Why catching up on sleep doesn't work

Did you just enjoy a long weekend break? If so, did you try to catch up on sleep?

Many of us live busy lives and in our efforts to fit more in, we usually sacrifice something else in our lives, and quite often this is sleep.

Sleep is an essential biological function that enables your body and mind to rest and recharge. For most healthy adults, the recommended amount of sleep is between 7 and 9 hours a night. Studies indicate that, despite popular belief, habitual short sleepers (those regularly sleeping less than 7 hours a night) do not require less sleep than other adults, but instead they gradually accumulate sleep debt over time.

If we don’t get enough quality sleep consistently over time, we not only put our physical health at risk but also our mental health. Apart from an increased risk of diseases such as Type 2 diabetes and overweight/obesity, there are other consequences of not getting enough sleep, such as exhaustion, brain fog, and irritability. Studies involving business entrepreneurs and MBA students have also shown that getting consistent, good quality sleep is important for learning and memory, mental alertness, improved decision-making, problem-solving, and creativity. Most people are also not good at accurately judging how affected they are by chronic sleep deprivation.

Importantly, catching up on sleep does not appear to be the answer to chronic sleep deprivation. Some researchers looking at the correlation between sleep, and reaction times and attention, found that “following chronic, mild to moderate sleep restriction…, 3 days of recovery sleep did not restore performance to baseline levels” (Belenky et al., 2003).

So even 3 consecutive nights of normal ‘catch up’ sleep was not enough for those with chronic sleep deprivation to recover their alertness and attention. ?

So what can you do?

Consistency is key. Here are a few things you can try to get better quality, consistent sleep:

• aim to go to sleep, and wake up, at the same time every day, even on weekends
• avoid alcohol and food in the 2-3 hours before going to sleep
• avoid using electronic devices such as your mobile and tablet in the 1-2 hours before going to sleep and remove them from the bedroom (also remove the tv from your bedroom)
• aim to get at least 10-15 minutes of exposure to natural light first thing in the morning
• invest in the best quality bed lined you can afford as well as a comfortable mattress and pillows
• sleep in total darkness if you can. Use eye masks or block out shutters or curtains
• avoid caffeinated drinks after lunch as 50% of that caffeine will remain in your system 12 hours later

References:

Belenky, G., Wesensten, N. J., Thorne, D. R., Thomas, M. L., Sing, H. C., Redmond, D. P., Russo, M. B., & Balkin, T. J. (2003). Patterns of performance degradation and restoration during sleep restriction and subsequent recovery: a sleep dose‐response study.?Journal of Sleep Research,?12(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2869.2003.00337

Gish, J.J., Wagner, D. T., Grégoire, D. A., & Barnes, C. M. (2019). Sleep and entrepreneurs’ abilities to imagine and form initial beliefs about new venture ideas.?Journal of Business Venturing,?34(6), 105943–. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2019.06.004

Simpson, N., Diolombi, M., Scott-Sutherland, J., Yang, H., Bhatt, V., Gautam, S., Mullington, J., ?Haack, M. (2016). Repeating patterns of sleep restriction and recovery: Do we get used to it?, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, Volume 58, 2016, Pages 142-151, ISSN 0889-1591.?