The Sleep Debt

It’s exam week. Your friends want to go out after you’ve been studying all day, so you tell yourself it’ll be an early night. Before you know it, it’s 5 a.m. and you’re just getting home. You wake up three hours later just to take your 8:30 exam— running on two hours of sleep (or three, if you’re lucky). 

Win or lose, you’ll do it again the next day. 

Our culture glorifies the early morning routine, getting up at 5 a.m., working out for two hours, going to class or work all day, and likely not going to sleep again until midnight. While this may seem harmless, in reality, you’re working your body overtime and giving it no time to rest. 

Gradually, you build up a sleep debt. Sleep debt, or a sleep deficit, is the amount of sleep you lose over time when you don’t get enough rest each night. Studies show that most adults should be getting seven to nine hours of sleep nightly, and if it’s consistently less than that, your body will slowly start to fall back. 

This debt causes more harm than you’d think. Not only does it increase fatigue, which cancels out productivity, but it can also lead to serious health problems that, over time, can become detrimental to your overall well-being. 

The risks are getting younger and younger, and the long-term effects are more serious than many realize. As students, we have to be especially conscious of our sleep debt. Missing your regular bedtime by even 30 minutes each night can cause that debt to accumulate quickly. 

Paying off sleep debt doesn’t just help your body function— it improves your mindset. A tired body yields a tired mind, making it nearly impossible to stay focused, manage your responsibilities, or maintain emotional stability. Sleep deprivation increases the risk of anxiety, depression, metabolic issues, and weakened immunity. 

We can’t control a lot of things that affect our future, but one thing we can control is our sleep. By establishing healthy habits now, we’re investing in our long-term well-being. 

In a fast-paced culture that rewards a quick turnaround, there’s rarely space left for rest. Maybe society would rethink productivity if rest were seen as essential rather than optional. 

Rest shouldn’t be considered a reward we earn only after finishing everything else— likely the other way around. By establishing a routine that actually works for you, you can begin to repay sleep debt just like you would pay off an overdue credit card balance. 

A WebMD article titled “What Is Sleep Debt?” explains that in building a healthy nighttime routine, you also have to be mindful of your daytime habits: get enough physical activity throughout the day to feel tired at night, avoid caffeine past sunset, and use your bed solely for sleeping— not scrolling or studying. 

So, fix your sleep schedule. Start paying off your sleep debt now, for the promise of a healthier lifestyle later.

Strike Out,

Elise Archer

Boca Raton

Elise Archer is a Content Writer for Strike Magazine Boca. She has a passion for everything creative- and she’s a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. If you can’t reach her, she’s either busy shopping, lost somewhere, or writing. But if you would like to: elisearcher111@gmail.com or on Instagram @elisearcherr