A new study presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2024 suggests that catching up on sleep during weekends may lower your risk of heart disease by around 20%.
The study used data from over 90,000 participants in the UK Biobank and had a mean follow-up time of almost 14 years. Participants self-reported their levels of sleep deprivation, which was defined as getting less than seven hours of sleep per night. Sleep data was then recorded using accelerometers, and participants were divided into four groups depending on how their weekend sleep levels were related to their daily sleep levels. Some participants got less sleep on weekends, while others got about the same amount, more, or much more on weekends. Hospital records and death registries were used to determine whether participants developed cardiovascular disease during the 14-year follow-up period. The goal of the study was to see how compensatory sleep on weekends was related to the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
The results showed that participants who got the most compensatory sleep on weekends were 19% less likely to develop cardiovascular disease compared to participants who got the lowest amount of compensatory sleep. Of the participants studied, over 20% (about 19,800 people) were sleep deprived. Among these sleep deprived participants, those who got the most compensatory sleep were 20% less likely to develop heart disease compared to those who got the least.
The authors of the study noted that compensatory sleep on weekends appears to lower the risk of heart disease, with a particularly pronounced effect on people who are sleep deprived. Sleep is a key component of heart health, and sleeping in on weekends may be a good strategy to improve your heart health.
Sources: Science Daily, ESC Congress 2024