Sleep debt is a real thing. And many of our patients experience this during the school year when they stay up too late studying, attending sports events, working on school projects, etc. on weeknights.
The good news is, if you find yourself getting fewer than the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep per night on school/work nights, you can make up that debt on weekends. One University of Chicago study followed a group of student volunteers who slept only four hours per night for six consecutive days. All the changes they experienced during that period of sleep deprivation were reversed when the students made up the hours of sleep they’d lost.
So, if you missed three or four hours of sleep over the course of the week, then add three or four extra sleep hours on the weekend to repay your sleep debt for the week.