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The Wisdom of Psychopaths
In this engrossing journey into the lives of psychopaths and their infamously crafty behaviors, the renowned psychologist Kevin Dutton reveals that there is a...
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Let's do some sleep math. You lost two hours of sleep every night last week because of a big project due on Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, you slept in, getting four extra hours. Come Monday morning, you were feeling so bright-eyed, you only had one cup of coffee, instead of your usual two. But don't be duped by your apparent vim and vigor: You're still carrying around a heavy load of sleepiness, or what experts call "sleep debt"—in this case something like six hours, almost a full nights' sleep.
Sleep debt is the difference between the amount of sleep you should be getting and the amount you actually get. It's a deficit that grows every time we skim some extra minutes off our nightly slumber. "People accumulate sleep debt surreptitiously," says psychiatrist William C. Dement, founder of the Stanford University Sleep Clinic. Studies show that such short-term sleep deprivation leads to a foggy brain, worsened vision, impaired driving, and trouble remembering. Long-term effects include obesity, insulin resistance, and heart disease. And most Americans suffer from chronic deprivation.
A 2005 survey by the National Sleep Foundation reports that, on average, Americans sleep 6.9 hours per night—6.8 hours during the week and 7.4 hours on the weekends. Generally, experts recommend eight hours of sleep per night, although some people may require only six hours of sleep while others need ten. That means on average, we’re losing one hour of sleep each night—more than two full weeks of slumber every year.
The good news is that, like all debt, with some work, sleep debt can be repaid—though it won't happen in one extended snooze marathon. Tacking on an extra hour or two of sleep a night is the way to catch up. For the chronically sleep deprived, take it easy for a few months to get back into a natural sleep pattern, says Lawrence J. Epstein, medical director of the Harvard-affiliated Sleep HealthCenters.
Go to bed when you are tired, and allow your body to wake you in the morning (no alarm clock allowed). You may find yourself catatonic in the beginning of the recovery cycle: Expect to bank upward of ten hours shut-eye per night. As the days pass, however, the amount of time sleeping will gradually decrease.
For recovery sleep, both the hours slept and the intensity of the sleep are important. Some of your most refreshing sleep occurs during deep sleep. Although such sleep's true effects are still being studied, it is generally considered a restorative period for the brain. And when you sleep more hours, you allow your brain to spend more time in this rejuvenating period.
As you erase sleep debt, your body will come to rest at a sleep pattern that is specifically right for you. Sleep researchers believe that genes—although the precise ones have yet to be discovered—determine our individual sleeping patterns. That more than likely means you can't train yourself to be a "short sleeper"—and you're fooling yourself if you think you've done it. A 2003 study in the journal Sleep found that the more tired we get, the less tired we feel.
So earn back that lost sleep—and follow the dictates of your innate sleep needs. You’ll feel better. "When you put away sleep debt, you become superhuman," says Stanford's Dement, talking about the improved mental and physical capabilities that come with being well rested. Finally, a scientific reason to sleep in on Saturday.
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19 Comments
Add CommentYears ago when I was in Boot Camp, I thought it would take a "month of Sundays" to catchup with the sleep "I lost". Didn't work that way, I was back to "normal" with one good night's sleep. I worked the "graveyard" shift for about a year, and in that time no matter how long I stayed in bed I couldn't shake my fatigue. I finally deduced that even though I thought I was awake, parts of my body simply weren't. When I went back to "day shift", even though I was getting five hours sleep a night, I felt much better. If I sleep more than six hours, I get headaches and bad dreams!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYeah. I always love in stories like this how the "scientists" tell you in one breath they really don't understand sleep all that well, but in the next presume to tell you exactly how to get precisely what you need.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe concept of sleep debt is absurd. If I got only 4 hours sleep one night two weeks ago and 8 hours sleep every night since, I do not carry a 4 hour deficit, and I no longer have acute sleep deficit symptoms. The sleep debt concept is like claiming that an athlete who messed up his training schedule one day a month ago could still have an exercise debt.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSomething not addressed in the article is the reason why people are going into "sleep debt" (which, yes, I agree is an absurd notion). There are many reasons why people lose sleep, a big one being stress. All that caffeine isn't doing any favors either. It has been my experience that sleep consistency is key. The body will adapt to shortened sleep schedules with a more efficient sleep, entering deep restorative sleep sooner and for a higher proportion of the total sleep. Not that there has been too much research on this because of the time required...but hey works for me.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thiswell its refreshing to see one thing confirmed about this article and that is that I only thought it was me that sometimes got so tired for such long lengths of times that sometimes I was no longer felt tired or felt beyond my tiredness. Its refreshing to see that this is indeed the case for some of us and not just my imagination and I too at times have suffered from what hugh jones mentioned which to me is definitely a strange occurance.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf you don't get enough sleep your body will suffer as well as your mind. I don't believe you can make up the lost time by extra hours of sleep. I do believe each person has different needs and as long as you get the hours you personally need for your body to rest you will be fine. Over sleeping can lead to just as many problems as not enough sleep.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI have lost allot of sleep in last two weeks. I was sleeping from four to five hours at best and havent caught up even after two nights of repititious sleep eight hours long. I felt drunk yesterday and today I feel really tired too.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am still really tired from sleep lost and feel like I am never going to catch up. I woke up feeling drunk yesterday and today I feel high on marijuana and I didn't smoke it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am not sure if the concept is true, I do know that I go to school full time during the week, and that I work 20 hours a week 3rd shift on weekends. Over the past two months or so I have lost so much sleep. Finally school is out for the summer, and I managed to sleep for 15 out of the last 24 hours, and i am going to sleep some more. Not sure if I am actually making up for some sleep debt, but it sure does feel like I am.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think I'm about 40-60hrs in sleep debt. Trying to pay it back each day and like the rest of you my body is experiencing dizziness, fatigue and weariness. Keep in mind, I'm also experiencing Tinnitus so paying back the sandman is making it difficult. Keep on keeping on.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHi,
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am rsjons just saying...
