We recently changed the clocks again, and getting out of bed may feel harder than usual: Research has shown the sudden shift can be disruptive to sleep.
But for many adults in the United States, sleep deprivation is a year-round problem that can affect both physical and mental health. Research suggests that chronic poor sleep raises your risk of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and metabolic issues, and can make you more prone to infections. Some long-term studies have also linked a lack of sleep to depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders. Getting enough sleep, on the other hand, can reduce stress, sharpen attention, and even bolster our immune systems.
You don’t need to miss out on a lot of sleep every night to experience negative health effects. If a person is consistently getting even 15 minutes less sleep than they need to function well, experts said, that can be considered sleep deprivation.
How common is sleep deprivation?
Ideally, adults should aim for seven to nine hours of sleep every night, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Yet, about 1 in 3 U.S. adults logs less than seven hours of sleep a day. Studies suggest that insufficient sleep has become more common in recent decades, in part because Americans work longer hours and spend more time on blue-light-generating computers and phones which can affect their ability to sleep. Blue light, like the sun’s rays, sets off brain receptors that are designed to keep us awake.
“As we become more and more plugged in, this becomes more and more of an issue,” said Dr. Charlene Gamaldo, a professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Generally speaking, experts consider someone sleep-deprived if that person gets less sleep than needed or not enough quality sleep for several days a week over several months, Gamaldo said. Not sleeping enough within the ideal window for your biological clock — for most people, that is between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., but it can vary — can result in lower-quality rest, causing sleep deprivation, she said.
Certain medical conditions, including sleep apnea and insomnia, can also lead to sleep deprivation.
What’s the difference between drowsiness and deprivation?
Without a medical evaluation, it can be tricky to distinguish sleep deprivation and some of its causes from plain sleepiness, experts said.
If you’re just underslept, you might feel like putting your head down on your desk at work or find yourself nodding off while watching television at night. You might feel more irritable, too. But this typically goes away after the next night of good sleep you have. An occasional night of poor sleep is not a cause for concern, Gamaldo said.
If you’re sleep-deprived, the need to sleep can feel more urgent. And a more prolonged lack of sleep can result in more severe consequences. You might have trouble with concentration and short-term memory, which affects work performance. Persistent irritability could lead to conflicts in relationships. You might also drift off more frequently or at risky moments, such as when driving.
One way to gauge whether you’re sleep-deprived is to tally up how much sleep you get on days you don’t have work or other responsibilities, such as on the weekend or vacation, said Dr. Eric Olson, a sleep specialist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. (Sleeping in like this can be hard for some people, including parents, experts said.) That might give you a sense of how much sleep you need, and whether your normal sleep schedule might be falling short.
If you’re sleeping enough but still feel chronically tired, a doctor might recommend a sleep test using an electroencephalogram, or EEG, to detect disruptions that might be affecting the quality of your sleep.
What can help?
It depends on what’s causing your poor sleep. For patients with insomnia, cognitive behavioral therapy can help. People with sleep apnea might benefit from using a CPAP machine, as well as exercising regularly and avoiding caffeine and alcohol.
Whatever the cause, experts recommend against using over-the-counter sleep aids, which might mask a person’s sleep problem, rather than eliminate it.
Prescription sleeping pills can help people struggling with occasional sleeplessness, but they aren’t recommended for daily use, Olson said. He and other experts also warned against using benzodiazepines, which are sometimes prescribed for sleep but can be addictive, or relying on antihistamines to help you doze off.
Dr. Sarah Lou Clever, an internist at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, suggested starting with behavioral strategies. Trading the blue light of your cellphone for a book can help calm your brain instead of reactivating it at bedtime, she said. Stretching and light exercise before bed can improve both the quality and duration of sleep. Some research suggests that meditation can help reduce symptoms of insomnia and fatigue.
Clever also advises patients to budget adequate time for sleep but acknowledges that even she finds it difficult.
“Sleep is one of those things that people need to prioritize for it to happen,” she said.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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