Almost everyone experiences sleep loss or deprivation at some point in their lives. Whether it’s from being a new parent or an overly demanding job, the results of sleep loss can range from mild crankiness to poor performance and when chronic, a shorter lifespan.
According to sleep medicine specialist Dr. Nancy Foldvary-Schaefer, sleep debt is the difference between the amount of sleep you need and how much you actually get. Taking a nap is one way most people try to make up for lost sleep. Over the past several decades, research has shown that a mid-afternoon nap lasting as few as 10 to 20 minutes may help you feel more refreshed during the day. A mid-afternoon nap may also increase working memory, learning and mental acuity for a few hours.1
Another way people try to catch up on lost sleep is to sleep in on the weekends, or whichever days are not work days. In 2018, a long-term study found that folks who slept four, five or six hours a night during the week, then caught up on weekends, lived longer than those who remained sleep-deprived all week long. A 2020 study found that catch-up sleep was associated with better health outcomes than just staying sleep deprived.2
While both napping and sleeping in on weekends may help ease symptoms like fatigue or daytime sleepiness, research has shown that it can take up to four days to recover from one hour of lost sleep and up to nine days to completely eliminate sleep debt. A full recovery from sleep debt returns our body to its baseline, reducing the negative effects associated with sleep loss.3
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), sleep-deprived people sleep more deeply, which equates to more restful sleep. Therefore, when trying to make up for lost sleep, you don’t need to make up each hour with an hour. Dr. Foldvary-Schaefer recommends compensating for sleep debt by going to bed 30 minutes to an hour earlier each night, taking short naps that last 15-30 minutes during the day, and adjusting your schedule so you can wake up a little bit later each morning. 4
To avoid sleep loss, stay on a set sleep schedule to keep circadian rhythms in sync, take short naps when possible if fatigued, avoid screen time at least 30 minutes to an hour before bedtime, limit caffeine intake and keep your sleep environment pitch black or as dark as possible.
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1, 3 https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/sleep-debt-and-catch-up-sleep
2, 4 https://health.clevelandclinic.org/insomnia-can-you-make-up-for-lost-sleep-on-weekends
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