How much will one night of little sleep hurt you?
Skimping out on sleep never feels good.
Sure, you might feel more grumpy than usual, but sleep deprivation — even just after one night — can take a toll on your physical and mental healthTrusted Source.
“Even one night of missed sleep can cause irritability, dark circles, or puffy eyes (since missing a night of sleep can cause fluid to accumulate under your eyes), feeling forgetful the next day, or having slower reaction times, which can lead to making mistakes,” said Dr. Lynelle Schneeberg, a sleep psychologist at Yale Medicine and author of “Become Your Child’s Sleep Coach.”
It can affect your judgment and mood and also up your risk for an accident or injury, according to Harvard Medical School.
This is especially true for those driving while feeling drowsy. The Institute of Medicine estimates that drowsy driving is the cause of 20 percentTrusted Source
of all motor vehicle crashes.
In the workplace, a lack of sleep can lead to impaired productivity and focus. You’re also more likely to feel stressed out, as fragmented sleep affects the stress hormones that control your ability to function.
ResearchTrusted Source
has also found it can worsen the symptoms of any underlying medical conditions.
But how much you’ll feel these effects really comes down to how healthy you’ve been in the days leading up to the Super Bowl, according to Rebecca Scott, PhD, an assistant professor of neurology and sleep medicine specialist at NYU Langone Health.
“The better rested one is going into the shorter night of sleep, the less they will feel any impact,” Scott told Healthline.
Humans are designed to be able to handle a night or two of less sleep without any major consequences, she adds. It’s when it builds up that our health really starts to go downhill.