How to recover from Sleep Debt

There are none who haven’t undergone sleep deprivation due to work pressures or family events. While we try and make up for it later, the damage is still done to the body. Getting a good, sound sleep is important to performing at our best, but is not possible always. The pitfalls of consistently losing sleep especially can be dangerous and needs attention.

Adults need at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night and even 15 minutes less than one’s regular sleep may add on to your increasing levels of sleep debt. According to Wikipedia, “Sleep debt or sleep deficit is the increasing effect of finding yourself sleep-deprived. A cumulative sleep debt may result in physical or mental fatigue".

The risks of sleep deficit include depression, weight gain, diabetes, heart disease, and memory loss. For those who haven’t slept properly for long don’t even realize they are tired. In summers it is that much harder for sleep deprived people to cope, with increased fatigue concentrating on the road or at work becomes a challenge. Also while you could try completing your sleep over weekends with no deadlines on the horizon, oversleeping would only further throw off your circadian clock, making the next day tough.

Here are some ways to cope if you think you are a victim of sleep deficit: 

Bridge short-term debt
If you missed 8 hours of sleep over the course of a week, add two or three extra sleep hours on the weekend and an extra hour or two per night the following week until you have repaid the debt fully. You may feel fresh much before completing the debt itself but consciously make up for the time lost to get your body functioning back to its optimum self.

Take a Sleep Staycation to bridge a long-term debt
While you can quickly recover from the short-term effects of temporary sleep debt by sleeping up extra on weekend and following week, remember you cannot go the Rip Van Winkle way and take one extended hibernation session to compensate for chronic or long-term sleep deprivation. It can take a little while to get back to your natural sleep pattern if you are sleep-deprived for months, you will need an easy-going vacation where you could relax minus any disturbances and sleep naturally every night.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School indicate, “you press restart by vacationing without any agenda or activities that are taxing. Hit the pillow whenever you are tired, don’t set mobile alarm, and allow yourself to wake up naturally. To begin with, you may end up sleeping between 10-12 hours at one time. With time, and as you get rid of sleep debt, your body will determine the natural amount of sleep required by the body.

Avoiding the Sleep Yo-Yo
Ensure you do not slide back into sleep debt once in the rhythm, make it a priority. Remember no amount of chasing targets will compensate for failing health. Schedule your day in such a way that you go to sleep and wake up at the same time and get enough time in bed. Stick to a good bedtime routine so you fall off to sleep easily and If you still feel tired after a long night in bed, consult a doctor to check if you have any sleep disorder. And never forget that investing in the sleeping mattress online is a sure-fire method to get rid of sleep debt.