Morpheus is not a businessman. In fact, he is more resentful than we thought. Until now, we believed that sleep was like a balance sheet. A few hours of lost sleep could be made up the next day. The debt could be paid off. Under this logic, many of us have spent our lives sleeping little from Monday to Friday and “recovering” hours by sleeping 10 or 11 hours on weekends. Well, science now tells us that we were completely wrong.
The “sleep bank” is costing us our health
Stress, routine, TikTok… everything around us is costing us hours of sleep. During the week, it is rare for adults to get the 8 hours of sleep recommended by health professionals. This lack of sleep is also more noticeable in young people and children, who sleep less and have poorer quality rest.
Historically, popular belief told us that lost sleep could be made up. Like that nice teacher you had at school who gave you several make-up exams during the school year so you wouldn’t have to spend the summer studying their subject. Well, according to the World Health Organization, the “sleep bank” is a myth. It doesn’t exist. Our bodies don’t work like a bank. And this irregular pattern of rest is taking a toll on our health.
Understanding sleep
The time we spend asleep is not just a period when we are inactive. During that time, our body restores itself neurologically and metabolically. While we dream, our brain eliminates accumulated toxins. At the same time, we store memories and regulate key hormones for our metabolism, such as cortisol, which is linked to stress.
Sleep is good for us, there is no doubt about that. But it is important to have regular sleep patterns. According to studies, when we voluntarily reduce our hours of sleep during the week, these neurological and metabolic processes are disrupted.
This is where scientific evidence debunks the myth. Even if we manage to sleep a few extra hours on Saturday and Sunday, the metabolic damage caused during the week will not be repaired. You can sleep more, but it will not repair the damage caused by the previous five days.
However, when we “catch up on sleep,” our feeling of tiredness decreases. Recent scientific studies do not refute this. But our brain chemistry takes a different path. In addition, researchers have discovered a new “final boss” that destroys our rest. And it’s what they’ve called “social jet lag.”
Would you be happier if days had 27 hours?
If your answer to that question is yes, we have bad news for you. You are already affected by social jet lag. According to experts, this phenomenon occurs when there is a discrepancy between our biological clock (i.e., circadian cycles) and our social schedules (work, leisure activities, etc.).
If you sleep only 5 hours during the week and get up at 6 a.m., but on weekends you get up at 11 a.m., your body experiences a phenomenon similar to jet lag every week. It’s as if every Friday you traveled from New York to London while you slept, returning on Monday.
The World Health Organization has already established that sleep deprivation is a public health epidemic in industrialized countries. It links it directly to an increase in rates of cancer, Alzheimer’s, obesity, and diabetes.
The experts’ warning is clear. This sleep pattern is not sustainable. It affects our metabolism and damages our health. Not only because of the sleep itself, but because by altering the hours we spend in bed, we also change our exposure to sunlight and the times we eat. By eating at odd hours, our bodies lose their natural ability to process blood glucose and open the door to obesity and the dreaded type 2 diabetes.