One thing that is important to remember is that parial sleep loss is cumulative. That means that if you get 30 minutes less sleeping time than your body needs each day during the week, your body will want to make up two and a half hours of sleep during the weekend, or whenever you can afford to sleep in.
In my case, there are times when I miss out on more than an hour of necessary sleep each night, building up a large deficit. When I let my body and mind recouperate, I’m missing out on time that could be spent working on projects, earning money, or doing chores that will free more valuable afternoon time when I can work efficiently later in the day.
Updated February 10, 2011 and originally published May 4, 2006. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the RSS feed or receive daily emails. Follow @flexo on Twitter and visit our Facebook page for more updates.
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Luke Landes founded Consumerism Commentary in 2003 and has been building online communities since 1990. Luke, also known as Flexo, has contributed to PC World Magazine, US News, Forbes, and other publications. 
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Interesting article! I’m a bit disgruntled at the sleep deficit my current job is generating. I can’t sleep when I get home in the afternoon (afternoon and early evening are my most energetic hours). My sweetie makes a habit of going to sleep for a few hours as soon as he gets home from work (his peak activity time is 10pm and beyond) but I just can’t understand this evening naptime.
So how much sleep does someone need per day or does it vary from person to person? I love taking afternoon naps – definitely get most of my work done in the morning.