Sleeping late on a Saturday sounds delicious, right? However, like many delicious things, it might come at a price to your health and your waistline.
Catching up on sleep on the weekends can almost feel just like the norm as of late. With increasingly full schedules and competing demands, sleep is usually sacrificed in the course of the busy work week. As the week ends, many individuals look to a less structured weekend to do things that may't be done in the course of the week, including sleep. At the Sleep Clinic, I now ask “What time do you get up on work (or school) days?” And “What about sleeping and waking times on vacation days?” Catch-up time — perhaps a 6 a.m. wakeup for the workday, but 11 a.m. on the weekend — might be closer to a full weeknight's sleep. But what does it matter? We're paying back our sleep debt, right?
Our average hours of sleep can hide our weekly sleep debt.
Despite the undeniable fact that the variety of hours of sleep, when averaged, can reach the seven to nine hours per night beneficial by most skilled societies, the “average” may mask some truths. Daily quantity, quality, and bedtime/wake time regularity all appear to be essential. Oh A recent paper I Current biology It seems that our sleep isn't as forgiving because it seems to be at easier times. The researchers found that subjects who lost five hours of sleep in the course of the week, but compensated for it with extra sleep on the weekend, still paid off. These costs included measurable differences in: higher caloric intake after dinner, decreased energy expenditure, weight gain, and harmful changes in the way in which the body uses insulin. Although sleep debt was addressed on paper, the weekend catch-up subjects had similar results (although there have been some differences) to those that were sleep-deprived on the weekend without catch-up sleep.
New research is a reminder you can't cheat sleep and avoid it
First, lack of sleep, even just in the course of the work week, has potentially real health consequences. Sleep is an often ignored factor when considering the chance of chronic disease, including hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and even death. There is plenty of knowledge, incl A recent review I Sleep medicine, suggesting that too little sleep is a risk factor for these conditions in addition to obesity. Unfortunately, this latest study shows that increasing sleep over the weekend doesn't reverse the consequences of short sleep.
Second, whether the effect on health is solely attributable to sleep deprivation, or along with changes in bedtime on the weekend—”jet lag” at home—is unknown. The effect of essentially jumping time zones by waking up later and sleeping in on weekends can exacerbate the issue. Other behaviors, comparable to eating or drinking in a while the weekend, also confuse the body's rhythms.
What are you able to do to enhance your night's sleep?
As with many medicines, prevention appears to be the very best strategy. While we will't reverse the consequences of short sleep by attempting to get more sleep on the weekend, we will attempt to get just a little more sleep at night in the course of the week and improve that behavior. Which leads to higher sleep.
It's essential to maintain a reasonably consistent bedtime and wake-up time in the course of the weekend, which may also help reduce the jet lag effect. A brief nap of 15 to twenty minutes can assist relieve sleepiness, but shouldn't interfere with a daily bedtime and wake-up time. For some, keeping a sleep log to trace sleep patterns might be eye-opening and supply accountability, while tracking food selections and behaviors around food can assist with weight reduction. Is. Finally, consider reframing your relationship with sleep and make it a priority. Sleep is preventative medicine – we understand it helps reduce illness and improve your on a regular basis health.