The exact amount of sleep each person needs can vary slightly depending on age, but generally speaking, your body needs 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night. During that time, your body takes care of numerous important tasks, from repairing cells to consolidating memories and new information in your brain. When you don’t get enough sleep, this creates a “sleep debt.” It’s comparable to being overdrawn at the bank – you just don’t have the resources to move forward. Once your sleep debt gets big enough, your body crashes and demands that the “debt” be paid.

Social Jet Lag

“Social jet lag” refers to the situation when you get inadequate sleep during the workweek and then sleep extra hours during your days off. The extra hours are our way of repaying the “sleep debt.” Unfortunately, by sleeping in and delaying your usual wake time, you have essentially told your body you are now in another time zone. Hence the phrase social jet lag. Come Monday morning when you must awaken at the usual wake time the body is rapidly forced to adjust to a new sleep-wake routine. While it is of benefit to repay the sleep debt, it does come at some cost, particularly if you sleep in more than an hour or so.

Your Sleep Debt is Showing

How can you tell if you have sleep debt? Some researchers believe that if you feel drowsy at any point in the day – even if you’re attributing it to a boring activity, like sitting through a tedious meeting – this signals sleep debt. If you regularly fall asleep within five minutes of lying down in bed, this is probably another signal that your body is carrying some sleep debt. Another hint that you might have sleep debt is if you experience a “microsleep,” or a very brief instant of falling asleep during the day. If your alarm clock yanks you out of deep sleep every morning, this could also signal sleep debt.

A Repayment Plan

If you routinely operate from a state of sleep deprivation, it’s time to make some moves before illness, disease, or an accident occurs. Start by settling short-term debt. For example, if you missed 10 hours of sleep last week, plan to sleep an extra hour or two each night this week. After that, though, it’s time to get serious about a regular sleeping schedule to reset your exhausted circadian rhythm. Figure out what time you need to wake up each morning, and then work backward seven to nine hours (depending on how much sleep your body needs) to determine your new bedtime. Then, stick to it! Plan your evening so that you’re winding things down with a relaxing activity, such as a cup of herbal tea or some gentle stretching before bedtime. Cutting back on caffeine and getting some exercise during the day can help you feel a bit sleepier in the evening.

Sleep with Patience

Months or years of sleep deprivation can seriously deplete your body’s sensitive systems. It may take some time before you feel more fully restored. Neural and metabolic systems, especially, take time to heal. Prevention is the name of the game. The important goal is to not add any more sleepless hours to your existing debt and find a way to gradually pay off any long-standing sleep debt.

References

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Brain Basics: Understanding Sleep

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/brain_basics/understanding_sleep.htm

Harvard Medical School: Repaying Your Sleep Debt

http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/repaying-your-sleep-debt

University of Chicago: Can You Ever Repay Your Sleep Debt?

http://sciencelife.uchospitals.edu/2014/05/05/can-you-ever-repay-your-sleep-debt/

American Psychological Association: Findings

http://www.apa.org/action/resources/research-in-action/sleep-deprivation.aspx