Scientific American has an article on “sleep debt” and whether you can catch up on that sleep you lost due to working late, lying awake worrying about something, or just partying a little too hard and often (“Can You Catch Up on Lost Sleep?”).

Sleep deficit creeps up on many of us. Every time we lose some sleep, we add to the deficit. Most of it isn’t spectacular, like “pulling an all-nighter” to finish some critical piece of work, but it is cumulative. According to this article:

“People accumulate sleep debt surreptitiously,” says psychiatrist William C. Dement, founder of the Stanford University Sleep Clinic. Studies show that such short-term sleep deprivation leads to a foggy brain, worsened vision, impaired driving, and trouble remembering. Long-term effects include obesity, insulin resistance, and heart disease. And most Americans suffer from chronic deprivation.

The good news? You can redeem the debt, but you won’t do so by sleeping in an hour or so at the weekend. It may take several months to get back into a natural sleep rhythm:

For the chronically sleep deprived, take it easy for a few months to get back into a natural sleep pattern, says Lawrence J. Epstein, medical director of the Harvard-affiliated Sleep HealthCenters.

Go to bed when you are tired, and allow your body to wake you in the morning (no alarm clock allowed). You may find yourself catatonic in the beginning of the recovery cycle: Expect to bank upward of ten hours shut-eye per night. As the days pass, however, the amount of time sleeping will gradually decrease.

Still, the improved health, capabilities and long-term resistance to many common but serious diseases are surely worth the effort.

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