So, you had another deadline to meet and you clocked up another 60 hours of work! It’s been a month of similar weekly deadlines and sleep has not been your priority. You are now in a brain fog; your body feels like it’s been hit by a semi-truck and your eyes are red from endless reading and writing! Your family is wondering when you will join them for dinner or make that soccer game. The weekend is here and you say those prophetic words “I will catch up on my missed sleep”!

Studies have shown that once you miss your regular sleep time, it’s lost. There is no such thing as catching up on lost time. It’s gone for good, never to be seen of again!

According to research, less than 6 hours of sleep over a two-week period for the average adult, is considered to be sleep deprivation. The symptoms include brain fog, blurred vision, impaired driving and difficulty remembering. Obesity, insulin resistance, and heart disease are some of the nasty effects from long-term sleep deprivation. This all sounds a little dire and if studies determine the lost hours have gone into the abyss, what is one to do?

Research has also found that you cannot recover the lost snooze in one long sleep. This just adds confusion to your natural sleep rhythm. What researchers recommend is that you add an extra hour over a week or a month, if you are severely sleep deprived. Over the span of time, your sleep pattern will return to your normal, provided you don’t do further long sleepless marathons.

Go to Bed Earlier

Your body can and will adjust to bits of extra sleep until you are back to your normal. Going to bed a little earlier and letting your body naturally wake without the sound of an alarm clock will begin the adjustment. You may feel a little dazed during this period but over a short period, you will be back to your normal rhythm and natural sleep needs.

Hopefully, your bosses will understand if you take an extra hour each day to arrive to work given you gave them so much of yours. If you are a business owner, all the more reason to pace yourself. Twenty-hour work days seven days a week do not pay off for your business over the long term. Remember to add a little lounge time in your day to read some fluff in order to refresh the brain cells and to get inspired…with warmer weather now, do it outdoors!!

Want to know about new sleep technology and sleep products that will lure you back to your normal sleep routine? Ask your BrandSource Sleep Experts. We cannot do without sleep; that’s a given! Why not get something new for your bedroom to remind you of how cozy and comfortable it can be. Put down that laptop! Your oasis awaits!

Gerry, Your Sleep Expert