For many of us, the term sleep debt brings to mind a late night studying, time awake with a new baby, or a long flight overseas. The short-term inconvenience of feeling tired and unable focus is what we think of.Sleep debt -the difference between the amount of sleep we need and what were actually getting -sounds like something we can pay back with a night or two of good rest. We may even wonder if sleep debt is more myth than reality.
Perhaps the words don’t convey the reality of sleep debt: A tendency to slip into dangerous episodes while driving or working. A sharp drop in the number killer cells that protect us from cancer and viruses. A permanent reduction in the brain cells that help us learn, store memories, and pay attention.
Sleep Debt Calculator
The true consequence of sleep debt goes much deeper than feeling fatigued and unable to concentrate.Sleep debt has damaging cumulative effects – both short and long-term -that create a wide-ranging and significant impact on our health. Even if we only lose one night of sleep.
One common misconception about sleep is that it can be adaptable to less. We can train ourselves to be able to live without enough sleep, just as we would to give up sugar. No matter how busy our lives are, the brain needs to get at least seven to nine hours of sleep each night.
Unfortunately, the more we sleep less, the harder it is to judge how much we actually need.A brief period of sleep loss may become chronic, along with the resulting mental and physical effects.
Chronic sleep deprivation
Insufficient sleep for long periods of time can lead to a cognitive and physical condition. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chronic sleep deprivation is affecting 40 million Americans.
Notice: While the content of Sleepopolis can be considered informative, it should not replace professional medical advice. You should consult your healthcare provider immediately if you suspect you might have a sleep disorder or other medical condition.
Sleep Debt: The Multiple Causes
Causes of Sleep Debt
The term sleep debt can be used to refer to both short-term and long-term sleep loss. There are many causes of sleep debt. Several reasons may be cited for a lack of sleep, including:
- Sleep disorders like restless leg syndrome, insomnia, and sleep apnea include:
- Chronic pain and illness. Sleep difficulties can be caused by diseases such as asthma, hyperthyroidism and cancer.
- Night shift work
- School and work schedules
- Young children
- Extensive travel
- Electronics use close to bedtime
Lying awake due to stress or racing thoughts is another common reason we accumulate sleep debt.Anxiety, panic disorder, and post-traumatic stress often lead to inability to fall asleep or stay asleep.. These conditions may cause heart palpitations, hyperventilation, worrisome thoughts, shortness of breath, and other symptoms that prevent or disrupt sleep.
The Symptoms Of Sleep Debt
Symptoms of Sleep Debt
We all know how we feel when we dont sleep enough. Sluggish. It is easy to forget. Irritable. It is possible to feel the need to eat more and eat high-carbohydrate and sugary foods. We may experience the following symptoms depending on how sleepdeprived we are:
- Depression and anxiety
- Reduced concentration ability
- Yawning
- Motivation low
- Trouble learning or understanding new ideas
- Lack of coordination and balance problems
- Mood swings
- Increased susceptibility for illness
So whats really going on? Well, research shows thatwhen it comes to sleep debt, what you feel, your brain cells feel.
The Sleep-Deprived Brain
You may feel tired, irritable and unable to think the next day after a bad night’s sleep. It is possible to find yourself unable to concentrate in meetings or even reading the text without understanding it. You might be wondering why? Why?Even a short-term interruption to your brain cells‘ communication can disrupt the normally rapid and efficient communication.. Electrical activity that creates a normal perception of the environment slows down, making it harder for the brain to process what its seeing and hearing.
Also, sleep deprivation can affect the brain’s ability to transform perception into conscious thought. These kinds of changes can have serious consequences. Lack of sleep can markedly delay decision-making and reaction times. Studies reveal thatPoor sleep can have cognitive consequences that are as grave and dangerous as drunk driving..
FAQ
Q: Can a person train themseves to function well on less sleep?
A:No.Research has shown that the need to sleep a certain amount is genetic and cannot be altered.
What might happen to someone who has a sleep debt?
- They might have difficulty perceiving dangers, such as sudden appearances of pedestrians or cars.
- There is a higher risk of judgment lapses, which could lead to more accidents and workplace mistakes.
- An increase in blood pressure could lead to anxiety and stroke.
If you feel like youre half-asleep after a late night, youre not wrong. Being awake for 24 hours before driving can have an effect on alertness and ability comparable to having a 0.10% blood alcohol content, which is above the legal limit in all 50 states. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, drivers who sleep less than five to six hours per night are twice as likely as those who get seven hours or more.
Poor Sleep Can Have Emotional Consequences
If youve ever felt down or emotionally volatile after a poor night of sleep, theres a scientific reason for that. Sleeplessness has been proven to dramatically increase our reactivity – in fact, the parts of the brain that rely on emotional data are particularly vulnerable to sleep deficits.
It could be that you feel more emotional after sleeping less. Researchers studying the sleep-deprived brain found that emotions were heightened because the brain could no longer tell the difference between an experience, photograph, or event worth reacting to, and something less deserving of a strong emotional response.
