Should I go to school with 5 hours of sleep?
Up late studying, or a new parent? Sometimes life calls and we don't get enough sleep. But five hours of sleep out of a 24-hour day isn't enough, especially in the long term. According to a 2018 study of more than 10,000 people, the body's ability to function declines if sleep isn't in the seven- to eight-hour range.
Children and adolescents who do not get enough sleep have a higher risk for many health problems, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, poor mental health, and injuries. They are also more likely to have attention and behavior problems, which can contribute to poor academic performance in school.
Insufficient sleep means not getting enough sleep at night, which can cause several problems including decreased brain development, learning problems and more frequent negative emotions. It can also contribute to weight management problems, growth issues and increased frequency of illnesses.
The sleep you need versus the sleep you get
According to the National Sleep Foundation, high school students (ages 14-17) need about eight to 10 hours of sleep each night. For young adults (ages 18 to 25), the range is need between seven and nine hours.
You may be able to do it for a few days, but eventually, the lack of rest will catch up with you. Keep reading to find out why it isn't possible to feel rested after getting only 4 hours of sleep per night over a long period.
In a word: Don't. "We only study people who are naturally short sleepers, who were born this way," says Fu. "When you don't sleep, your immune system is weaker. You're much more likely to get sick."
Unfortunately, a night without sleep will affect your academic performance. Many studies show that college students who pull all-nighters have lower GPAs than those who get regular sleep, reports the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
Bad absences are absences when you stay home because you don't feel good, you are tired, your clothes don't match..... These are classified as Unexcused. These types of reasons are not considered "excused" and students are expected to come to school anyway then seek help with the problem at school.
Sleep deprivation decreases daytime alertness.
Losing just 1.5 hours of sleep in one night could make you up to 32% less alert the next day. Students will likely find it harder to pay attention in class or concentrate on lessons if they aren't getting a full night's sleep.
The body releases the sleep hormone melatonin later at night in teens than in kids and adults. This resets the body's internal sleep clock so that teens fall asleep later at night and wake up later in the morning. Most teens just aren't sleepy enough for bed before 11 p.m.
Does sleeping late affect height?
A single night of no sleep will not stunt growth. But over the long term, a person's growth may be affected by not getting the full amount of sleep. That's because growth hormone is normally released during sleep.
| Age Group | Recommended Hours of Sleep Per Day | |
|---|---|---|
| Newborn | 0–3 months | 14–17 hours (National Sleep Foundation)1 No recommendation (American Academy of Sleep Medicine)2 |
| School Age | 6–12 years | 9–12 hours per 24 hours2 |
| Teen | 13–18 years | 8–10 hours per 24 hours2 |
| Adult | 18–60 years | 7 or more hours per night3 |
For those whose sleep was tracked at age 50, people who slept five hours or less a night faced a 30% higher risk that they would develop multiple chronic diseases over time than those who slept at least seven hours a night. At 60, it was a 32% increased risk, and at 70, it was a 40% greater risk.
A study examined the relationship between sleep and weight in 21,469 adults over the age of 20. The people who slept less than 5 hours each night over the course of the three-year study were more likely to gain weight and eventually become obese. Those who slept between 7 and 8 hours fared better on the scale.
National Sleep Foundation guidelines. See Full Reference advise that healthy adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night.
We do not recommend sleeping for only one hour at night. Some research suggests that lost sleep can take years off your life and that you may not be able to catch up on the lost hours of rest.
Elon Musk says he is "fairly nocturnal" and only sleeps about 6 hours a day. He told The Full Send podcast he usually goes to bed about 3 a.m. and gets up around 9 a.m. The Tesla CEO says he has a "bad habit" of immediately checking his phone after waking up.
The longest recorded time without sleep is approximately 264 hours, or just over 11 consecutive days. Although it's unclear exactly how long humans can survive without sleep, it isn't long before the effects of sleep deprivation start to show. After only three or four nights without sleep, you can start to hallucinate.
Multiple factors can cause or contribute to sleep deprivation including poor sleep hygiene, lifestyle choices, work obligations, sleep disorders, and other medical conditions. Sleep deprivation is often driven by voluntary choices that reduce available sleep time.
This is because our brain is constantly forming new connections while we are awake. The longer we are awake, the more active our minds become. Scientists believe that this is partly why sleep deprivation has been shown to reduce symptoms of depression. However, there are negative outcomes of this, too.
Will one all-nighter hurt?
Even one night of lost sleep causes a suite of physiological disturbances, which can include: Changes in immune function that promote inflammation. Metabolic changes in the way sugar is processed, leading to a pre-diabetic state, where blood sugar levels remain elevated.
Sleeping between 90 and 110 minutes gives your body time to complete one full sleep cycle and can minimize grogginess when you wake. But any sleep is better than not at all — even if it's a 20-minute nap.
What's an all-nighter? An all-nighter is defined as a single night of total sleep deprivation. That is, 0 hours of sleep. It's a fairly common practice for students, particularly in college.
The good news? You can function on 5 hours of sleep, but that shouldn't be your norm. Some people, appropriately called short sleepers, just don't need a lot of sleep. In fact, they're at their max with less than 6 hours a night.
Sleeping 5 hours or fewer every night could put you at risk of multiple chronic diseases: study. A new study using data that spans 25 years has found that getting just five hours of sleep or fewer every night is associated with a higher likelihood of being diagnosed with multiple chronic diseases.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers less than seven hours per night to be short sleep. See Full Reference , which means for most people, six hours of sleep is not enough.
If you're experiencing chronic insomnia and you repeatedly feel unable to work because of sleepiness then it's perfectly justifiable to take sick leave. Your employer may expect you to be actively seeking treatment for you sleep problems or for the medical conditions that may be disturbing you sleep.