Getting adequate restful sleep regularly is an essential component of overall health. It’s beneficial in helping to improve your energy levels and immune health and supporting cognitive function. Lack of quality sleep can disrupt your daily activities, like driving and work, and impact your health. Chronic sleep debt can increase your risk for health issues like diabetes, high blood pressure, and a weakened immune system. The good news, though, is that you can recover from a sleep deficit, but getting the quality sleep you need to begin with is always best. Let's dig a little deeper into sleep debt, what it is, its consequences, and fixing and recovering from it.
Sleep debt, also called sleep deficit, is the difference between the quantity of sleep you need and the quantity you get, according to an article in "Sleep Advances: A Journal of the Sleep Research Society."
For instance, if your body needs eight hours of sleep per night, but you get only four, you have built up four hours of sleep debt. Your sleep deficit can add up, even if you are going to sleep 20 minutes less than you normally do for a couple of days. Sleep debt is real and it’s cumulative, which means that if you regularly get less sleep than you need, your sleep debt will increase.
Americans need roughly 7- 8 hours of sleep per night to feel rested the next day. Factors such as long work hours, an increase in electronics use, and school responsibilities are some of the main reasons more than half of the American population falls short of getting enough sleep.
If you are an adrenal fatigue sufferer, getting good quality sleep is already a challenging issue by itself. The stress of chronic fatigue, plus chronic sleep loss only serves to elevate levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Your body will likely go into overdrive, burdening your adrenals, in an attempt to restore balance.
Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome (AFS) is the non-Addison's form of adrenal dysfunction, where the body's stress response cannot keep up with life's chronic stressors. Some AFS sufferers experience spikes in cortisol during the late afternoon and evening, which usually leads to insomnia.
For those with AFS, the Neuroaffect Circuit of the NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) Stress Response, which comprises the brain, autonomic nervous system, and microbiome, can experience dysregulation during the later stages of AFS. This circuit helps to regulate stress, and in the advanced stages of AFS, the brain, gut, and nervous system all try to regulate mood and stress.
However, inflammation of the GI tract, an overload of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, and over-activation of the autonomic nervous system can occur. An imbalance in your Neuroaffect Circuit, for instance, can lead to an imbalance in your neurotransmitters, which can affect the information being sent to your brain. Subsequently, it affects the regulation of circadian rhythms.
Consequently, symptoms such as sleep maintenance insomnia and sleep onset insomnia can result, impacting your health significantly. Dysregulation in the autonomic nervous system tends to cause sleep onset insomnia in AFS. High levels of norepinephrine and epinephrine in the body make achieving quality sleep challenging. This happens because the body is overwhelmed with stress hormones from the day and unable to calm down sufficiently to fall asleep. Persistent fatigue and stress connected to sleep disruptions can overwork your adrenals. Restoring balance to your Neuroaffect Circuit by addressing AFS can help to alleviate excessive daytime sleepiness.
There are several measures that you can take to improve sleep quality and prevent sleep debt, including:
Having a bedtime or evening routine that is consistent (e.g., shower, read a book, etc.) can signal to your brain and body to begin winding down for the night. Avoid anything that might be keeping you up too late.You may consider talking to your healthcare provider if these measures do not help, or if you experience other sleep issues, such as narcolepsy. Furthermore, seek medical advice if you experience chronic sleep debt, since you may need to develop long-term changes beyond the above recommendations.
Habitual sleep debt can increase your risk for various health issues, such as:
Note that you may not always feel fatigued, tired, or sleepy with accumulated sleep debt, although your body is exhibiting serious declines in both physical and mental performance. However, if you get adequate sleep, which is important for your health, you can begin to reverse the increased risk of developing the above health issues.
Sleep debt can last for a single night or weeks, months, or even years. Severe sleep deprivation or sleep deficit that has lasted a long time can take several nights, a week, or more of adequate quality sleep for an individual to recover. In a study published in the journal "PLOS ONE" that examined changes in functioning associated with sleep loss among adults, findings suggest that sleep deprivation takes a prolonged toll on functionality. Furthermore, researchers concluded that catch-up sleep is not an efficient way to counteract sleep restriction, since participants did not easily recover from these sleep deficits —even after extra “make-up” sleep.
Losing sleep can be unavoidable, but there are other times when you simply make poor choices that create sleep debt. However, you can recover from sleep debt, and it often requires a solid plan. These strategies may help.
You can start by taking a nap if you are experiencing sleep deprivation. Having a quick 10 to 20-minute nap may assist you in feeling more refreshed throughout the day. A mid-afternoon nap increases your working memory, learning, and mental sharpness for a couple of hours. Also, naps are beneficial because they reduce fatigue and sleepiness and boost energy. Furthermore, it will allow you to take on different tasks throughout the day. However, napping should not be your primary solution to make up for lost sleep because they may interfere with your sleep schedule.
