How long does it take to recover from sleep deprivation?
Do you work late nights during the week, forgoing sleep saying you’ll ‘catch up’ on the weekend? Or maybe you spend your nights caught in a Netflix trap that keeps you glued to your screen until the early hours. If this sounds like you, you’re certainly not alone.
Unfortunately, the effects of sleep deprivation are underappreciated as a society. We pay endless attention to diet, exercise, hydration and more, yet one of the most critical elements for human health (which is also free!) goes unmentioned.
Sleep deprivation can accumulate and go unnoticed for days, weeks or even months. Many of us mask our sleep deprivation with a cup of freshly brewed caffeine daily, or more. Over time, the effects of this can become detrimental.
Lack of sleep and fatalities
Although it’s not necessarily a lack of sleep that will kill you, it’s certainly the catalyst for many incidents. Lack of attention, or drowsiness beyond control which translates into micro-sleeps leads to hundreds of deaths in Australia each year. By not addressing sleep deficiency, people put not only themselves but others at risk too.
In a now famous study dating back to 1964, an American high school student, Randy Gardner, kept himself awake for 11 days. Although he was largely able to function through the duration of this time, researchers observed changes to mood and concentration. Randy also suffered periods of paranoia and hallucinations.
It’s difficult to conclude what long-term effects self induced sleep deprivation may have. Generally, most individuals would not be able to forgo sleep for this period of time which is why to this day not many studies have been conducted in this space.
If you are suffering from sleep deprivation, you may notice both physical and psychological symptoms. Let’s take a look at some of the common symptoms you may experience.
Sleep deprivation symptoms
Sleep deprivation can affect you in a similar way to intoxication. In fact, researchers found that being awake for 20 to 25 hours may affect your performance and focus as if you had a blood alcohol level of 0.10 percent - double the legal driving limit! This sheds light on why we see so many road accidents associated with fatigue.
Many people may have pulled an all-nighter in their life, and chances are the next day all you could think about was sleep. Over time, the body begins to behave in different ways given a lack of sleep. Let’s see how the symptoms develop.
After 24 hours
You may begin to register symptoms including:
Drowsiness
Difficulty concentrating
Brain fog
Changes in mood
Shakiness or tense muscles
After 36 hours
You may begin to register symptoms including:
Intense drowsiness
Mumbled speech
Cognitive difficulty
Shortened attention span
Lack of motivation
Patchy memory
After 48 hours
You may begin to register symptoms including:
Behavioural changes
Impaired memory
Poor decision-making
Slow reaction time
Difficulty retaining new information
After 72 hours
You may begin to register symptoms including:
Frequent microsleeps
Illusions
Disordered thinking
Extreme fatigue
What is sleep debt?
You’re probably beginning to wonder how sleep deprivation accumulates… most of us wouldn’t stay awake for days at a time, but many have shortened sleep consistently. So the question becomes: Can you make up missed sleep the next night, or later in the week?
The short answer is yes. But, that’s if we’re talking about a single poor night’s sleep in isolation. Sleep debt or sleep deficit is the cumulative effect of not getting enough sleep. Sleep debt essentially accumulates over time to a point where you develop chronic feelings of fatigue or drowsiness. Catching up might appear easy, but studies suggest it can take four day to recover from one hour of lost sleep, so one can imagine how this compounds over time.
Can you sleep too much?
It may seem like a good idea to sleep as much as you can, when you can, to make up your sleep debt. However, the most important thing when it comes to sleep is perhaps consistency. You’re best getting your recommended amount of sleep on a regular basis, rather than shorter nights and longer nights sporadically. Inconsistent sleep habits may increase your risk of:
Weight gain
Anxiety
Depression
Diabetes
Heart disease
Memory problems
See our blog on how much sleep you need to determine what’s best for you.
If you do need to catch up on some lost sleep, you could try:
Taking a 20 minute power nap in the afternoon - but be strict with it
Sleeping in on the weekends no longer than two hours past your normal wake up time
Sleep 15 minutes earlier every night until you reach your desired bedtime
Lifestyle tips for better sleep
There are many considerations as part of your lifestyle which can improve your chances of getting a good night's sleep. Again, when engaged in consistently these lifestyle changes could drastically improve the quality of your sleep:
Ensure your bedroom is dark and cool
Keep electronics in a separate room, and stop using them at least two hours before sleeping
Don’t consume cafe in the afternoon or evening
Ensure you exercise at least three hours before bedtime
Avoid excess napping
Need more tips for a good night's sleep? Check out our blog.
If you’re experiencing persistent disruptions to your sleep, consult with a pharmacist or trusted medical professional to discuss possible solutions.
Any advice provided in this content is of a general nature and does not take into account your objectives, health or needs. The information in this post is not intended to substitute medical advice, diagnosis or treatment and should not be exclusively relied on to diagnose or manage a medical condition. You need to consider the appropriateness of any information or general advice we give you, having regard to your personal situation, before acting on our advice or purchasing any over-the-counter sleep product.