just 30 min restricted sleep–say you stayed up a little later to watch the game– the debt may be paid off in small chunks over the course of normal nights through a deeper sleep, with no noticeable effects on sleep need.  However, if it’s complete sleep deprivation–you took the red eye home instead of “losing a day”–then the effects could be substantial.

    Not-So-Fun Fact: Cutting back on sleep every night for a week–even by just an hour or so–could leave you feeling as though you had skipped a whole night.

    On top of that, sleep debt can accumulate. If it’s a constant, severe restriction, the effects will stick around for a long time and require a large amount of extended sleep.  Some sleep researches have even suggested that a single night’s sleep debt could take as much as a month to pay back.  You could  feel “fine” and rested, but still have a lingering effects of a slept debt, such as slower reaction time and memory processing.

    In regards to chronic sleep deprivation–the kind that accumulates from not getting enough during the week, then trying to play “catch up” on the weekend– there’s no good evidence of an expiration date for sleep debt.  Instead, the debt just keeps rolling over, night after night.

    The best thing to do is to keep your balance up by getting enough sleep (7-9 hours) every night. Start working off whatever debt you have tonight. Be patient about how long that could take, but also revel in how good you feel each morning with that extra sleep. If you pay back your debt, you’ll be in much better shape if you do have to stay up a little later one night, or take that red-eye.

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    Academic References

    Cohen, D. et al., Uncovering Residual Effects of Chronic Sleep Loss on Human Performance. Science translational medicine, 2(14): 3. (2010)

    Dement, W.,  Sleep Extension:  Getting as much extra sleep as possible, Journal of Clinical Sports Medicine, Apr;24(2):251-68, viii, (2005).

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