0910 Sleeping in on Weekends May Be Good for Your Heart

Sleeping in on Weekends May Be Good for Your Heart

Experts often warn against sleeping in on weekends, because it can negatively affect your sleep patterns — and your health.

Still, many people stay in bed longer on weekends to "catch up" with sleep they missed during the week. And now, research suggests that sleeping in a little on Saturdays and Sundays could actually help your heart health, at least a little.

A study presented at the European Society of Cardiology's annual congress in Munich, Germany, found that sleeping in on weekends may protect against high blood pressure, also known as hypertension.

The research used data from almost 41,000 adults who took part in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2016 to 2023.

The national survey asked participants a wide range of questions about things like their diet, activity levels and sleep habits. It also included questions on common health conditions, including hypertension.

The researchers defined participants' weekend "catch-up sleeps" as the difference between how long they reported sleeping on weekdays and how long they slept on weekends.

And it was found that getting catch-up sleep on weekends was linked with a 6% lower risk of high blood pressure.

The risk reduction was even slightly greater for people who were physically inactive — which might be good news for these people, because getting regular exercise is another well-known way to reduce hypertension risk.

The researchers were also able to find how long people should sleep in on weekends to maximize the benefits: 1 hour and 27 minutes.

That might not be as long as we'd like, but it's not bad!

Researcher Nawon Lee of Korea University in Seoul commented, "Not getting enough sleep puts extra stress on the body. It keeps the heart and blood vessels working harder and can increase blood pressure."

"Getting some extra sleep on the weekend may give the body a chance to recover and reduce some of that stress."