The stress of everyday life, lack of time, work, leisure and changing schedules often mean that many people do not sleep enough to recover, something that has repercussions on health, and it is also common that they do not get enough sleep. do on a regular basis.
Some of these people try to reduce or eliminate the negative effects of habitually short sleep by regaining hours of sleep. But, How to recover hours of sleep? Is this possible? Let’s see it throughout this article.
Sleeping is a physiological process of great importance that we carry out not only human beings, but many animals. During this process, although our brain does not stop working, our brain activity and the waves it produces change, in such a way that the managing body of our body is allowed to reduce the use of energy and begin a self-repair process.
It is a vital phenomenon, in a literal sense: Sleep deprivation can trigger serious repercussions and if maintained for too long it can lead to death.
Sleep is an active and highly structured process in which cycles made up of different phases are regularly repeated, in each one different types of brain activity occur.
Specifically, we go through four phases of Non-REM sleep (of which the first two correspond to drowsiness and light sleep and the last two correspond to deep, slow wave sleep, in which rest occurs) and one of REM sleep (in which the brain has activity similar to that of wakefulness and is believed to have to do with the processing of information obtained during the day).
This process is therefore something fundamental, and carrying it out in a reduced or insufficient way causes that our body is not able to regenerate completely in such a way that different types of consequences can appear.
Among the different consequences we can find fatigue, concentration and memory problems, decreased insulin sensitivity, obesity and risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, increased risk of cardiovascular problems and even a significant reduction in life expectancy or an increase in the probability of premature death. On the other hand, excessive sleep is not good either, since it can also generate many of the problems described above.
So that, It is advisable to have a sleep schedule of between seven and eight hours with less than six and more than nine being somewhat harmful.
Recovering sleep… is it possible?
People who sleep poorly often wonder how it is possible to recover their hours of sleep. Although we will later indicate some useful practices to improve our level of energy and rest, we must keep in mind that although it may seem to us that after sleeping too much after having slept little for a while, it may seem that we wake up energetic and totally restful. In fact, science shows that the consequences of sleep deprivation persist.
It’s not that sleeping more is useless, but it is true that sleep cures allow partial recovery : Some of the lost sleep is not recovered.
Evidence of persistent consequences
The majority of studies carried out seem to show that in fact we do not fully recover those hours of sleep that we have lost. Or at least, that its consequences remain.
In people who have slept five or fewer hours a day during the week, whether or not they sleep more hours as a way to try to regain energy, it has been observed how the need for energy consumption and metabolism are altered This alteration facilitates, among other things, the appearance of obesity.
Linked to this, a greater propensity for type two diabetes has also been detected, given that insulin sensitivity is also reduced in the body.
It has also been observed that energy levels remain lower than usual after the first few hours, as well as an increase in levels of drowsiness and physical and mental fatigue Our reflexes remain reduced, as well as our ability to concentrate in a sustained manner, something that is logical if we think that we are talking about five days a week of sleeping little and only two of sleeping more.
Yes, some improvements are observed
Now, it is true that the data reflect that people who do not sleep for a long time as an attempt to recover hours see their insulin sensitivity throughout the body more altered, while in those who do recover sensitivity decreases in more specific areas. .
In addition, a recent study published in Journal of Sleep Research seems to indicate that although it may not eliminate all the adverse effects of insufficient sleep, recovering hours of sleep during the weekend does that the life expectancy of people who resort to this practice becomes equal over time to those who sleep seven hours a day
This is especially relevant when compared to people who sleep less than five hours a day and then do not catch up: the risk of premature mortality increases dramatically. Of course, the data reflect that the risk is not increased only if sleep during the weekend is prolonged.
In addition, weekend recoveries seem to help control dysregulations that lack of sleep generates at the level of blood pressure in adults, as well as reducing the risk of obesity in children (compared to the existing risk if no attempt is made to recover with a prolonged period of sleep).
