Real or Myth: Catching Up on Lost Sleep

The worst has happened – a full week of poor sleeping, and now an eternity of grogginess, bad memory, and short attention-span awaits you. Alas, there is a solution. We’ve all heard of catching up on lost sleep before, but is there actually any substance to the concept of making up for those lost hours with more sleep? Experts on Sleep Wellness say that it is absolutely possible to repay “sleep debt,” but it won’t happen from snoozing an entire day away after a week of sleep deprivation.

The best way to catch up on sleep is to gradually start sleeping more each night. Your body’s restorative functions will slowly begin to catch up with the amount of stress you’ve been experiencing, and you’ll start to settle into a sleep schedule that is healthy for you. A great way to ensure that you’re allowing to your body to catch-up on sleep on the weekends is to go to bed without setting an alarm for the following morning. This will help you determine your natural sleep cycle, allowing you to then plan your bedtime accordingly in the future to ensure a full night’s rest each and every night.