Verse 1:
Sleep debt is a terrible thing
If you've got it, don't operate heavy machines

Cause you'll lack focus and you might micro-sleep
And that can be fatal if you're driving


If you've got sleep debt, just two hours a day
As in you need eight hours but sleep six anyway
Well then in two weeks you'll have the cognitive impairment of an ape

(No, but for real)

Because a big sleep study coming out of U Penn


Said that two hours a day missed for a fourteen day span is
About equal to two days of sleep deprivation

(Two all-nighters)
(Source: Van Dongen et al.)






That's cause -- sleep debt is###ulative
Repay it each day and you'll be more productive
But if you let it build up it'll impair your judgment and attention

(And memory, and learning, and reaction time)

Chorus:

Cause this is the sleep debt song
And you can think of sleep debt like a credit card
You know your production lost is like the interest on the cash

That you gotta pay back cause

Sleep debt can cause extreme mood swings

Low motivation and creativity
Yeah, it can even cause obesity and make you fat, fat, let's do some math, well
(Source: "20/20: Sleep Debt")


If Jack and Jill went up a hill and they each need 8 hours of sleep
But all the climbing they've been doing left them 6 each day this week

Between the two well how much sleep debt did they add?

Let's do the math


2 hours daily lost times 7 days a week
Between the two of them that's 28 that's four whole days of sleep if you add it up

Holy Sleep and Dreams that's a lot!

Verse 2:

(Let's start with the basics)
Well most teens they require 9-10 hours
And their parents still need a full 7-9 for power

See the problem is that only 10% of Americans can pull a Jack Bauer
And sleep fewer than eight hours
Consistently -- without affecting their health

Or s***, their -- sense of self
Without increasing disease risk -- or speeding up aging
Without mental impairment and without their grades changing

(Source: "20/20: Sleep Debt" -- Research by Dr. David Dinges, University of Pennysylvania; and a University of Chicago study by Dr. Eve Van Cauter)

The problem is that many million Americans "routinely" sleep less than six

They're chasin' dreams and chasin' kids
They're all hopped up on coffee and spin
But man, the "vast majority" need at least 8 to really live, not just survive, but thrive; appreciate life; appreciate their friends and kids

Accumulated sleep debt won't let you do this
So optimize your life and pay it off bit by bit
(Source: "20/20: Sleep Debt" -- Dr. David Dinges, chief of the Division of Sleep and Chronobiology at the University of Pennsylvania)


Because high school students who received A's
Averaged 15 minutes more than those with B grades

Then the C students slept, eleven minutes less
And those who got Ds ten minutes fewer than them


Yeah, a U Chicago study done with "healthy young men"
Found their blood test results matched with diabetics
After 6 straight nights of only 4 hours

Their cortisol was up and they lost 30% power
[Note: Their ability to process blood sugar was reduced by 30%]

Cause after 6 straight nights of losing that power
Damn that's a full day of sleep debt -- that's 24 hours


Chorus:
Cause this is the sleep debt song
And you can think of it just like a credit card
You know your production lost is like the interest on the cash

That you gotta pay back cause

Sleep debt can cause extreme mood swings
Low motivation and creativity
Yeah, it can even cause obesity and make you fat, fat, just like that, well

(Source: "20/20: Sleep Debt")

This is the sleep debt song
And if you let it build up well everything will go wrong
Sleep a bit each night to pay it all off

You gotta pay it back cause

Sleep debt can make perception shut off
If sleep comes suddenly while singing a song
(Snoring)
But if you're driving then its not so awesome


If Jack and Jill went up a hill and they each need 8 hours of sleep
But all the climbing they've been doing left them 6 each day this week
Between the two well how much sleep debt did they add?

Let's do the math


2 hours daily lost times 7 days a week
Between the two of them that's 28 that's four whole days of sleep if you add it up
Holy Sleep and Dreams that's a lot!