Sleeping in on weekend might not be a good idea

We wait for the weekend eagerly to catch up on our lost sleep of the working week. The joy of not putting up the alarm for the next day and spending the entire morning in the bed is unexplained. We all are guilty of doing this! Aren’t we? But a recent study suggests this does more harm than good. Yes, this is true!
How sleeping in on the weekend is harmful?

It is correct that getting an adequate amount of sleep is very important for health. Sleep deprivation can lead to health issues like anxiety, heart problems, high blood pressure, and even stroke. But a study suggests that sleeping a lot on the weekend might lead to obesity and other heart-related problems.

The study
Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder recently conducted a sleep study in which a number of healthy young adults participated. They divided the participants into three groups. As a part of the study, the first group slept for nine hours each night for nine days. The second group was allowed to sleep only for five hours every night, while the third group was allowed to sleep for five hours for five nights.The last group was allowed to sleep for longer periods for the following two nights on the weekend.

The last two groups where participants did not get sufficient sleep on weekdays, started to snack a lot after dinner, which led to weight gain. While the participants of the third group did not snack much on the weekends when they got a proper amount of sleep, but again when they started to get an insufficient amount of sleep they ate even more and experienced more weight gain.

The study indicates that the extra amount of sleep in the weekend might not only make you gain weight but can also have a major effect on your heart. This happens when you abruptly adjust your “circadian rhythm” or sleep cycle.

As per the lead researcher Christopher Depner, the muscle- and liver-specific insulin sensitivity of the third group was even worse. The weekend recovery sleep is not an effective way to counter sleep loss during the weekdays.

Bottom line
Then what should be done to catch up on the lost sleep? The National Sleep Foundation suggests that to catch up with lost sleep, one can take 20-30 minutes nap during weekend afternoon rather than turning off the alarm in the morning.