Which of the following examples best captures the concept of sleep debt?
A) You develop a cold after staying up all night to study for an exam.
B) You pull two "all-nighters" in a row, and the next night you sleep slightly longer than normal.
C) Your psychology presentation goes poorly because you did not sleep well the night before.
D) You need only about five hours of sleep each night.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Sleep debt refers to the accumulated amount of sleep that a person loses due to insufficient sleep over a period of time. Option B best captures this concept as the person has pulled two all-nighters in a row and tries to make up for the lost sleep by sleeping longer than normal the next night. Option A refers to getting sick due to lack of sleep and option C refers to poor performance due to a lack of sleep the night before, but neither captures the concept of sleep debt. Option D refers to a person who needs less sleep than the average person and is not related to sleep debt.

Which of the Following Examples Best Captures the Concept of Sleep