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Preventing early death with sleeping in on weekends
In a new study published in the Journal of Sleep Research, Swedish and United States researchers have found that sleeping in on weekends can be beneficial for long-term health.
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In a new study published in the Journal of Sleep Research, Swedish and United States researchers have found that sleeping in on weekends can be beneficial for long-term health. (Shutterstock/Syda Productions)
Do the extra hours of sleep on weekends really matter?
In a new study published in the Journal of Sleep Research, Swedish and United States researchers have found that sleeping in on weekends can be beneficial for long-term health.
With data collectively taken over the course of 13 years, the study gathered more than 30,000 subjects from different backgrounds around the world. Researchers also included other aspects such as gender, body-mass index (BMI), education, disease and use of hypnotics, as well as smoking and alcohol intake.
They discovered that those under the age of 65 who sleep less than five hours on a weekend have increased risks of death.
There is no heightened risk for those who sleep less than five hours throughout the week but still manage to get more sleep on the weekends.
Read also: Nine sleep myths debunked
"The results imply that short [weekday] sleep is not a risk factor for mortality if it is combined with medium or long weekend sleep," the researchers said. "This suggests that short weekday sleep may be compensated for during the weekend, and that this has implications for mortality.”
Fortunately, this does not apply to people above the age of 65, as researchers believe that older people get all the required slumber they need from sleeping the same number of hours on weekdays and weekends.
"We also note that the older participants are 'well rested' when they wake up, whereas the younger ones are definitely not 'well rested'. Our interpretation is that sleep need is reduced with increasing age," they concluded. (ely/wng)
