So although I’m a sleep expert, unfortunately that doesn’t make me immune to the havoc that life events can wreak on sleep health. My usual healthy 8.3 hour average sleep which leaves me energetic and sharp all day has plummeted to a mere 6.5 hours over the last week. I’m not alarmed, as identifiable events are interfering with my sleep, and I know that once those settle down my sleep will easily bounce back. Today I’m feeling the effects of acute sleep deprivation, a perfect chance for a blog post.

During acute sleep deprivation, people can feel a variety of somatic symptoms, like stomach or head aches. Others may feel dizzy or have difficulty concentrating. And of course there are performance decrements which we’ve discussed previously, and health problems too.

For me, today, the sleep loss is making me feel slightly dizzy, ravenously hungry for sugar (which is more difficult to resist than usual), my eyes feel irritated, and I’ve been making errors like hitting the wrong elevator button, and feel I need to work extra hard to pay attention while driving. My temperature control also seems to be off.

Now 6.5 hours of sleep nightly for 5 nights is not bad for many people. About 30% of American workers report getting less than 6 hours on work nights. What I wonder is whether people who are habitually sleep deprived get accustomed to the feelings of sleep debt, so that it becomes their normal? Granted I’m not a good person to say, both because I spend more time thinking about sleep than average, and because I’m usually well-rested, so can really notice the effects of sleep debt.

Today and the rest of the week I’ll keep my healthy sleep habits in place, and not worry about it, knowing my sleep will get back on track in a day or two. Until then, sugar anyone?