Research suggests that people who “catch up” on sleep over the weekend may have up to 20% lower risk of heart disease than those who don’t.
The findings, presented at the European Society of Cardiology meeting, looked at data from 90,903 adults taking part in the UK Biobank project, a database that holds the medical and lifestyle records of half a million Britons.
Of those, 19,816 met the criteria for insufficient sleep, and over a 14-year follow-up, the researchers found that those who got the most sleep on weekends were 19% less likely to develop heart disease than those who got the least amount of sleep on weekends.
Those who got extra sleep on the weekend slept between 1.28 and 16.06 hours more, while those who slept the least slept between 16.05 and 0.26 hours less.
The study also looked at a subgroup of people who regularly lacked sleep and found that those who made up the most sleep on weekends had a 20% lower risk of developing heart disease than those who slept the least.
“Sufficient compensatory sleep is associated with a lower risk of heart disease, and this association is even more pronounced among people who regularly experience sleep deprivation during the weekdays,” said study author Professor Song Yanjun from the China National Cardiovascular Center in Beijing.
“Our results suggest that among a significant proportion of the modern population who suffer from sleep deprivation, those who get the most ‘catch-up’ sleep on weekends have significantly lower rates of heart disease than those who get the least,” said study co-author Tsechen Liu.
Professor James Riper, deputy medical director at the British Heart Foundation, who was not involved in the study, said: “Many people don’t get enough sleep because of work or family commitments. Sleeping in on the weekend is no substitute for getting enough sleep in general, but this large-scale study suggests that it may help to reduce the risk of heart disease.”
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“We know that lack of sleep affects our overall health and this study is a reminder of how important it is to strive to get at least seven hours of sleep each night. We look forward to future research to better understand how sleep patterns affect the heart and how we can adapt our modern lifestyles to improve our health.”
