Sleep deprivation: What can I do about it?

What is sleep deprivation?

As the word suggests, sleep deprivation simply means not getting enough sleep. The average person sleeps 6 to 8 hours per night. If you miss out on 6 hours of sleep occasionally, it’s not that serious. 

However, even after one night of insufficient sleep, you may already start to feel its effects. If you consistently sleep less than 6 hours per night, the consequences can be significant.

You can also experience sleep deprivation even if you’re getting enough hours of sleep. In this case, sleep deprivation is usually caused by poor-quality sleep. The quantity in hours may be there, but the quality of sleep is lacking.

Chronic sleep deprivation

Everyone has the occasional night of less sleep. When this happens once in a while, it’s not considered chronic sleep deprivation. It only becomes chronic when the lack of sleep persists for a longer period of time. 

In this case, you accumulate what is called a sleep debt. As you continue to have poor sleep for several nights in a row, the deficit grows larger, making it harder to recover from the lack of sleep.

Causes of sleep deprivation

The most common cause of sleep deprivation is simply not getting enough sleep. But why aren’t you sleeping enough? There can be many reasons, including stress, caffeine consumption, medication, and dietary habits.

Sleep disorders such as sleep apnea or hormonal changes, like those during pregnancy, can also cause sleep deprivation. If you suffer from pain, such as muscle or joint pain or back problems, it can also make sleep more difficult, leading to a lack of sleep.

Sleep deprivation isn’t always caused by too little sleep. It can also result from poor-quality sleep. In this case, you may not be getting fewer hours of sleep, but the quality of your sleep is inadequate.

This often depends on the depth of your sleep. If you’re not getting enough deep sleep, your overall rest will be affected.

Finally, a disrupted sleep schedule can also cause insufficient sleep. If you work irregular hours or night shifts, this disruption to your sleep pattern can result in sleep deprivation.

Effects of sleep deprivation

A lack of sleep can cause a range of problems. In the short term, you may feel drowsy, irritable, experience poor concentration, and appear tired, with symptoms such as pale skin and bags under the eyes.

In the long term, the symptoms of sleep deprivation can be even worse. For instance, your blood pressure may increase after prolonged sleep deprivation.

This can lead to various issues such as headaches, restlessness, nausea, and shortness of breath. Prolonged sleep deprivation can even cause hallucinations, where you see things that aren’t there, which can interfere with your daily life and be quite frightening.

Additionally, long-term sleep deprivation increases the risk of obesity, which brings further health risks, such as a higher likelihood of developing diabetes.

Finally, sleep deprivation can lead to depression. A lack of sleep affects both your physical and mental health. Many people who suffer from long-term sleep deprivation feel down. This can be temporary or lead to more serious depression.

How to recover from sleep deprivation

To address sleep deprivation, you first need to identify the underlying cause. Do you sleep poorly due to physical discomfort? Then the solution may lie in addressing those issues.

Are you kept awake by a snoring partner? In that case, it’s important to address the issue to resolve your sleep deprivation. Always try to identify the root cause of your sleep problem, as this will make it easier to find an effective solution.

Sleeping in on the weekend? It may feel good, but it’s not the most effective way to catch up on lost sleep. According to research by sleep expert Alexandros Vgontzas from Pennsylvania, you can’t fix long-term sleep deprivation by simply sleeping longer on the weekends.

He advises going to bed earlier instead of staying in bed longer. Deep sleep plays a crucial role in recovering from sleep deprivation, and it occurs earlier in the sleep cycle rather than later.

By going to bed earlier, you enter deep sleep sooner, and it lasts longer. This is particularly beneficial if you’re suffering from sleep deprivation.

The expert recommends that those with long-term sleep deprivation should consistently go to bed earlier. While you can enjoy sleeping in occasionally on the weekends, adjusting your bedtime earlier is the most effective way to tackle sleep deprivation.