Getting sufficient sleep is an essential part of both physical and mental health. Guidelines from the National Sleep Foundation indicate that most adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep per night. Unfortunately, being underslept is fairly common and data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) suggests almost one-third of Americans get less than six hours of sleep each night.

Reaction times increase as a person accumulates sleep debt. This means that the more sleep a person loses, the longer it takes for them to react to a stimulus. In one study, research subjects were allowed to sleep for five hours per night for a week. Over the course of the week, participants’ reaction times steadily increased as they accumulated sleep debt and felt increasingly sleepy.

There are several hypotheses that attempt to explain the reason for increased reaction times after sleep deprivation. One hypothesis asserts that sleep loss increases reaction time due to the body’s simultaneous and competing needs. When we’re underslept, our body is experiencing a need for sleep, a need to stay awake, and a need to perform tasks. These competing drives interfere with our attention from moment to moment, leading to cognitive impairment and an increased reaction time.

DISCOVER THE GIFT OF SLEEP: HEALY WATCH