Making Up for Lost Sleep
CHETRY: Well, it's time now for your "AM House Call," stories about your health. And if you're among the millions of Americans bleary-eyed this morning because you didn't get enough sleep, we understand. There's also a new research about whether you can make up for it by boosting the amount of sleep that you get on the weekends or your days off.</s>ROBERTS: So, does any of this help? Our Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now. And Elizabeth, can we really catch up on lost sleep?</s>ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: John, I bet you two have done this. You worked so much during the week, you have crazy hours, and you try to make up for it on the weekend. Well, in this study, what researchers did is they took 150 normal, healthy adults, put them in a lab, and forced them to get just four hours of sleep a night for five nights, trying to simulate a workweek. And then on that sixth night, they were allowed to sleep more. They could get between two and 10 extra hours of recovery sleep. And then they gave them cognitive tests to see if that recovery sleep helped compensate for the lack of sleep during the previous five days. And you know what? To a great extent, it did. When they got the recovery sleep, they did much better on cognitive tests than if they hadn't had the recovery sleep. So, yes, to some extent, it really is possible to make up for that crazy sleepless workweek -- John, Kiran.</s>CHETRY: Hey, that's good news. It doesn't always feel like you are making up for it, but hey, any little bit helps. So does it mean that -- let's say you sleep four hours one night, then you make up for it later by sleeping longer. I mean, long term, is that really the way to go?</s>COHEN: You know what? Long term it really doesn't work. While people did better than if they hadn't had the recovery sleep, on the cognitive tests they didn't do as well if they had eight hours of sleep a night. So, it helps to do that recovery sleep, but it certainly isn't as good as getting a regular night's sleep every single night.</s>ROBERTS: Yes. I have seen some studies where they looked at college students, and one night of sleep deprivation affected test scores for as long as five or six days afterward. So, if you're trying to make sleep a priority, what can you do to make sure you sleep well? Because we all have problems with this. You know, you wake up three or four times during the night, you're worried about things. Got some tips for us?</s>COHEN: Right. I think there are some routine things that we all know by now -- a glass of warm milk might help before you go to bed. If you're tossing and turning for more than 20 minutes, just get up and go read a book, or do something relaxing. But here's one that I think people don't know about. And that is, before you go to bed, put the cell phone down. Stop texting, stop reading e-mails. It gets your brain going to do all that. Just put it down, do something relaxing before you go to bed. Those e-mails and those texts can wait until the next day.</s>CHETRY: I hear you. Why is it though that sometimes when you sleep way longer than you're used to, you wake up and you just have a headache, you just feel -- you don't feel quite right?</s>COHEN: I know. I felt that way, too. I know what you mean. I think maybe what happens is your body is just not used to it, and so you are kind of a little bit groggy. Your body perhaps is in a bit of a state of shock to get that much sleep at one time if you're not used to it.</s>CHETRY: Right. It's also used to being caffeinated four hours earlier.</s>COHEN: Right. That could be it, too.</s>ROBERTS: Isn't that amazing, that your body is in shock when you get sleep? What a statement in our society these days.</s>CHETRY: It is.</s>ROBERTS: Elizabeth, great to see you this morning. Thanks.</s>COHEN: Thanks.</s>CHETRY: All right. Well, we're going to take a quick break. Your top stories coming your way in just two minutes.</s>QUEEN NOOR, REFUGEES INTERNATIONAL: I'm Queen Noor. And we can make an impact for refugees around the world. I have lived and worked with refugees in Jordan and in the Middle East. As a trustee of Refugees International, I am trying to strengthen our ability to act on behalf of those who have been displaced from their homes, and that they return home as soon as possible. Join the movement, "Impact Your World," CNN.com/impact.