Sleeping in on weekends could improve your heart health

Lauren Taylor

DOES SNOOZING A LITTLE LATER ON THE WEEKEND ACTUALLY HELP YOU CATCH UP ON SLEEP YOU MISSED EARLIER IN THE WEEK?

THAT’S BEEN A HIGHLY DEBATED QUESTION FOR DECADES… BUT NOW – A NEW STUDY SHOWS TRYING TO CATCH UP ON SLEEP COULD HELP YOU LIVE LONGER. 

THROUGHOUT BUSY WEEKS MANY PEOPLE ACCRUE WHAT’S KNOWN AS “SLEEP DEBT” – THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HOW MUCH SLEEP YOU *NEED* AND HOW MUCH YOU ACTUALLY GET. 

NEW RESEARCH SHOWS THOSE WHO TRY TO ELIMINATE SOME SLEEP DEBT ON WEEKENDS BY GETTING UP LATER… WERE 19 PERCENT LESS LIKELY TO DEVELOP HEART DISEASE. 

PLENTY OF PREVIOUS STUDIES HAVE SHOWN NOT GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP, IN GENERAL, CAN BE BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH IN MANY WAYS… BUT NOT MUCH HAS BEEN DONE ON THE EFFECT OF GETTING EXTRA SLEEP ON WEEKENDS.

RESEARCHERS LOOKED AT NEARLY 91-THOUSAND PEOPLE TO FIND A LINK BETWEEN CATCHING UP ON SLEEP AND HEART HEALTH, SPECIFICALLY. 

THEY FOUND ABOUT 1 IN 5 PEOPLE WERE CONSIDERED SLEEP DEPRIVED – WHICH MEANS THEY GET LESS THAN THE RECOMMENDED 7 HOURS A NIGHT – AND THOSE WHO GOT THE MOST EXTRA SLEEP ON WEEKENDS… WERE LESS LIKELY TO DEVELOP HEART DISEASE. 

RESEARCHERS SAY THAT DOES *NOT* NECESSARILY MEAN THE EXTRA Z’S ARE WHAT’S MAKING PEOPLE HEALTHIER… AND SLEEPING LATER ON WEEKENDS *CANNOT* UNDO THE EFFECTS OF A LARGE BUILDUP OF SLEEP DEBT THROUGHOUT THE WEEK. 

AN UNRELATED GALLUP POLL RECENTLY FOUND LESS THAN HALF OF AMERICAN ADULTS SAY THEY GET AS MUCH SLEEP AS THEY NEED.