Sleep debt, or the amount of sleep that people lose over repeated periods of time, has become an increasing concern for students and workers. Though there are still uncertainties regarding what aspects of sleep are the most vital for neurological function and feelings of restfulness, it is found that length of recovery sleep, sleep schedule history, and sleep intensity are essential to obtain optimal behavioral and cognitive function, as well as physical health.
Chronic sleep restriction during weekdays followed by longer periods of sleep on the weekends cannot fully regain full physical and cognitive function. A study conducted by Dinges et al. monitored cognitive performance and subjective measures of wakefulness for participants who only slept for 5 hours a night over 7 days, followed by one night with 10 hours of sleep. They found that neurobehavioral deficits (reported mood, feelings of sleepiness, and cognitive test outcomes) did not completely recover from the baselines after one day of recovery sleep.
Moreover, participants in following studies with severe amounts of sleep debt stopped reporting decreased feelings of sleepiness even though cognitive function continued to get worse. These findings are particularly worrisome, as they indicate that there are many people who are not aware of the severity of their sleep debt and will not take corrective measures to mitigate its negative effects. Our current habits of catching up on sleep during weekends may not be sufficient to achieve baseline academic or workplace performance.
Cognitive function continues to worsen with increased sleep debt, even if the decline goes unnoticed.
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For individuals who work night shifts or are unable to prevent periods of extended sleep restriction, there are still ways to mitigate sleep debt’s negative effects. “Banking” sleep is a term referring to getting longer periods of sleep before known restrictions, and can actually help workers maintain cognitive performance for longer than individuals who did not “stock up.” For employees who work night shifts, a study by Mollicone et al. suggests that sleep benefits are based on the overall amount of time spent sleeping per 24 hours. So, workers still benefit when they are able to take naps throughout the day, which can help them recover faster once they are able to get extended periods of sleep again. Though sleep debt is pervasive throughout our society, banking sleep, napping to supplement shorter sleep periods, or minimizing cyclic sleeping patterns (i.e. saving some work for weekends to sleep for longer during the week) can help people feel more rested, avoid accidents, and improve productivity.
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