Sleep Debt: Do YOU owe your body sleep?

Are You Getting Enough Sleep?

Early this year in February, I remember having a conversation on the phone with a mate, Katherine. We had a discussion about beauty techniques and among them Radio Frequency treatments. The conversation somehow took a turn to the direction of health problems, and I described to her some issues about keeping awake. She then mentioned that I might be having "sleep debt".

With that piece of information, I dwelved into the world wide web and did a bit of research.

According to Wikipedia, "Sleep debt is the cumulative effect of not getting enough sleep. A large sleep debt may lead to mental and/or physical fatigue. There are two kinds of sleep debt, caused by partial sleep deprivation or total sleep deprivation. Partial sleep deprivation is when an organism sleeps too little in each 24 hours for many days or weeks."

According to Life Evolver, the Effects of Sleep Debt include:

• Daytime drowsiness
• Mood shifts, including depression, increased irritability, and loss of sense of humor
• Stress, anxiety, and loss of coping skills
• Lack of interest in socializing with others
• Weight gain
• Reduced immunity to disease and viral infection
• Feelings of lethargy
• Reduced productivity

This does not sound good. Hmm.. further too, sleep debt can only be repaid back about 1-2 hours a time, as it will disrupt a person's sleep hour cycle, and make it difficult for them to wake up in the morning. Sigh... that just means I have to sleep on time.....

Date of Entry: February 2009
Reposted: 14th Oct 2009