New research indicates that a weekend lie-in could significantly decrease the risk of suffering a fatal heart attack or stroke.
A comprehensive study involving 90,903 Brits revealed that those who caught up on sleep during weekends were about 20% less likely to develop heart disease over a period of 14 years.
Participants monitored their sleep using wearable devices, with findings showing that 20,000 individuals consistently failed to achieve the recommended seven hours of sleep per night.
The study found that those who managed to get an additional one hour and 17 minutes of sleep on weekends had a 20% lower chance of developing conditions such as ischaemic heart disease, heart failure, atrial fibrillation (AF), and stroke.
This benefit was also observed in participants who generally slept more than seven hours on weekdays but extended their sleep over the weekend by at least one hour and 17 minutes.
Prof James Leiper, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said: “Lots of us don’t get enough sleep due to work or family commitments, and while a weekend lie-in is no replacement for a regular good night’s rest, this large study suggests that it might help reduce risk of heart disease.”
He further stressed the importance of adequate sleep, adding: “We know that lack of sleep can affect our overall well-being, and this research is an important reminder of how important it is to try and get at least seven hours sleep every night.
“We look forward to future studies to better understand how sleep patterns can impact the heart and how we can adapt modern lifestyles to help improve our health.”
A groundbreaking study has turned previous assumptions on their head, suggesting that the concept of “social jetlag” altering our sleep patterns at weekends may not be as detrimental as once thought.
Researchers from King’s College London examined 1,000 individuals and discovered that those who shifted their bedtime and wake-up time by 90 minutes on weekends had gut microbiomes associated with a higher risk of heart attacks, strokes, and obesity.
However, the key revelation comes from the latest research presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in London, which focused on the benefits of extra sleep.
This investigation utilised data from the extensive UK Biobank, where participants provide comprehensive medical records along with various scans and tests over many years, contributing to a deeper understanding of human health.
Zechen Liu from the National Centre for Cardiovascular Disease in Beijing, China, the study’s lead author, commented: “Our results show that for the significant proportion of the population in modern society that suffers from sleep deprivation, those who have the most ‘catch-up’ sleep at weekends have significantly lower rates of heart disease than those with the least.”
