Emily Chan
During the workweek, people should aim to get no less than seven hours of sleep each night. At least, that’s what the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends for adequate sleep. If you get less shut-eye than that, you can always catch up on rest over the weekend.
According to a recent study presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), sleeping in on weekends can decrease your risk of heart disease by 20 percent.
The findings contradict previous research that has shown that extra sleep on weekends does not make up for the loss of adequate sleep throughout the week.
The new study reported that “sufficient compensatory sleep” is associated with a lower risk of heart disease, and the effect was most pronounced among individuals who regularly experience poor sleep during the week.
Almost 91,000 people participated in the study, and 21.8 percent of them regularly slept less than seven hours per night. The participants were split into four groups. They were categorized based on who slept the most per night and who slept the least. Then, each participant’s risk of heart disease was calculated.
The research team followed up with them 14 years later. They examined the hospital and death records for evidence of heart disease, heart failure, heart rhythm irregularities, and strokes. The results revealed that the group that slept the most on weekends was 19 percent less likely to develop heart disease during the 14 years.
The sleep-deprived participants who “caught up” on sleep over the weekends had a 20 percent lower risk of developing heart disease than those who got the least amount of sleep on weekends.
By conducting this research, the study authors aimed to gather more evidence about whether compensatory sleep can improve heart health.
In the past, many studies have been unclear or have directly contradicted the findings of the new study. For example, in 2020, one study found that an inconsistent sleeping pattern could disrupt the body’s circadian rhythms and contribute to a higher risk of heart disease.
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