“Absenteeism, ‘presenteeism’ — people showing up for work really tired — car accidents, medical errors,” said Elizabeth Klerman, a Massachusetts General Hospital sleep expert and professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School. “There are adverse effects on mood, psychiatric disorders, cardiovascular disorders, increased obesity, probably cancer, definitely dementia and neurologic diseases.”
“Memory, cognitive function,” added Till Roenneberg, professor of chronobiology at Munich’s Ludwig-Maximilian University and former research associate at Harvard.
Medical help may be required in more chronic, extreme cases that stem from a sleep disorder. But for those whose problems stem from long hours at work, family obligations, or perhaps just reading, listening, or watching too late into the night there are some simpler fixes that involve better regulation of sleep habits and taking advantage of opportunities to catch up a bit on weekends, for instance. But, as is often the case with many problems rooted in behavior, the first step is acknowledging the problem.
Numerous studies have shown that most of us don’t sleep enough to be rested and that long-term deprivation carries significant health ills. But while most of us understand that adequate rest is an important factor in personal health, we still treat a good night’s sleep as a luxury — even an oddity — settling instead for what we’ve convinced ourselves is enough to “get by.”
But it’s probably not, Klerman said. What’s more likely is that we’re tired despite what we tell ourselves. Klerman and Roenneberg say the best strategy is to get enough rest each night, but for those who regularly work long days, play at night, and juggle family and other obligations, the weekends can offer an important respite, a sleep oasis to crawl toward.
“If you fall asleep the minute your head hits the pillow, you’re not getting enough sleep.”
— Elizabeth Klerman, professor of neurologyWhile catching up on lost sleep isn’t a mathematical exercise, Roenneberg said sleeping in for a couple of mornings can nonetheless be an important way to put a dent in your sleep debt.
And Klerman is certain the debt exists. Several years ago, she conducted a study at Brigham and Women’s Hospital that highlighted how, even if we sleep enough to be reasonably alert at work and not let important things slide at home, we’re still not well-rested.
Klerman and colleagues surveyed subjects on sleep habits and their beliefs about how much sleep they need. They then slept that amount each night for the week before coming to the lab. On the first day there, they were given the chance to nap five times during the day in what’s called a “multiple sleep latency test” in which each subject was given 20 minutes to fall asleep. Nearly every participant fell asleep every time, with those claiming to need the least sleep nodding off fastest.
