Debunking the Myth of Sleep Compensation: Why “Catching Up” on Sleep Isn’t Real

We are dwelling in a generation of night-owls and late risers. Night strikes at 12 and morning rise after 9.  The last moment deadlines and the impossible assignments have resulted in a night culture. Sleeping post 12 and waking past noon have become the new normal. And that has resulted in a new concept called sleep compensation!

But does sleep compensation really work?

The week swoosh passes in a jiffy juggling in a mechanical life with hardly any rest or sleep. Putting the zombie mode on you drag through the week just to reach the weekend and replenish the lost sleep and energy.

Also Read: 10 health benefits of sleeping naked at night

But does sleeping long on the weekends really help to cover up the pitfall that we dug for the whole week?

Two days of the weekend cannot make it up for the five days of lost sleep. Medical evidence suggests that for optimum health an average adult should get eight hours of sleep daily.

And cutting slack on this daily 8 hours of the sleeping dose can adversely affect inflammation and our “fight or flight” stress hormones resulting in a myriad of serious health issues including obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, compromised immunity, type-2 diabetes, and stroke. 

But the more astonishing fact that has surfaced is the harm caused by oversleeping during the weekends. Research suggests that curtailing the regular sleep and overdoing it on the weekends disrupts our circadian rhythm and results in a cobra effect which further disrupts sleep and has shown poor cardiovascular health.

Also, Read Effects of Night Duty on Health

In another research, it was found that the rebound sleep could just compound these health problems. Sleep debt hikes the chances of depression, anxiety, substance use, weight gain, slow metabolism, inflammation, and memory.

How to get 8 hours of sleep every night?

The first and most important thing is to rule out the “sleep stealers”. Mobiles, games, TV etc fall into this category.

A relaxing bedtime ritual helps in getting a quick sleep. Simple practices like a warm bath, foot wash or massage can help in improving sleep quality.

Avoid heavy food at night that might cause digestion problems

Physical activities during the day have shown great improvement in night sleep.

Ayurvedic aid like STRESSCOM capsules also helps in getting quick and calm sleep.

Also, Read Benefits of Waking up in Brahmi muhurta

Conclusion

Sleep is one of the most important pillars for good health and disrupting its natural routine means inviting a myriad of health woes. It is every day’s sleep that counts and there is no way to compensate the sleep time that’s already lost.
Making lifestyle changes can help in readjusting the schedule, however, for more complicated issues like Insomnia, depression, anxiety and other sleep issues, it is advised to visit an Ayurvedic doctor for restoring health the natural way.