Can you recover from sleep debt?

After a whirlwind few weeks—including 3 weeks in Australia, straight back into the PSASA Convention in Joburg, then presenting in Durban, and finally facilitating a workshop in Mauritius on 16 April—I was running on caffeine, adrenaline… and not much else.

Sleep? Barely.

Energy? Dwindling.

Brain? Buffering.

At home in South Africa, my husband and I aim for about 7 hours of sleep a night. Not bad, right?

But with travel and event chaos, we were closer to 5½ to 6 hours. And we were wrecked. So we did something radical on our Mauritius holiday (17–21 April):

We prioritised SLEEP.

We stayed in.

Read books.

Ate good food.

Had chats.

And slept.Like, 9 to 9½ hours a night, uninterrupted. Every. Single. Night.

Today, I woke up naturally after 7½ hours—Feeling clear, calm, and completely rebooted.

Which got me thinking... Can you actually recover from sleep debt?

Here’s what the science says:

• A 20 min powernap can boost alertness, mood, and memory.
• Sleeping in helps, but it doesn’t undo deeper effects like brain fog or metabolism dips.
• It can take 4 days to recover from one lost hour of sleep (OUCH!)
• And a study found that even a full week of unlimited sleep didn’t fully restore brain function after 10 nights of poor sleep.(TAKE NOTE!)

Sleep debt is very real. And it takes time to repay.So what helped us reboot?

CONSISTENCY!

We let our bodies call the shots. No alarms. No plans. Just rest.

And guess what?

Our bodies knew exactly what it needed.

Tips for catching up on sleep (and staying ahead):

✔️ Stick to a regular sleep schedule (yes, even weekends)

✔️ Take power naps when needed

✔️ Schedule recovery time after intense weeks

✔️ Be patient—your body can catch up with rest.

We have come home feeling better than either of us have felt in weeks.

Not because of a detox or going to a fancy (& expensive) Retreat...

But because we let ourselves REST.

So yes—you can recover from sleep debt. It’s not instant. But it’s possible.

And it’s so worth it.

How’s your sleep lately?

Could your next breakthrough come… after a few extra hours in bed?