In recent years, scientists have often debated whether catching up on sleep during the weekend can make up for the sleep deficit accumulated during the workweek. Many experts have insisted that it cannot. However, a new large-scale study by Chinese cardiologists has shown that sleeping in on weekends is indeed beneficial, particularly for heart health.
A team from the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases at Fuwai Hospital in Beijing recently presented their findings at the Congress of the European Society of Cardiology. The researchers noted that individuals who suffer from sleep deprivation and make a point to catch up on sleep during the weekends have a 20% lower risk of heart disease compared to those who do not attempt to recover lost sleep.
How Was the Study Conducted?
The lead author of the study, Yanjun Sun, stated, “Adequate compensatory sleep is associated with a lower risk of heart disease. This connection becomes even more pronounced among people who regularly experience sleep deprivation during the week.”
The team analyzed data provided by 90,903 individuals from the UK Biobank, which maintains medical records and lifestyle information for half a million people. The researchers examined how many participants were able to catch up on lost sleep over the weekends and for how long. It turned out that 19,816 individuals from the cohort were significantly deprived of adequate nighttime sleep, as reported by the Independent.
Over a span of 14 years, the scientists identified individuals with heart failure, arrhythmia, ischemic heart disease, and stroke using hospital records and information on causes of death.
Ultimately, the researchers found that people who got the most extra sleep on weekends had a 20% lower risk of developing heart disease compared to those who did not practice compensatory sleep (or did so infrequently). Interestingly, this correlation was most pronounced among those who were significantly deprived of sufficient nighttime sleep.
Co-author Zhechen Liu noted, “Our results showed that among a significant portion of modern society suffering from sleep deprivation, those who catch up on sleep during the weekends have significantly lower rates of heart disease.”
Commenting on the study, Professor James Leiper, deputy medical director of the British Heart Foundation, who was not involved in the research, said, “Many of us do not get enough sleep due to work or family commitments, and while weekend rest cannot replace regular good nighttime sleep, this large-scale study suggests it may help reduce the risk of heart disease.”