Why Catching Up On Sleep During Weekends Could Help Save Your Life

Participants who reported having less than seven hours of sleep per night were defined as having sleep deprivation. GARY BARNES VIA PEXELS

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Weekend lie-ins can prevent a potentially fatal heart attack or stroke, according to a new study.

Catching up on sleep on Saturday or Sunday may “significantly” lower heart disease risk by up to 20%, say scientists.

The demands of the working week, often influenced by school schedules, can lead to sleep disruption or deprivation.

But new research shows that people who “catch up” on their sleep by having a lie-in in at weekends may see their risk of heart disease fall by up to a fifth.

Study co-author Yanjun Song, of the State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease in Beijing, China, said: “Sufficient compensatory sleep is linked to a lower risk of heart disease.

“The association becomes even more pronounced among individuals who regularly experience inadequate sleep on weekdays.”

Despite having a lie-in on days off to catch up on sleep being a common habit, there has been little previous research to investigate if such compensatory sleep helps heart health.

The Chinese team used data from 90,903 people involved in the UK Biobank project.

To evaluate the relationship between compensated weekend sleep and heart disease, sleep data was recorded using accelerometers for an average of around 14 years.

Participants who reported having less than seven hours of sleep per night were defined as having sleep deprivation. A total of 19,816 participants (21.8%) of were defined as sleep-deprived.