How to get a restful sleep and how to try to recover hours
Both sleeping little and sleeping too much can be bad, but as a general rule the former is much more common and prevalent. We sleep little for many reasons, often due to external causes such as work schedules or internal hours such as anxiety. And it is common for this pattern to repeat itself regularly, leaving us exhausted. How to recover these lost hours of sleep or at least get rid of some of the fatigue it entails?
1. Make room for sleep in your schedule
We have already seen that sleep is necessary. Regardless of everything we have to do or whether we want to take advantage of the time, the first step is to plan a space where we can rest. It is advisable to do it daily, so that we have a healthy routine.
If we do not sleep well at night, it is advisable to eliminate possible daytime naps Now, if sleep is insufficient at night regardless of whether we take naps or not, and although naps are not the best idea to have quality sleep, they can help us recover some energy as something specific.
2. Keep a sleep log
Another useful strategy is to keep a record of how much time we sleep. We are not talking about going to bed with a stopwatch, but about count the approximate time we have slept and, if possible, the stimuli or causes that we believe may have made it difficult to maintain a normal schedule. This also serves to reflect on how to improve our schedules.
Related article: “How to make an emotions diary, step by step and with examples”
3. If you sleep little on a daily basis, take advantage of the holidays
If for various reasons it is not possible to sleep regularly, a useful practice may be to dedicate weekends and holidays to recovering energy. As we have seen previously, the hours of sleep they do not fully recover and some of the difficulties will continue to remain, but they do allow for partial recovery.
You may be interested: “Why the menstrual cycle can affect sleep”
3. No to caffeine and other stimulants
Drinking coffee, tea, energy drinks and other substances are common practices that we usually use to stay energetic. It is a useful strategy in this sense, especially if it occurs with adequate sleep schedules or in which we have sporadically slept less than normal.
However, if sleep difficulties are common, the consumption of these substances is not recommended.
Although the morning can be good to clear our mind, we should avoid them at least during the afternoon , so that fatigue can lead us to sleep naturally. This is especially relevant if the causes of lack of sleep are internal, such as anxiety, since the consumption of stimulants in that case enhances nervous activation.
You may be interested: “The 3 most important psychological effects of caffeine”
4. Prepare the environment before sleeping
It is necessary to keep in mind that there are many stimuli that can cause problems for us to sleep restfully and make it difficult to compensate for lost sleep. In this sense we must take into account that we must limit or eliminate the presence of screen lights (computers, mobile phones), try to stay in an area with a relatively constant temperature and with enough space to be able to rest comfortably.
Related article: “Tips to sleep well and beat insomnia”
5. The bed to sleep in
Another problem that can make sleeping difficult is the fact that we regularly use our bed for other activities and even for working or studying. Thus, our body will not link bed with rest but with activity , something that will make it difficult to fall asleep and recover lost hours. Let’s reserve the bed for sleeping, or at most for having relationships.
6. Exercise, but not before bed
Another strategy that can help us recover hours of sleep is to tire ourselves out by exercising. However, We should limit exercise as bedtime approaches : Exercising generates an activation of the body that will make it difficult to sleep if we do it before going to bed.
You may be interested: “The 10 psychological benefits of practicing physical exercise”
7. If you see that you are not falling asleep, do not stay in bed
Often People with insomnia and other sleeping problems usually stay in bed even if they can’t fall asleep. The truth is that the best thing to do if this doesn’t work is to get up and air out a little, avoiding stimuli such as cell phones and televisions.
If necessary we can do some simple and automatic activity, but it is not something stimulating, physically demanding or fun or it could clear us up.
8. Relaxation techniques
Practicing relaxation techniques may be helpful, especially if one of the causes of lack of sleep is anxiety.
Some of the simplest and most basic are breathing. To give an example: take a breath through your nose for five seconds, filling your stomach before your lungs, hold it for five seconds, and then exhale through your mouth, emptying your stomach and lungs for another five seconds. Repeating this for three minutes can help you relax, which can make it easier to fall asleep.
There are also many other variants, but they usually require prior training. Practices that work with muscle tension and strain can be performed, such as Jacobson’s progressive muscle relaxation.
