According
to new research, getting extra sleep on the weekend can undo the damage
of failing to get enough during the week, ultimately helping you live
longer. Best. News. EVER.
Most of us would love to get the recommended
seven to eight hours of sleep per night every single day of the week.
But life circumstances often get in the way of our beloved snooze-time —
especially Monday through Friday. And while it's not fun to walk around
like a total zombie, not getting enough sleep can seriously impact your
health and is linked to several major illnesses. Several studies even maintain it can actually cut years off your life expectancy.
For years sleep scientists have been advocating the importance
of regular sleep patterns — negating the concept of making up for lost
sleep on the weekends. However, a brand new study is questioning that.
Researchers from Stress Research Institute at Stockholm University claim
the damage done from your lack of sleep during the week can be
overturned — just by getting some extra hours of shuteye on Saturday and
Sunday. As if you needed another excuse to sleep in on the weekend!
"The
results imply that short (weekday) sleep is not a risk factor for
mortality if it is combined with a medium or long weekend sleep," the
researchers, led by director of the Stress Research Institute at
Stockholm University Torbjorn Akerstedt, explained. Instead, it is the
average amount of hours you get per week that make the most difference
(according to the National Sleep Foundation, adults need on average 7-9 hours sleep a night — so 49-63 hours per week).
In the study published in the Journal of Sleep Research,
data from more than 43,000 adults collected in Sweden in 1997 was
analyzed, with researchers checking the national death register to
monitor what happened to each of their subjects over the next 13 years.
They learned that adults under age 65 who got a mere five hours or less
sleep per night, were at a greater risk of early death than those who
racked up six or seven hours. However, the "lack of sleepers" who made
up for their shortage of hours on the weekends, had no raised mortality
risk compared to those who slept a steady six or seven every day of the
week.
While
getting enough sleep is important, don’t be confused: Researchers found
that people getting too much sleep — eight hours or more every day — had
a 25 percent higher mortality rate compared to those who average six or
seven. This information is consistent with previous studies, which have found oversleeping may increase the chance of early death due to cardiovascular disease.
Still
many experts campaign the importance of getting a regular, consistent
six to seven hours of sleep per night, so if that’s doable, get your
sleep on. But if it just isn’t possible — because, you know, life
happens — make sure to use this study as an excuse to sleep in come
Saturday
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