Facing the challenges of high-pressure work and irregular schedules, people in high-intensity professions, like doctors, are actively exploring the strategy of 'preemptive sleep.' This strategy, also known as 'sleep banking,' aims to 'repay sleep debt' by accumulating extra sleep in advance to cope with inevitable sleep deprivation.
According to CNN, Ramon Fuhr, a 30-year-old physician in internal medicine residency training at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, began practicing this strategy due to long-term sleep deprivation.
When his shifts are relatively light, but he knows a more demanding rotation is coming up, he tries to go to bed earlier in advance to 'bank some reserves.'
Fuhr said: 'Investing in sleep before I’m tired has made a significant difference in my performance during rotations and in my overall sense of burnout.'
Experts generally agree that adults should get 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night and try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day—even on weekends. However, in real life, this regularity is often hard to achieve, and that's where 'sleep banking' comes in.
In academic literature, this strategy is called 'sleep extension,' referring to intentionally sleeping more and sleeping more regularly over a period, thereby boosting the body’s resistance before inevitable periods of insufficient sleep.
Brigham and Women's Hospital sleep scientist and Harvard Medical School assistant professor Robbins points out that 'sleep banking' is suitable for those who find it difficult to maintain sufficient sleep due to work or other constraints, such as doctors, military personnel performing critical tasks, students before exams, and professionals facing peak work periods.
She believes 'sleep banking' can serve as a protective strategy, helping them maintain the best possible health during stressful times.
In any case, although 'sleep banking' can help tide people over during short periods of sleep deprivation, experts recommend resuming normal routines as soon as possible once the high-pressure period is over.