You May be Sleep Deprived if you...
Use an alarm clock in order to wake up on time
Rely on the snooze button
Have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning
Feel sluggish in the afternoon
Get sleepy in meetings, lectures, or warm rooms
Get drowsy after heavy meals or when driving
Need to nap to get through the day
Fall asleep while watching TV or relaxing in the evening
Feel the need to sleep in on weekends
Fall asleep within five minutes of going to bed
While you can’t pay off sleep debt in a night or even a weekend, with a little effort and planning, you can get back on track.
Aim for at least 7.5 hours of sleep every night. Make sure you don’t fall farther in debt by blocking off enough time for sleep each night. Consistency is the key.
Settle short-term sleep debt with an extra hour or two per night. If you lost 10 hours of sleep, pay the debt back in nightly one or two-hour installments.
Keep a sleep diary. Record when you go to bed, when you get up, your total hours of sleep, and how you feel during the day. As you keep track of your sleep, you’ll discover your natural patterns and get to know your sleep needs.
Take a sleep vacation to pay off a long-term sleep debt. Pick a two-week period when you have a flexible schedule. Go to bed at the same time every night and allow yourself to sleep until you wake up naturally. No alarm clocks! If you continue to keep the same bedtime and wake up naturally, you’ll eventually dig your way out of debt and arrive at the sleep schedule that’s ideal for you.
Make sleep a priority. Just as you schedule time for work and other commitments, you should schedule enough time for sleep. Instead of cutting back on sleep in order to tackle the rest of your daily tasks, put sleep at the top of your to-do list.
Average Sleep Needs Age Hours
Infants (3 months to 1 year)
Preschoolers (3 to 5 years)
School-aged children (5 to 12 years)
Teens and preteens (12 to 18 years)
