Sleep Deprivation: Symptoms, Effects and How to Recover (UK)

How much sleep do you need?

Most adults need 7 to 9 hours a night. A consensus statement from US sleep experts recommends at least 7 hours a night for adults to support good health. Some people need a little more or less, but very few people function well on under 6 hours long term, even if they feel used to it.

Teenagers need more, around 8 to 10 hours. Older adults often sleep more lightly but still need about 7 to 8 hours. Use our sleep calculator to plan your bedtime.

Symptoms of sleep deprivation

• Feeling sleepy and yawning during the day
• Falling asleep within minutes of sitting down, or nodding off in front of the TV
• Irritability and a short temper. See why am I so irritable?
• Low mood or anxiety
• Poor concentration and memory. See brain fog
• Slower reactions and clumsiness
• Craving sugary, high-calorie food. See sugar cravings
• Relying on caffeine to get through the day. See coffee crash
• Catching colds more often
• Microsleeps: losing a few seconds without realising

Effects of sleep deprivation

The effects add up. In a 2003 study, people limited to 6 hours a night for two weeks showed thinking and reaction deficits similar to those after one or two nights of no sleep at all, yet they rated themselves as only slightly sleepy. In other words, you get used to feeling tired, but your brain doesn’t get used to the lack of sleep. A 2010 review also found that regularly sleeping too little was linked with a higher risk of dying early.

How long can you go without sleep?

After 24 hours awake, most people have clear problems with focus, mood and coordination. After 36 to 48 hours, microsleeps become hard to resist and some people experience confusion and hallucinations. Going without sleep for longer than this is dangerous and shouldn’t be attempted. If you haven’t slept for days, see a GP or call NHS 111.

Common causes of sleep deprivation

• Lifestyle: late nights, screens, long working hours. See revenge bedtime procrastination.
• Stress and anxiety keeping you awake. See anxiety at night.
• Insomnia. See insomnia.
• Shift work. See shift work and sleep.
• New parents and caring responsibilities.
• Sleep apnoea or snoring. See how to stop snoring.
• Pain, menopause, night sweats or needing the toilet at night. See night sweats.
• Caffeine and alcohol.

Sleep deprivation and new parents

Broken nights are part of life with a baby, and for many parents sleep deprivation is the hardest part of the early months. You can’t always get more sleep, but you can make the most of what you get:

• Sleep or rest when the baby sleeps, at least once a day, rather than catching up on chores.
• Take turns with a partner for night feeds or early mornings, so each of you gets one longer stretch of sleep.
• Accept offers of help with meals, washing or a walk with the baby.
• Go to bed early on the nights you can.
• Keep night feeds calm and dim so it’s easier to get back to sleep.
• Be careful about driving when you’re very tired.

iFeeling low, anxious or unable to cope for more than two weeks after having a baby could be postnatal depression, which affects mums and dads. Speak to your health visitor, midwife or GP. See low mood vs depression.

How to recover from sleep deprivation

1. Add extra sleep gradually. Go to bed 30 to 60 minutes earlier for a week or two rather than one huge lie-in.
2. Keep a steady wake time, so your body clock stays on track.
3. Nap wisely. 10 to 20 minutes before 3pm. See power naps.
4. Get morning daylight to reset your body clock.
5. Cut caffeine after about 2pm and limit alcohol.
6. Build a wind-down routine. See how to fall asleep fast and how to sleep better.
7. Fix the cause, such as stress, snoring or screens in the bedroom.

Most people feel noticeably better within a few days to a couple of weeks of consistent, good sleep. Expect to still feel the effects of a long run of poor sleep for a while. See why do I wake up tired?

An evening drink can be a cue for your wind-down routine. Our Magnesium Glycinate Sleep Complex is a berry bedtime drink with magnesium bisglycinate, citrate and L-theanine, and magnesium contributes to a reduction of tiredness and fatigue. Some people add our Sleep CBD Oil, with passion flower, to their evening routine. The FSA’s 10mg a day figure for CBD is precautionary advice rather than a legal limit, set while longer-term safety research continues. At Evopure we think it is a very cautious figure, and many adults use more. If you go above it, increase slowly, and check with your GP or pharmacist first if you take any medication.

When to see a GP

See a GP if poor sleep has lasted for weeks and is affecting your daily life, you feel very sleepy during the day despite enough time in bed, you snore loudly or stop breathing in your sleep, or you’ve fallen asleep at the wheel. The NHS treats long-term insomnia mainly with CBT for insomnia (CBT-I), not sleeping pills.

Related guides

• How to wake up early without cutting your sleep.
• Why tiredness triggers emotional eating.
• Lack of sleep is also a common trigger for sleepwalking in adults and children.
• Jet lag symptoms and how long they last.
• Why poor sleep can mean a morning headache.
• Sleep talking and what triggers it.
• A tracker can help you spot a pattern of short sleep. See how accurate sleep trackers are.
• Dark circles under eyes: causes and what helps.
• Can you go too far the other way? See is sleeping too much bad for you.
• Eye twitching, one of the most common signs of being short on sleep.
• Being overtired is one of the biggest triggers for night terrors, in children and adults.
• Poor sleep also lowers your pain threshold; see why you might be aching all over.
• Too little sleep is one of the common triggers for sleep paralysis, when you wake but briefly can’t move.
• Poor sleep and widespread pain can feed each other, as in fibromyalgia.
• After a late night out, our hangover cure guide explains why short sleep makes a hangover worse.
• Does lack of sleep cause dementia?
• Thinking about a supplement? Read magnesium for sleep: which type, how much and when for an honest look at the evidence.
• Heavy eyelids and tired eyes.
• To work out a bedtime that gives you enough hours, see what time you should go to bed.
• Read how digital CBT for insomnia with Sleepio works and what the trials found.
• Thinking about sleep aids? Read can you buy melatonin in the UK before ordering anything online.
• Even one short night can deepen the post-lunch dip the next day.
• Getting enough hours but still exhausted? Read why you might be so tired all the time.
• Being overtired makes hypnic jerks more likely: see why you jolt awake when falling asleep.
• Feeling run down is on the NHS list of mouth ulcer triggers, alongside stress and anxiety.