This Is How To Tell If You’re Actually Sleep Deprived — And Not Just Tired

There’s a point with tiredness where you go from just needing a good sleep to being almost delirious with exhaustion and the day simply doesn’t feel real.

However... is this actually sleep deprivation? Or just extreme tiredness?

According to the sleep experts at The Sleep Foundation: “Experts reserve the term sleep deprivationfor going a whole night without sleep or sleeping very little for one or two nights.

“What people often refer to as sleep deprivation in casual conversation is called “sleep insufficiency” by experts. When a person experiences sleep insufficiency, they either sleep for a shorter amount of time than their body requires to stay healthy or have low-quality sleep due to sleep disruptions.”

Symptoms of sleep deprivation

According to the Better Health Channel, symptoms of sleep deprivation can be found in both how you sleep and how you act in your day-to-day life. 

If you find that you fall asleep when you don’t intend to, such as when reading, or quickly as soon as you go to bed, you may be experiencing sleep deprivation. It can also cause you to sleep for long hours at the weekend and take frequent naps. 

Sleep deprivation can also make you struggle to concentrate, to feel motivated, have disorganised thoughtds and even process information at  a slower pace. You may find that you feel depressed, anxious, paranoid or generally low, too. 

How to treat sleep deprivation

If you are experiencing symptoms that correlate with sleep deprivation, it’s essential that you make an appointment with your GP as soon as possible.

Additionally, the NHS advises doing the following:

• go to bed and wake up at the same time every day

• relax at least 1 hour before bed, for example, take a bath or read a book

• make sure your bedroom is dark and quiet – use curtains, blinds, an eye mask or ear plugs if needed

• exercise regularly during the day

• make sure your mattress, pillows and covers are comfortable

Help and support:

• Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
• Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI - this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
• CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
• The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
• Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.