sleep debt

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sleep debt

/ˌsliːp ˈdet/ Australia, New Zealand, UK
/ˌsliːp ˈdɛt/ Australia, New Zealand, UK
/ˌslip ˈdɛt/ Canada, US, Scotland
/ˌsliːp ˈɖɛ(ː)ʈ/ India

noun sleep debts

countable, uncountable The cumulative effect of not obtaining enough sleep, especially as seen as able to be made up for by sleeping more than usual. Adenosine levels can be quickly righted after a few nights of good sleep, however. This gave rise to a scientific consensus that sleep debt could be forgiven with a couple of quality snoozes — as reflected in casual statements like “I’ll catch up on sleep” or “I’ll be more awake tomorrow.”
Similar: sleep deficit

Translations

Every language

noun cumulative effect of not enough sleep

한국어	수면부채 sumyeonbuchae
日本語	睡眠負債
Português	falta de sono
Deutsch	Schlafmangel

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MLA

"sleep debt." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sleep%20debt. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

APA

sleep debt. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sleep%20debt

Chicago

"sleep debt." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sleep%20debt.

BibTeX

@misc{sleep_debt_2026,
  title = {sleep debt},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sleep%20debt},
  urldate = {2026-11-07}
}