New research suggests that catching up on sleep during weekends may lower the risk of heart disease by up to 20%.
Study co-author Yanjun Song, a researcher at Fuwai Hospital in Beijing, explained, “Sufficient compensatory sleep is associated with a lower risk of heart disease.” This effect is particularly noticeable among those who usually get less sleep during the week.
The study analyzed sleep data from 90,900 people in the UK. Nearly 22%, or about 19,800 participants, were classified as sleep-deprived, getting less than seven hours of sleep per night on average.
Researchers tracked these individuals for nearly 14 years, examining hospital and death records for heart conditions such as heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and stroke.
The findings revealed that those who got the most extra sleep on weekends had a 19% lower risk of developing heart disease. Among the sleep-deprived group, those who got the most weekend sleep had a 20% lower risk of heart disease.
The study found no significant differences between men and women in these results.
Dr. Nisha Parikh, director of the Women’s Heart Program at Northwell Health, praised the study as a “well-conducted analysis.” She noted that sleep disorders, including sleep deprivation, are linked to various cardiometabolic conditions, such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases. Parikh added, “It is reassuring that weekend catch-up sleep can at least partially mitigate the effects of weekday sleep deprivation.”
The research was presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) conference on Thursday.
Study co-author Zechen Liu stated, “Our results indicate that for many people suffering from sleep deprivation, those who get the most ‘catch-up’ sleep on weekends have significantly lower rates of heart disease compared to those who get less.”
Experts still recommend that adults aim for seven to nine hours of sleep each night to avoid accumulating sleep debt.
In other research presented at the ESC Congress, Danish scientists found that women with endometriosis face a 20% higher risk of heart attack and stroke compared to women without the condition. Endometriosis affects over 6.5 million women in the US and involves endometrial-like tissue growing outside the uterus.
Additionally, men with coronary artery disease, the most common type of heart disease in the US, can reduce their risk of a major heart incident by nearly half by quitting smoking entirely. According to Paris-based researchers, simply cutting back on cigarettes is not sufficient to significantly lower this risk.
