For those who love to sleep in on weekends, there’s some rather unpleasant news. Scientists claim that sleeping an extra 1.5 hours beyond your usual time disrupts the body’s biological clock and can lead to serious health issues.
Long Sleep on Weekends Disrupts Biological Clock
A new study has found that differing sleep patterns on weekdays and weekends can indeed increase the number of gut bacteria associated with obesity, heart attacks, and strokes. According to researchers, just 90 extra minutes in bed can throw off your internal biological clock, affecting various functions from the immune system to digestion.
Research conducted by British scientists showed that even a slight change in wake-up time can impact a person’s biological rhythm. In a large-scale nutrition project, 934 predominantly thin and healthy individuals who slept at least 7 hours a night were evaluated. Researchers collected a range of samples, including blood, stool, and gut microbes, and measured glucose levels, comparing those with regular and irregular sleep patterns.
Regular Sleep Schedule is Key to Health
According to researcher Kate Birmingham, sleep is a crucial pillar of health, and this study is particularly timely given the growing interest in circadian rhythms and the gut microbiome. Even a 90-minute difference in sleep patterns can stimulate types of microbiota that have an adverse connection to human health.
As noted by the Daily Mail, previous studies have associated this “social jet lag” with mental fatigue and weight gain. Dr. Sarah Berry emphasizes that maintaining a regular sleep schedule (referring to the times a person goes to bed and wakes up each day) is a lifestyle change that can be easily made and can positively impact health through the gut microbiome.