Sleep Debt? What is that?
We need a certain amount of sleep each night. If we lose sleep to worry, nightmares, illness, or the myriad of other events that can prevent sleep, we incur a debt. Essentially, we owe ourselves that amount of sleep and given half a chance, our bodies will reclaim it, perhaps in a movie theatre or in front of the TV. In fact, we may even repay this debt with interest.
According to Jerome M. Siegel, Director of the Siegel Lab at the UCLA Department of Psychiatry, “If we reduce our sleep for one or two hours, we will be sleepy the next day and when allowed to sleep will repay this ‘sleep debt’ by significantly increasing sleep time. Most studies of human sleep deprivation have reported that this ‘rebound’ sleep is disproportionately made up by increased amounts of slow waves during sleep.” 4.
In 2005, the National Sleep Foundation conducted a sleep survey, and found that half of all respondents (50%) report feeling tired, fatigued or not up to par during wake time at least one day a week. About 17% said this happens every day or almost every day. 5.
Where’s the harm? If we are all sleep deprived, what difference does it make? Unlike credit card debt where the banks wait for you to make a payment, with sleep debt our bodies may reclaim the sleep owed at any time.
According to Dr. William C. Dement, a leading authority on sleep, at Stanford University, “the larger the sleep debt, the stronger the tendency to fall asleep at any particular moment while we are awake.” 6. Falling asleep at the wrong moment could be embarrassing, such as during a dance recital, but it could be dangerous, such as when driving or operating heavy machinery.
In fact, some of the world’s worst disasters were caused, at least in part, by sleep deprivation. It is such a serious problem that people are beginning to rethink the long hours expected of interns at hospitals. Sleep deprivation played a significant part in the wreck of the Exxon Valdez, the crash of the space shuttle Challenger and the Chernobyl disaster, to name a few.
If you think you or someone you know may be tired more than is safe, you might like to look at the Signs of Sleepiness or contact us on info@clearwatercentre.com.au.
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