Can You Repay Your Sleep Debt?
Key Takeaways:
- “Sleep debt” refers to the cumulative effect of not getting enough sleep, which can negatively impact your health by increasing risks for obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and even some cancers.
- It is possible to recover from short-term sleep deprivation by adding 1-2 hours of sleep per night over a weekend or on days off. However, long-term sleep loss may take several weeks to repay and requires consistent sleep schedule.
- Maintaining a regular sleep schedule, creating a restful environment, and avoiding caffeine, alcohol and electronics before bed can improve sleep quality.
Too many of us don’t get enough sleep each night. If you get less than what your body needs for optimal health, you have a sleep debt.
We have all felt sluggish, irritable, hungry or unable to focus during the day. Sleep is a luxury, you tell yourself. I’ll catch some zzz’s this weekend. But, can you really repay days, weeks or even years of sleep debt? While you may be used to compensating with coffee and energy drinks to feel more alert, there’s not enough caffeine in the world to replace the restorative benefits of sleep.
What is a good night’s sleep?
Studies show that to think and feel your best, most adults ages 18 to 64 need at least 7 hours of sleep and teens need 8 to 10 hours every 24 hours. Recent research suggests that adult women may need to sleep an additional 11 to 20 minutes to experience the same health and wellness benefits as men. Hormonal fluctuations and the prevalence of anxiety disorders in females can make it harder for some women to fall and stay asleep.
Why is sleep so important?
It’s a myth that some people can train themselves to sleep for just four to five hours a night without negative effects. Your body needs enough sleep to function properly — just like breathing, eating and drinking water every day. Insufficient rest or “sleep deprivation” can lead to short- and long-term health problems.
Some potential long-term consequences of insufficient sleep (regularly getting less than six hours of sleep per night) include heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, obesity and depression. Insufficient sleep increases the risk of falls and broken bones in older adults as well as car accidents among drivers.
“While awake, your brain builds up harmful waste products of metabolism, which are cleared only while you sleep,” explains Alejandro Chediak, M.D., a sleep expert with the University of Miami Health System. “Sleep loss allows the buildup of brain waste and interferes with basic brain functions.”
The circadian rhythm, which is your body’s clock, regulates not only your level of sleepiness but your body temperature, blood pressure, digestive enzymes and various hormones. With sleep loss and irregular sleep schedules—even by just an hour or two per night—your circadian clock gets off track.
Signs of sleep loss:
- excessive daytime sleepiness
- inability to mentally focus
- difficulty learning new things / processing information
- bodily fatigue
- emotional instability / crankiness
- lack of coordination
- compromised motor and driving skills / reaction time
- lack of energy or stamina for exercise
- increased hunger and cravings for sugary foods and carbohydrates.
According to the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, ongoing sleep loss (less than six hours of sleep per night) is linked to heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, obesity and depression.
How to make up for lost sleep
If you get fewer than 40 hours of sleep in a five-day period, you may have sleep deprivation. To reclaim your sleep health, you need to get three to four extra hours of sleep over the course of a weekend, plus one to two extra hours of sleep every night for the following week. If you have chronic sleep deprivation because you’ve slept fewer than seven hours a night for years, it can take a few weeks of consistent sufficient sleep to establish a wake-and-sleep cycle that gives your body the restorative rest it needs.
Dr. Chediak recommends that people in this situation “begin by sleeping as long as you can.” At first, you might find yourself sleeping for extended periods of time. But, “the brain will sleep only if it needs to,” he says. Allowing your schedule and body to gain significant nighttime sleep will eventually enable you to get back to a healthier rhythm.
“You’ll know when your sleep debt is paid off when you awake feeling refreshed and are no longer excessively sleepy during the day,” said Dr. Chediak.
If you backslide with some sleepless nights, try to use your weekends and 20-to-30-minute naps. Once you’re back on track, you need to get enough sleep each night to continue the physical and mental health benefits only sleep can provide.
Strategies to improve sleep
Follow these tips to make falling and staying asleep easier night after night:
- Maintain a consistent sleeping and waking schedule.
- Avoid caffeine and alcohol in the evenings.
- Limit screentime after dark.
- Get enough physical activity during the day.
Learn more about the UHealth Sleep Center today.
References
“Recommended Amount of Sleep for a Healthy Adult: A Joint Consensus Statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society,” 2015: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4442216/
“How Much Sleep Do You Need?” 2024: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need
“Circadian rhythms, sleep, and the menstrual cycle,” 2007: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1389945706006216?via%3Dihub
“What Are Sleep Deprivation and Deficiency?” – National Institutes of Health: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/sleep-deprivation-and-deficiency and https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep-deprivation
“Circadian Rhythm: What it is, what shapes it, and why it’s fundamental to getting quality sleep,” 2024: https://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/what-circadian-rhythm
Dana Kantrowitz is a contributing writer for UMiami Health News.
Last reviewed in March 2025 by Alejandro Chediak, M.D., a sleep expert with the University of Miami Health System.
Originally published on: March 11, 2019
Tags: chronic sleep deprivation, circadian rhythm, Dr. Alejandro Chediak, healthy sleep habits, is sleep debt real, losing sleep, sleep deficit, sleep medicine, sleep patterns