Poor sleep can lead to an increase in emotional response and lower emotional control.. One study of emotions and lack of sleep showed a 60% increase in activation of the amygdala, a part of the brain that processes emotional information, particularly when that information is unfavorable or represents a threat. This means that people who are sleep-deprived may perceive a negative experience as positive, rather than neutral or positive.
Poor sleep can cause more than just emotional upset. Research has shown that poor sleep can cause emotional and physical problems.A sleep-deprived brain behaves a lot like one that is anxious. The reason this may be is that the prefrontal cortex, which controls anxiety, is less active after a night of sleep. Also, a study showed that poor sleep can contribute to feelings of social isolation and loneliness, both of which are known risk factors for emotional and physical illness.
The Microsleep: When Sleep Is Dangerous
One of the most serious symptoms of sleep debt is a microsleep, an episode of unintentional sleep lasting from a fraction of a second to as long as thirty seconds or more.
A microsleep is not a deep sleep, but a brief lapse into stage one of sleep, which is a transition stage between being asleep and awake. Though this stage is light, it is still sleep. Relax your muscles.
Eyes close or become heavy. The heart rate and breathing speed slow down. A microsleep often happens at inopportune moments, when a person is trying to stay alert. Someone who has the sensation of jerking awake after a few seconds may have just experienced a microsleep.Microsleep Episode
A microsleep episode is often characterized by:
- Slumping or falling over while sitting
- Bobbing the head
- Unintentional closing the eyes
- A car accident or near-miss
- Loss of muscle control
A microsleep episode signals that a sleep debt is building and causing significant physiological changes. These are changes we cant see, and often dont feel.
What causes microsleep episodes? The process starts deep inside our brains, with a biological clock located in the almond-sized hypothalamus. The hypothalamus contains cells that are meant to keep us awake while others promote sleep. These cells start to send signals that overlap when we are sleeping deprived. The sleep state crosses with the awake state, causing fatigue, confusion, and involuntary episodes of microsleep.
When your eyes begin to close and your chin drops toward your chest, staying awake just lost the battle – at least for a few moments – with falling asleep.
Not only are these episodes uncomfortable, they can be dangerous or even fatal if they occur while working, driving, or operating machinery. Microsleep episodes can be prevented by getting enough rest, taking breaks at the office, not driving while tired, and treating sleep disorders like insomnia and sleep apnea.
Sleep need
The words sleep need refer to the amount of sleep a person should have each night to feel fully rested.
Acute Vs. Acute Vs. Chronic Sleep Debt: They Are The Same, But Different
Though we may experience similar feelings of exhaustion and lack of focus when we go without sleep, all sleep loss is not the same.You can lose your sleep in two ways: chronically or acutely.. Each case is different and the body will react differently.
Acute sleep loss is a brief period of being awake that lasts from a few hours after bedtime to an extended period of time. Chronic sleep loss is sleep loss that accumulates over time, usually as a series of weeks or months without sufficient rest.
The initial physiological effects of sleep deprivation are the same in both cases, and usually involve the increase or decrease of hormones and chemicals in the body.Chemicals that increase during sleep deprivation include:
- Catecholamines and cortisol, substances involved in the fight or flight response
- Ghrelin, which boosts appetite
- TNF-alpha is a protein that promotes inflammation as a response to injury or stress.
These chemicals are known to decrease in sleep deprivation.:
- Also known as the sleep hormone, melatonin is also known.
- Leptin, which controls appetite
- Testosterone, a hormone essential to both male and female sex drive
Short-Term Sleep Debt: The High Cost Of One All-Nighter
The short-term effect of these changes on the body are likely to be increased physiological stress, irritability, and a decreased ability to sleep. Mood swings and a feeling that you are weak or deficient in some areas of the body are both common. Increased hunger. The capacity to learn and concentrate is disrupted. Even after a few hours of sleep, the risk of injury and accident increases.
There is increasing evidence to suggest thateven one sleepless night can have a lasting negative impact. Our circadian rhythm doesn’t depend on one clock. It is controlled by many biological clocks distributed throughout our muscles and fat tissue. One sleepless night can cause lasting damage to these cells, disrupting glucose metabolism and fat storage for months or even years afterward.
Long-Term Sleep Debt: A Debt That Can’t Be Repaid
As sleep debt increases, so does damage to the brain and body. These effects are cumulative and hard to reverse.If a night of insufficient sleep is extended into a week, or month, then the risk of developing diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, cancer, and other serious conditions like cancer, hypertension, and heart disease increases..
And sleep debt accumulated when were young may last for life. Too many late-night study sessions or parties may result in a degenerative brain disorder such as dementia.
Effects of sleeping debt
The immune system is sensitive to sleep debt and responds to stress with dramatic decreases in killer cells. A small amount of sleep loss can lead to a decrease in the number of disease-fighting cells. This increases the risk of developing viral illnesses, bacterial infections and even cancer. And the evidence is more than just anecdotal.Multiple studies have shown that cancer rates are significantly higher in night shift workers and others subjected to interrupted sleep and chronic sleep loss.
FAQ
?????????????What is CSS?
A:CSS is a common initialism in sleep science. It stands for chronic short rest.
