Should I sleep in after insomnia?

Many people treat sleep like a bank account: withdrawing an hour at the beginning of the week and adding an hour at the end to balance it out. But it takes four consecutive days of sleep to make up for one hour of sleep lost, says Cathy Goldstein, MD, associate professor of neurology at the University of Michigan Sleep Disorders Center. Otherwise, the sleep debt will continue to accumulate over time.

Occasional late nights or early mornings do not have much of an impact on health, but Ms. Goldstein asserts that chronic sleep deprivation not only leads to fatigue, reduced productivity at work, studying, and physical activity, but also disrupts the biological clock.

Normally, the body produces the hormone melatonin around 9pm and remains at a high level before gradually decreasing in the morning. Your body clock will work properly if you can sleep and wake up at the same time.

Small changes in the biological clock can have serious consequences. According toTime, this phenomenon has been noted in night shift workers with a risk of cancer, cognitive decline, and even premature death. Furthermore, another study estimated the impact of losing one hour of sleep is equivalent to eating 200 more calories the next day.

If you feel tired due to lack of sleep, Ms. Goldsetin recommends taking a nap during the day because light plays an important role in keeping the body clock stable. Previous studies have concluded that napping increases the ability to concentrate as well as promotes creativity in the brain. The National Sleep Foundation in the US suggests that the ideal nap time is 20 minutes.