Sleep deprivation is harming our potential

Jan 14, 2022
3 min read

Ever felt that coffee intake go up and your sleep go down in certain situations in work and in life? It is a reality that we all have been skipping sleep at some point. When we get less shut-eye than we need or rather no sleep at all is called sleep deprivation.

What can sleep deprivation cause? Frequent or prolonged sleep deprivation associates with reduced cognition and response time, inflammation, weight gain, susceptibility to infection, among others. Furthermore, if this deprivation becomes sustained, our risk to get chronic disease becomes much more likely. Sleep deprivation can be divided into 5 stages -from which we will cover the first and general management in this post, and the subsequent stages in their respective posts. These stages are divided into 12-24 hour increments, with symptoms and effects worsening proportionally.

Stage 1 - after 24 hours

As of today, staying awake past 24 hours is rather common in our fast-paced society. Generally, no major problems will be caused at this stage. However, sleep deprivation for over 24 hours can be thought as a blood alcohol concentration of 0.10%. This blood alcohol concentration is higher than the limit to legally drive!

Symptoms for 24 hours sleep deprivation may include:

Irritability & anger
Feeling drowsy
Decreased alertness
Diminished capacity to deal with stress
Impaired cognition and focus
Fatigue
Reduced coordination and response time
Food cravings (we covered this on the previous post)
Puffy eyes with dark circles under our eyes

How to recover and for how long?

Sleep deprivation can be thought of as a debt that can be paid back by sleeping more. For starters, going to bed earlier and getting the sleep we should be getting for our age (check the last post).

Recovery can take days if not weeks from a stint of sleep deprivation. Just 1 hour of sleep loss by itself requires around 4 days to recover. The time it takes to recover is proportional to the amount of sleep deprivation. Depending on how much sleep we have missed, the best treatment is considered accordingly:

Keep a sleep journal

What is not measured can not be improved. Keep track of your sleep patterns, time you spend asleep each night, and ideas for improving your sleep situation.

No caffeine after noon It can take around 6 hours for caffeine to wear off. Avoid caffeine to keep it from messing with your sleep patterns past 12 pm.

Set up a pleasant sleep environment Turn off all electronics. Keep the bedroom cool around 17 °C. Use a comfortable mattress or pillow. Listen to white noise and relaxing sounds. Find some here.

Napping

Set 20-25 minute power naps. Do not extend past the 30 minute marker to not disrupt your normal sleep patterns.

Natural light exposure Exposure to natural light helps normalize our body’s production of melatonin, the hormone that regulates sleep

Get regular physical activity Set a goal for an average of 25 minutes per day. Exercising regularly will help us feel tired at night. Seek to work out around 5 hours before going to bed, to avoid this exercise to mess with your sleep pattern.

Do not drink alcohol before bed Yes, alcohol is a depressant and promotes sleepiness. However, alcohol disrupts the quality of our sleep. Quality is important for the functions of sleep to be successful.

Avoid electronic screens before bed The light from out telephone screen can stimulate melatonin production. Also avoid looking at your phone if you wake up at night. Seek to avoid using screens 45 minutes before going to bed.

Create a soothing sleep routine A soothing bedtime routine will help sleep preparedness. Include a warm bath, stretching, meditating, reflecting on the day or reading.

Follow a consistent sleep schedule Wake up and go to bed at the same time every night, even when you don’t have work. This will help your body maintain a regular schedule.

Avoid foods that disrupt sleep Some foods take a while to digest. The digestive process can keep you awake, so it’s best to avoid these foods just before bed. These include: heavy meals, fatty or fried foods, spicy meals, acidic foods and carbonated drinks. Eat your last meal at least 2-3 hours before going to bed

This was an introductory post to sleep deprivation. Hope you find this information useful and start tackling sleep deprivation today. We will take another look at different sleep deprivation stages and learning more about sleep in their respective posts in the near future.