Sleep Debt And Libido
Lack of sleep can have far-reaching effects that may not always appear to be slumber-related. Libido is influenced by sleep for several reasons, most notably the drop in testosterone that occurs when the body is stressed by inadequate rest.
After a long night of sleeplessness, testosterone, which is vital to both male and female sexual drive, experiences a significant drop.. One study found that a mere five-hour sleep cut led to a 15% decrease in testosterone levels in young healthy men. Testosterone increases throughout the night and for as long as sleep continues. A good amount of REM sleep is necessary to maintain a stable and healthy level. A lack of sleep can also lead to the production of cortisol, a stress hormone that reduces testosterone levels.
The problem of dwindling testosterone can be compounded later in life, a time when sleep patterns often change or become interrupted. Sleep deprivation can also cause a decline in testosterone as we age. This can adversely affect our libido, energy, and libido.
Sleep Debt And Exercise
If youve ever exercised after a sleepless night, you may have experienced feelings of weakness, heaviness, and muscle soreness. Your muscles might have stopped using glycogen as fuel when you exercise, even though there was enough glycogen.
You may feel tired and unable to exercise due to the effects of sleep debt.. This may be due in part to lowered levels of human growth hormone (or HGH), which can plummet on sleepless nights. The body’s tissues and muscles are maintained healthy by the release of human growth hormone (or HGH) during sleep and exercise. It is essential for maintaining muscle strength, cognitive function, and healthy weight.
Not only does sleep affect exercise, but exercise affects sleep. The more we sleep, the more likely we are to reap the benefits of exercise, and the more we exercise, the more likely we are to sleep well. Exercise is a proven therapy for sleep disorders such as sleep apnea and obesity. It can lower blood pressure and regulate blood sugar and metabolism.
Exercise can reduce anxiety and stress, which leads to better sleep quality.
In addition, exercising in the morning and afternoon can regulate sleep and wake cycles by raising body temperature. The drop in body temperature a few hours after exercise can help trigger sleepiness, and help people who toss and turn in bed to fall asleep more quickly.
Calculator For Sleep Debt
Knowing how much sleep we need is the first step to eliminating a sleep debt. Many people don’t remember what it’s like to be able to sleep for as long as they need or to wake up without any alarm or disruption.
How do we calculate how much sleepweve lost and how much we need? You need to know how many hours each night you will sleep to feel alert and rested. You may need eight hours but get only seven, or even less.To calculate your sleep debt, add up the number of sleep hours lost every week. This is the number of hours you will need to sleep each week.
You may be surprised at how many sleep hours you are losing each week. The monthly and yearly numbers can be even more alarming. Your annual sleep loss will rise to 547 hours if you lose an average of ninety minutes each night. This loss may be compensated by the body increasing fat storage, decreasing insulin sensitivity, and decreasing ability to learn or concentrate.
Repaying Your Sleep Debt
How do you deal with sleep deprivation, no matter how long it lasts? The answer is simple: Sleep. While we may not be in a position to repay all of the debt, we can still get the sleep we need.
Spending seven to nine hours in bed each night after a long period without sufficient sleep may feel strange. It is possible to be surprised at how much sleep we require during recovery.When we are trying to recover from a sleeping debt, our normal sleep patterns may be disrupted.. The stages of deep, restorative sleep last longer, while the stages of light sleep that occur just before and after wakefulness are shorter.
Although we can recover most of our cognitive functions after an acute sleep debt, it may take some time to overcome the physical and mental effects of chronic sleep debt. Some effects can be irreversible or may last for years.
Sleep debt recovery may best be accomplished with good sleep hygieneThis includes:
- Dark, cool, and quiet sleeping environment
- Consistency.
Every day, you should go to bed and wake up at the exact same time.
Many people sacrifice sleep to demanding work schedules, family obligations, or childrens activities. It can feel difficult to find time for sleep on days that are busy from early morning until late at night. It can help reduce the time spent on other non-essential pursuits, such as TV watching, and make healthy sleep a priority in the home.
A sleep debt is one debt best repaid by not owing it at all. Even a brief period of sleeplessness has powerful and potentially long-lasting effects on brain cells, mood, and metabolism. Avoiding a sleep debt requires an understanding of the importance of sleep and prioritizing sleep as an essential aspect of health.
References
- Uncovering Residual Effects of Chronic Sleep Loss on Human Performance. PubMed Central, Jan. 13, 2010
- Nir Y et al. Selective Neuronal Lapses Precede Human Cognitive Lapses Following Sleep Deprivation. PubMed National Center for Biotechnology Information
- Moderate Sleep Deprivation Produces Impairments in Cognitive and Motor Performance Equivalent to Legally Prescribed Levels of Alcohol Intoxication. PubMed Central
- Losing Neutrality: The Neural Basis of Impaired Emotional Control Without Sleep. Journal of Neuroscience, 23 Sept. 2015
- Yoo, Seung-Schik, Matthew Walker. The Human Emotional Mind Without Sleep – A Prefrontal Amygdala Disconnect
- McGinty D and Szymusiak R. Hypothalamic Regulations of Sleep and Arousal. PubMed National Center for Biotechnology Information
- Driver Performance in the Moments Surrounding Microsleep. PubMed Central, Mar.
1, 2010
