Table of Contents
How long can you survive with poor sleep?
The longest recorded time without sleep is approximately 264 hours, or just over 11 consecutive days. Although it’s unclear exactly how long humans can survive without sleep, it isn’t long before the effects of sleep deprivation start to show. After only three or four nights without sleep, you can start to hallucinate. Long periods without sleep are associated with cognitive difficulties, and can produce psychological symptoms ranging from mood changes to psychotic experiences such as hallucinations (3, 4). After 24 hours without sleep, you’re cognitively impaired. In fact, at just 17 hours without sleep, your judgment, memory, and hand-eye coordination skills are all suffering. At this point, irritability has likely set in. There is a persistent myth in popular media claiming we can’t catch up on a lack of sleep. However, significant evidence suggests we can in fact recover from the effects of acute sleep debt by getting extra sleep. If you skip a night’s sleep, your mental function and mood will significantly decline the next day. According to the CDC, being awake for 18 hours causes a similar mental impairment as having a blood alcohol content of 0.05 percent, and being awake for 24 hours is equivalent to 0.10 percent. Sleep deprivation leaves your brain exhausted, so it can’t perform its duties as well. You may also find it more difficult to concentrate or learn new things. The signals your body sends may also be delayed, decreasing your coordination and increasing your risk for accidents.
How long will it take me to recover from sleep deprivation?
While sleeping in for a morning or two may help, it’s often not enough. Research has shown that it can take up to four days to recover from one hour of lost sleep and up to nine days to eliminate sleep debt. Insomnia is considered chronic if a person has trouble falling asleep or staying asleep at least three nights per week for three months or longer. Some people with chronic insomnia have a long history of difficulty sleeping. Sleep deprivation significantly impairs a range of cognitive and brain function, particularly episodic memory and the underlying hippocampal function. However, it remains controversial whether one or two nights of recovery sleep following sleep deprivation fully restores brain and cognitive function. A psychologist or psychiatrist can offer counseling or behavioral therapy to help treat your insomnia. They can also treat other mental health conditions that might be causing your sleep problems. While stress, depression, an erratic sleeping schedule, physical illness, and discomfort can all lead to insomnia, some vitamins can contribute to it. In particular, vitamins B6, B12, C, D, and E can improve or lower your sleep quality and duration.
How long does it take to recover from sleep deprivation?
It can take days or weeks to recover from a bout of sleep deprivation. Just 1 hour of sleep loss requires 4 days to recover. The longer you’ve been awake, the longer it will take to get back on track. Vital Information: In a person who is sleep-deprived, one part of the brain shuts down while other parts will kick in to help compensate. Regardless of the brain’s attempt to overcome sleep deprivation, a sleep-deprived person cannot perform mental tasks as well as someone who is well-rested. The 15 minute rule This helps with associating your bed with sleep and has been found to be one of the most effective strategies to address long-term sleep difficulties. If, after 15 minutes, you find that you are not asleep, don’t stay in bed. if you’re still awake after another 15 minutes, get up again and repeat. Exercise boosts the effect of natural sleep hormones such as melatonin. A study in the journal Sleep found that postmenopausal women who exercised for about three-and-a-half hours a week had an easier time falling asleep than women who exercised less often. Just watch the timing of your workouts.