{"id":28426,"date":"2018-06-14T07:00:17","date_gmt":"2018-06-14T11:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/restonic.com\/sin-categorizar\/overcoming-sleep-deficit-4392"},"modified":"2023-06-15T16:15:19","modified_gmt":"2023-06-15T20:15:19","slug":"overcoming-sleep-deficit-4392","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/restonic.com\/es\/blog-es\/overcoming-sleep-deficit-4392","title":{"rendered":"Expert Advice \u2013 Sleep Deprivation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Running on Empty? Can you catch up on lost sleep? The alarming facts! <\/span><\/h2>\n

\"RunningIt may have been just a night or two when you\u2019ve slipped into bed past your usual bedtime. <\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps you stayed at a party longer than you planned, binge-watched The Crown<\/i>, or couldn\u2019t stop turning the pages of that new suspense novel everyone is raving about. <\/span><\/p>\n

It happens.<\/span><\/p>\n

But now you\u2019re stuck with a sleep deficit that\u2019s making you feel sluggish, like you\u2019re trying to walk through thick mud, and your brain feels fuzzy. What can you do to make up for that lost slumber time? We asked a few top health and sleep experts for their <\/span>best sleep advice <\/a><\/span>and found their opinions were mixed about whether you can actually \u201ccatch up\u201d on sleep at all. <\/span><\/p>\n

What our experts had to say about catching up on lost sleep\u2026 <\/span><\/h2>\n

Yes, you can make up for sleep deficit\u2014somewhat <\/span><\/b><\/h3>\n

\"Running\u201cThe general consensus is that you can somewhat pay off sleep debt within a short time frame (48 hours or so), but long term, it is deleterious to your health,\u201d says <\/span>Ellen Wermter, a family nurse practitioner with <\/span>Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine<\/a><\/span>. <\/span>\u201cIndividuals have genetic differences in how well they tolerate sleep loss, and those who are most affected are going to need longer recovery times. In general, women do not rebound from sleep loss as readily as men do. It’s genetic.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Is sleep shortage really so bad? \u201cCognitive performance is probably the most obvious deficit from lost sleep,\u201d she says, \u201cbut it also greatly impacts the endocrine system and metabolism.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, <\/span>short sleep duration <\/a><\/span>affects your ability to use glucose and can give you blood sugar levels similar to those of someone with diabetes. You have more stress hormones and inflammatory markers that occur with the activation of your autonomic nervous system \u2013 a system that’s great in an emergency, but not good when activated for longer periods. Those stress hormones cause hyper-arousal, which can cause lighter sleep and perpetuate a sleep-deprivation cycle.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cIf you need to \u2018pay-off,\u2019 a very recent debt, naps are great alternative,\u201d Wermter recommends.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sleep deficits can\u2019t be erased<\/span><\/h2>\n

Can you just catch up by sleeping in?\u00a0\u201cNo way,\u201d says Nicole Porter, a Wisconsin-based, bio-psychologist and fatigue expert. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe majority of us (more than half) exhibit independent signs of sleep deprivation already,\u201d she says. \u201cTwenty-five percent have serious fatigue. And it\u2019s affecting our work.\u00a0<\/span>Sleeping in on Sunday<\/a><\/span>, trying to make up for burning the candle at both ends is exactly how we end up with sleep deprivation and chronic fatigue.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"RunningShe points out that sleep deprivation is such a rampant problem that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) called insufficient sleep a public health concern last year. It found that a third of Americans are not getting enough sleep and many more suffer from insomnia. New research from the\u00a0National Safety Council finds 76% of us say we often feel tired at work and 43% are too tired to function. <\/span><\/p>\n

These statistics are confirmed by survey from Legal & General that found that 42% of Americans said \u2018lack of sleep\u2019 was our biggest health concern with another 34% worry about ongoing general fatigue. These rates mean fatigue can formally be defined as an epidemic. <\/span><\/p>\n

Porter is also concerned about the impact of this chronic fatigue on health: \u201cIt leads to a host of health problems, such as hypertension, obesity, ulcers, cognitive difficulties, and immune deficiencies that leave us open to infection, disease and cancer. It also causes anxiety and depression.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Sleep deprivation effects\u00a0can occur quickly and they are surprisingly similar to what booze does to your body. New research indicates 17-19 hours without\u00a0sleep is the\u00a0equivalent (or worse) than having a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of 0.05%. After a few more hours without sleep, and performance reached levels equivalent to a BAC of 0.1 percent.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cThink about that,\u201d she says. \u201cIf you\u00a0sleep 8 hours out of 24, you should be awake for 16 hours. At 17 to 19 hours awake, you exhibit signs of sleep deprivation. That\u2019s one to three hours after bedtime! It\u2019s like you\u2019ve had a few beers. You get a DUI at .08, so pretty quickly you\u2019d be basically <\/span>driving drunk<\/a><\/span>.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When it comes to tackling a deficit, it\u2019s back to the basics \u2013 good sleep hygiene, a healthy diet, managing stress, and a balance of exercise and relaxation. They\u2019re the only ways to stay energized.\u00a0There are many simple, self-healing techniques that you can begin using right now that will improve your energy levels significantly. <\/span><\/p>\n

Porter, also the founder of the Prairie Sky Sanctuary, suggests finding some solutions in Eastern medicine. They might include: practicing mindfulness, detoxing, following an organic diet, nature immersion, forest bathing and <\/span>meditation<\/a><\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s no turning back the clock to catch up on sleep<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"What\u201cThe problem with a sleep deficit is you can’t just catch up on sleep, or make it up any other time,\u201d says <\/span>Jamie Logie<\/a><\/span>, a certified health and wellness specialist, nutritionist, personal trainer and author, Taking Back Your Health. \u201cOnce you’ve neglected it for that night, you have to deal with it. It can lead to increased stress hormone levels, biological clock issues, and can even affect your body\u2019s ability to handle sugar by making you more insulin resistant.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He warns that when we don’t sleep, it puts stress on the body. \u201cOur body doesn’t know exactly why we\u2019re staying up,\u201d he explains. \u201cAll it knows is something traumatic must be happening in order to prevent us from resting and recovering. This keeps those stress hormones elevated and over time this chronic sleep deprivation and <\/span>stress\u00a0<\/a><\/span>can lead to a lot of harmful conditions in the body. <\/span><\/p>\n

The solution for sleep deprivation is straightforward. \u201cYou’ll just need to start creating a proper sleep pattern and follow it,\u201d Logie says. \u201cThat starts with having a wind-down routine as this is the best way to get in a rhythm and it allows your body to know sleep is coming.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A quick primer on sleep hygiene <\/span><\/h2>\n

When you\u2019re overcoming a sleep deficit, these are some of basic principles for creating good slumber conditions:<\/span><\/p>\n