Weekly Sleep Debt Calculator: Track and Improve Your Sleep

What is Sleep Debt?

Sleep debt is the cumulative effect of not getting enough sleep. Like financial debt, it accumulates over time and must eventually be "repaid." Every hour of sleep you miss adds to your debt, and chronic sleep deprivation compounds the effects.

CDC Sleep Recommendations by Age

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Sleep Foundation recommend the following sleep durations:

• Young Adults (18-25): 7-9 hours per night
• Adults (26-64): 7-9 hours per night
• Older Adults (65+): 7-8 hours per night

Consistently sleeping less than the recommended amount creates sleep debt, which has serious health consequences.

Sources: CDC, National Sleep Foundation, American Academy of Sleep Medicine

Health Consequences of Chronic Sleep Debt

Research published in peer-reviewed medical journals demonstrates that chronic sleep deprivation (sleeping less than 7 hours per night regularly) significantly increases health risks:

Cardiovascular Disease: A meta-analysis in the European Heart Journal found that sleeping less than 6 hours per night increases heart disease risk by 48% and stroke risk by 15% compared to those sleeping 7-8 hours.

Type 2 Diabetes: The Diabetes Care journal reports that sleeping less than 6 hours per night is associated with a 28% increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, likely due to impaired glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity.

Obesity: Sleep deprivation disrupts hormones that regulate hunger (ghrelin and leptin). Studies show people who sleep less than 6 hours are 30% more likely to become obese.

Immune Function: Research in Sleep journal found that people sleeping less than 7 hours are 3 times more likely to catch colds compared to those sleeping 8+ hours. Chronic sleep debt impairs immune response and increases infection susceptibility.

Mental Health: The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry reports strong links between chronic sleep debt and depression, anxiety disorders, and cognitive decline. Sleep debt impairs emotional regulation and stress response.

Mortality: A comprehensive study tracking over 1 million people for 25 years found that sleeping less than 6 hours per night increases all-cause mortality risk by 12%.

Sources: European Heart Journal, Diabetes Care, Sleep journal, Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, CDC, NIH

Can You "Catch Up" on Sleep?

Partially, yes—but it's not perfect. Research shows:

• Acute sleep debt (1-2 nights) can be recovered by sleeping extra over the next few nights
• Chronic sleep debt (weeks/months) takes much longer to repay and some effects may be irreversible
• "Weekend catch-up sleep" helps but doesn't fully compensate for weekday deprivation
• You can't "bank" sleep before a period of deprivation—your body doesn't work that way

Source: American Journal of Physiology, Sleep Research Society