回復
回復是一種通過盡量不用鬧鐘起床和在最小限制下睡覺來償還睡眠債的方法。
機制
回復通常適用於兩種情況：
這個過程所需的時間取決於睡眠債的嚴重程度和個人的睡眠效率。一般而言，回復過程平均會持續1至2週，但在極端情況下可能會更短甚至更長。
起初，總睡眠時間可能會比預期中長或短，但隨著時間過去穩定下來。最終，總睡眠時間理應會接近你的單相睡眠下限。以上成果，以及在白天感到精神和休息充足，都表示回復成功。
變種
嚴格來説，大多數非縮減性時程都足以作為回復用的變體。以下將會説明最受歡迎的回復時程。
單相時程
This is the most popular type of recovery. The nocturnal sleep should start at the same time daily and end with a natural wake when feeling refreshed enough. It's preferable to schedule a dark period before the core to increase sleep efficiency.
二相時程
Biphasic sleep is often used for the recovery as well. Having two blocks of sleep, it is possible to use an alarm for one of them, without restrictions for the second one.
- E1 and Siesta may have a restricted nocturnal core if it's impossible to sleep for long enough due to social inconveniences. In order to compensate for the lost sleep, a no-alarm sleep is scheduled during midday. Sleep during the day shouldn't be longer than ~2 hours though, as this may destabilize circadian rhythm or make it difficult to fall asleep in the evening. For this reason, it also makes sense to restrict the daytime block of sleep, but leaving the nocturnal sleep without alarms.
- On Segmented, it's possible to use alarms for the first core, waking up from the second one naturally.
Random
Random sleep is the quickest way to recover. This means sleeping as much as possible at any desired time. As much as this way of recovery is appealing, it is not recommended. Habitual random sleep reduces discipline, which makes it difficult to adapt to strict sleep schedules afterwards. Moreover, random sleepers are more likely to have reduced sleep quality, which contributes to the adaptation difficulty as well.
Sleep restriction
It is possible to recover while still using alarms. The recovery with sleep restriction takes longer, but sometimes it may be necessary due to the social life restrictions. This method is generally not recommended due to its inefficiency.
