CHARLOTTE, N.C. — We’ve all been there. You’re prepping for a big night out and worried you won’t get enough sleep beforehand.
Picture sleep like a piggy bank, if you know you’re not going to get a lot of it on Saturday, is it possible sleeping a little more the night before acts as a deposit of sorts into your sleep account to be used at a later date?
Can you actually “bank” sleep and store it for later use? Let’s verify.
THE SOURCES
THE ANSWER
Yes, it is possible to bank sleep, but experts say keeping a regular sleep schedule is actually the best way to stay fully rested.
WHAT WE FOUND
Dr. Kirsch said the concept of sleep banking was originally used by elite athletes and the military.
"But for typical people, day-to-day, it's not a great concept, in part because most people probably can't predict very well how much sleep they're gonna get at any given time," he said.
But Dr. Robinson said if you do plan ahead, sleep banking can be effective.
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"So if you know that you're gonna lose sleep one night, then maybe you add an extra 30-45 minutes or an hour of sleep of the days leading up to that so that your body is more apt to tolerate that deficit," she said.
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Make no mistake, both doctors agree that sleep banking isn't the most effective way to ensure you are adequately rested for the average person.
"So it's better than going in with insufficient sleep, and then being even more sleep deprived. but what I would say is, it's not a great practice for the average person," Kirsch said.
So what should you do if you’re up all night and don’t get enough sleep?
Kirsch said the best thing you can do is get back on your regular sleep schedule as quickly as possible.
"And by regular schedule, I mean, making sure that you're getting sufficient sleep, not just that day, but the next several days as well," Kirsch said.
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