The more you sleep in, the less efficient your sleep might become - which is bad news for the next early-morning study session you wanted to get in.
Sleeping late can reduce sleep efficiency because time in bed increases and the circadian rhythm is disrupted Numerous studies show that consistent sleeping and waking schedules are important for keeping the circadian rhythm regulated." One such study, published in the journal Scientific Reports in 2017, found that the more consistent your sleeping patterns are, the better your academic performance will be.
Sleep is considered efficient when at least 85% of time in bed is spent asleep, and inefficient when less than 85% is spent asleep. " Sleep efficiency is the percentage of time spent asleep while in bed. "Sleeping an extra hour can also lower sleep efficiency, which can cause similar effects to sleep deprivation," MacDowell says. This can throw off the next night and the next, and it can be tough to reset your brain and get back on track. When it comes time to wind down and get ready for bed, you'll find that you have more energy than usual, and you'll likely end up staying awake later as a result. "Sleeping late can lower the sleep drive and make falling asleep the next night more difficult," MacDowell tells Bustle. In other words, hitting snooze on Monday might make you a lot more likely to throw your alarm against the wall on Tuesday (and Wednesday, etc.). That might be a good thing if you're super tired, but it can wreak havoc on your attempts to form a consistent schedule. While you might quickly forget your wide-eyed panic when you slept past your alarm, your brain will remember getting an extra hour of sleep. "Research shows that the timing of sleep may be just as important as how many hours we sleep," says Rose MacDowell, a sleep expert and chief research officer at mattress-reviewer Sleepopolis. As far as your sleep schedule goes, waking up an hour later than usual can have a negative impact on your brain, as well as your overall health. It's an understandable instinct, but in the long run, that might not be what's best for your mind - even though it feels good to stay burrowed in your blankets. Especially if you were up late panicking about your big work project (or herding sheep on Minecraft), you might be tempted to sleep in the next day.