Make up for that ‘sleep debt’
Posted March 13, 2011 1:32 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – You might feel extra groggy Monday morning after losing an extra hour of sleep this weekend thanks to Daylight Saving Time.
The average person should be getting between eight to 10 hours a night; unfortunately that’s not realistic which causes most people to develop what’s dubbed “a sleep debt.”
Gary McLaughlin with the Nanaimo Sleep Clinic says the time change is one thing, but constantly robbing your body of rest will only cause trouble. “That is we can’t fool our bodies, eventually the brain says, ‘Hold it.’ The sleep debt gets so big and that’s when we see people fall asleep at the wheel.”
He adds the debt needs to be paid back as quickly as possible. “It’s like going to the bank and taking money out, and money out, pretty soon you have to go back and put money back in.”
McLaughlin explains regardless of what life throws at us, if it’s a new baby, an emergency or hours at work fluctuate, maintaining a relatively consistent routine will help you cope.