You may also want to consider sleeping in on the weekends to make up for lost sleep. However, experts are unsure if sleeping in compensates for sleep debt or if it’s simply beneficial in helping your body get back into its normal sleep patterns. Also, it’s not clear how much sleeping in is needed to make up for sleep deficit. Additionally, sleeping in on weekends does not reverse the potential health risks associated with regular sleep loss, like metabolic dysregulation and possible weight gain.
According to some research, napping and sleeping in by themselves on weekends may not be adequate for recovering from sleep debt, even if they help with fatigue and daytime sleepiness. Accumulated sleep loss is a debt that takes longer to repay. Also, it can take up to four days to recover from just one hour of sleep loss and up to nine days to eliminate sleep debt. One study’s findings published in "PLOS ONE" indicate that a week of recovery after prolonged periods of sleep restriction is insufficient to recover fully. A full recovery from sleep deficit can require more time for optimal cognitive function.
As such, you may want to reassess your relationship with sleep to recover and avoid creating sleep debt all over again. Quality sleep can be thought of as a measure to prevent and reduce illness and boost overall health and well-being.
Set aside time in your schedule for sleep. Also, set your bedtime and wake-up alarm at the same times each day, including on weekends. By being consistent with your sleep schedule, you help to resync your circadian rhythms.
Having this diary can assist you in tracking your sleep habits and identifying patterns, activities, or practices that are impacting your sleep.
Give yourself time to recover from sleep debt. Since it can take days to recover from a sleep deficit, this means that you’ll increase your sleep time gradually. This can be 15 to 30 minutes at a time until you achieve the optimal level of sleep that your body needs.
If you find that sleep debt is disrupting your daytime activities or that you are experiencing challenges recovering, talk with your doctor. Your doctor can identify underlying sleep disorders, such as insomnia, and offer tailored tips to enhance your sleep.
It's important to know the amount of sleep that your body requires and boost your sleep hygiene. The amount of sleep that is ideal for you may not be right for someone else. You may need six to eight hours to avoid sleep debt while someone else may need five to seven hours.
Certain supplements can help to improve your sleep so that you can function optimally the next day, especially if you suffer from adrenal weaknesses. Adrenal Sleep is one supplement that supports restorative sleep and is packed with essential vitamins, including melatonin and 5-HTP, calming amino acids, and vital minerals like GABA, L-theanine, and magnesium. It helps your body to unwind and you transition into a calm and soothing sleep mode, allowing you to wake up feeling rejuvenated.
Another supplement, Adrenal Stay Asleep, combines magnesium, passionflower, GABA, 5-HTP, melatonin, taurine, chromium, vitamin B-6, and niacin to create a supplement that promotes deep, restorative sleep patterns. You’ll wake up feeling well-rested and rejuvenated.
Sleep debt can have serious health consequences if you don’t do anything about it. Deep sleep can be elusive in this fast-paced society. However, sleep deficit can be reversed by making simple changes that can improve your sleeping hygiene and sleep pattern. This can take time, however, so it is important to start prioritizing sleep now.
If these methods don't provide relief, it might be time to seek professional help. Dr. Lam's Adrenal Fatigue Recovery Program offers a comprehensive solution that addresses sleep issues and the broader spectrum of adrenal fatigue symptoms. With a focus on natural recovery through diet, meditation, exercise, and supplementation, this program provides a definitive step-by-step guide to conquering adrenal fatigue without the need for doctor visits, costly tests, or prescriptions.
Dr. Lam, who has personally overcome adrenal fatigue and assisted thousands of others in their recovery journey, has distilled his expertise into this educational program. By learning from his experiences and avoiding common pitfalls, you can accelerate your path to optimal health and vitality. To explore how Dr. Lam's program can help you reclaim your energy and vitality, contact his team at +1 (626) 571-1234 today.
Adrenal Sleep is a packed with essential vitamins and supports restorative sleep.
Adrenal Stay Asleep combines essential nutrients to promote deep, peaceful slumber.
Guzzetti, Jacob R., and Siobhan Banks. "Dynamics of Recovery Sleep from Chronic Sleep Restriction." Sleep Advances: A Journal of the Sleep Research Society, vol. 4, no. 1, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1093/sleepadvances/zpac044.
Ochab, Jeremi K., et al. "Observing Changes in Human Functioning during Induced Sleep Deficiency and Recovery Periods." PLOS ONE, vol. 16, no. 9, 2021, p. e0255771, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0255771.
Reichenberger, David A. , et al. "Recovery Sleep Following Sleep Restriction is Insufficient to Return Elevated Daytime Heart Rate and Systolic Blood Pressure to Baseline Levels. "Psychosomatic Medicine, 2023; Publish Ahead of Print DOI: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000001229
The dangers of sleep debt include increases your risk for various health issues, such as anxiety, metabolic dysregulation/diabetes, depression, heart disease, hypertension, stroke, weight gain, reduced immune function, and memory and cognitive problems. You can recover from sleep loss by taking measures such as napping, sleeping in on weekends, having a sleep schedule, keeping a sleep diary, and increasing sleep time gradually.
Adrenal Sleep is a packed with essential vitamins and supports restorative sleep.
Adrenal Stay Asleep combines essential nutrients to promote deep, peaceful slumber.