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I have over 6500 hours of sleep debt accrued. Ever since we had kids I have only managed 5 hours of sleep each night. I may be in bed for more than that but I can count on my hands how many nights of uninterrupted sleep I have gotten. Over these years I have gained 40 pounds, have numb feet, poor memory and might be borderline diabetic. Can't wait to start cashing in on some payback sleep!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thismy problem is an overactive bladder which was preceeded by for a couple of years by an enlarged prostate for which i had a rebore 4 months ago.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMy bladder wakes me about every 90 minutes .I dont know that i get "deep sleep " as a compensation but i have felt washed out ,irritable,my memory is poor and i cannot "get going " with the simplest of duties.
Ok, let me see...... In my calculation I have sleep an average of 6 hours daily the last 5 years.... there was a time I slept less than 4 hours on the weekdays for 6 months, and I would try to make it up on the weekend, but still it wasn't enough to make it more than 6 hours per day. So just by my estimation (and trying very hard to remember) I would say I slept 6 hours in the last 5 years, lately (and probably the last few years) I been sleeping different hours everyday, for example one day I sleep 6 hours, the next 7 hours, the next 8 hours, then I will sleep 5 hours and then 4 hours..... But when is all say and done I would average 6 hours per day every week (the last 5 years).
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNow to my calculation I have a sleep debt of 2,737 hours (365*5=1825 days ----> 1,825 * 1.5 hours of sleep deprivation = 2,737), and this is only the last 5 years, I'm pretty sure I haven't slept more than 7.5 hours a day before that.
Now my questions is: How the hell would I make-up those 2,737 hours I own?
For starters (after reading this article), I will sleep 8 hours per day from now on, then if I decide to take sleep vacations, I'm afraid I will sleep for the duration of the 2 weeks if I don't use an alarm clock, (let's put it: I sleep 20 hours during those days..... that's 12 hours * 14 days = 168 hours I get back every year) SO it will take me at least 16 years of 2 weeks sleep vacations to get it all back..... I was thinking about taking naps everyday, but with my heavy working schedule I doubt I would have time for that. So one last question, should I try to take 16 years of 2 weeks sleep vacations, or should I just forget about it and start from scratch and just sleep 8 hours from now on.
I would love to feel my "SUPERHUMAN" self one day, is this goal attainable or should I just forget about it?
Or maybe just by starting to sleep 8 hours per day from now on I can achieve that (hoping to have the genes to do that).
I will do this ten hour thing.. While im at it i will also pull some purple unicorns out of my *ss so that i may count them as i fall asleep. Does ANYBODY have time to sleep for ten hours for even two nights in a row ever? The reason for losing the sleep in the first place is usually bc of not having enough time.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOk, so what do you think about a person with Bipolar Disorder in a Manic state? I've been in an 10 month mixed episode and when I get really manic, I stay up super late or wake up anywhere from 2:30 AM to 5:00 AM. I crashed from the peak of mania, but I'm still in hypomania. I'm sleeping through the night and get up at 6:00. I am soooooo tired. Am I trying to catch up on all that sleep or am I just exhausted tired from the whole Bipolar episode? Thoughts?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt might be absurb if it worked the way you think it does. The nights where you got eight hours of sleep following the one night where you only got four would have wiped out that debt. The article explained this clearly.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou've misunderstood. They haven't discovered the precise genes, that doesn't mean they can't study the effects. Newton's theory of gravity described the effect of gravity - not knowing exactly what gravity is doesn't make his work meaningless.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhy is it an absurd notion? At least two people have said so but neither said why - the other guy at least attempted to be, but got it wrong; you didn't even try.
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