Sleeping in on weekends has long been criticized for disrupting the body clock, but a new study suggests that moderate weekend catch-up sleep may actually benefit health. Sleeping about one hour and 27 minutes longer on weekends than on weekdays was found to be most effective in lowering the risk of high blood pressure, indicating that making up for lost weekday sleep in moderation can help cardiovascular health.
According to the British daily The Guardian on the 30th, a research team led by Dr. Lee Na-won of Korea University analyzed seven years of data on about 40,000 South Korean adults to examine the link between weekday-weekend sleep gaps and hypertension. The findings were presented at the annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) in Munich, Germany.
The researchers defined weekend catch-up sleep as the extra hours slept on weekends compared with weekdays. Those who made up for lost sleep on weekends were about 6% less likely to have high blood pressure than those who did not.
More catch-up sleep was not always better. The most effective point was sleeping roughly one hour and 27 minutes longer on weekends than on weekdays. People in that range were about 9% less likely to have hypertension.
A similar pattern appeared among people who were physically inactive. Inactive people who made up for lost sleep on weekends were 6.9% less likely to have high blood pressure than those who did not.
Sleep deprivation does more than cause fatigue. Without enough sleep, the normal overnight drop in blood pressure can be disrupted, leaving the heart and blood vessels under continuous strain and raising the risk of hypertension.
"Insufficient sleep places additional stress on the body and makes the heart and blood vessels work harder," Lee said. "Sleeping a little longer on weekends can help the body recover from weekday sleep loss and reduce stress."
But More Than Four Extra Hours Backfires
The study offers a new perspective on the regular sleep habits that sleep specialists have long emphasized. Experts have stressed that going to bed and waking at consistent times matters for health, warning that cramming weekday sleep debt into the weekend can throw off the body clock.
The researchers argued, however, that within a moderate range, the benefit of recovering from weekday sleep loss can outweigh the negative effects of irregular sleep timing.
"If you did not get enough sleep during the week, there is no need to see waking up a little later on weekends as lazy or to feel guilty about it," Lee said. "Moderate weekend catch-up sleep may in fact be good for your health."
Still, sleeping longer on weekends is not universally beneficial. The study found that people who slept four or more hours longer than on weekdays faced a higher likelihood of hypertension.
Excessively long catch-up sleep widens the gap between weekday and weekend sleep patterns and can disrupt circadian rhythms. The researchers said such changes can cancel out the benefits seen with moderate catch-up sleep.
"If weekend catch-up sleep becomes too long, the degree of sleep irregularity and circadian disruption can increase," Lee said. "Maintaining a regular sleep schedule is still important, but there is no need to view a moderate amount of catch-up sleep as a bad habit."
Sonya Babu-Narayan, clinical director at the British Heart Foundation, who was not involved in the study, offered a similar view. Many people cannot secure enough sleep during the week because of work, family or social commitments, she said, and sleeping in on weekends to make up for it is a natural response.
She added that the study does not mean people can neglect exercise, but that at least there appears to be no reason to feel guilty about waking up late on weekends.
