When you don’t get enough sleep you simply can’t function well, even with a weekend of recovery sleep. And, though both men and women are affected, women come out a bit ahead in being able to recover. That’s what Dr. Alexandros Vgontzas, professor of psychiatry and endowed chair in sleep disorders medicine at Penn State College of Medicine reported in a research abstract presentation at the SLEEP 2011 Meeting in Minneapolis last week.
Results from the research showed that cognitive function decreased significantly for both men and women when they were restricted to six hours per night of sleep for a week. And, performance did not improve after two nights of recovery sleep. While performance suffered, sleepiness did improve after two nights of sleep recovery. So, trying to catch up on sleep over the weekend after a busy workweek just might not help how we respond, think, solve problems. Hmmmm.
The study also found significant gender differences. Compared to men, women were found to have less subjective sleepiness and less performance deterioration during sleep restriction. And, they showed greater improvements after recovery, or two nights of extra sleep. What? Why?
According to Vgontzas, “In women, but not in men, deep sleep appeared to have a protective effect. Women with a high amount of deep sleep can handle better the effects of one workweek of mild sleep deprivation, and their recovery is more complete after two nights of extended sleep.”
But what is deep sleep? According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, “Slow wave sleep, or deep sleep, is one of the sleep stages that make up a sleep cycle. Each complete cycle lasts about 90 to 110 minutes. Most adults go through four to six cycles in a full night of sleep. During slow wave sleep, there is an increase in high amplitude, slow wave brain activity.”
Wow. No matter what, getting your ZZZZZZZs is important to stay at the top of your game.
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