‘People should not feel guilty’: weekend lie-in may be good for you, experts say

For years, experts have stressed the risks of lie-ins, warning that catching up on missed sleep at the weekend can disrupt the body’s internal clock and trigger adverse health effects.

Now analysis has produced a heartening caveat to that advice: if you do not overdo it, weekend lie-ins may be good for you, with an ideal benchmark of 1hr 27min extra in bed to protect against high blood pressure.

Most experts still agree that setting a routine bedtime and wake-up time is key to maintaining good health. But a new study shows a modest amount of catch-up sleep – one to two hours extra – after a long week is associated with a lower prevalence of high blood pressure.

Globally, more than 1.3 billion people have hypertension. They face a much higher risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney disease and early death.

While other ways to avoid high blood pressure remain crucial – such as staying active, maintaining a healthy weight and eating well – the study suggests people should no longer feel guilty about getting up late at the weekend, experts said.

The research was presented in Munich at the annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology, the world’s largest heart conference.

The study author, Dr Nawon Lee of Korea University in Seoul, said: “Not getting enough sleep puts extra stress on the body. It keeps the heart and blood vessels working harder and can increase blood pressure.

“Getting some extra sleep on the weekend may give the body a chance to recover and reduce some of that stress.

“People should not feel lazy or guilty for sleeping a little longer on the weekend. If they have not been able to get enough sleep during the week, some extra sleep on the weekend may simply be the body’s way of recovering from that sleep loss.”

The research looked at 40,000 adults in South Korea over a period of seven years. Weekend catch-up sleep was defined as the difference between weekend and weekday sleep duration.

Overall, weekend catch-up sleep was associated with a 6% reduction in the odds of hypertension.

A slightly greater benefit was seen in people who were considered to be physically inactive. They were 6.9% less likely to have hypertension if they had a weekend lie-in.

Analysis identified the 1hr 27min benchmark as the ideal amount of catch-up sleep, Lee said. Someone getting this amount of extra sleep would be 9% less likely to have high blood pressure.

Not getting enough sleep is known to prevent blood pressure from falling at night, which raises the risk of developing high blood pressure.

Experts have previously stressed the importance of having a regular bedtime and wake-up time and dismissed the idea that you can catch up on missed sleep at the weekend.

However, while the new research showed that getting some catch-up sleep could boost heart health, getting too much could be harmful, Lee cautioned. For instance, people sneaking in more than four hours extra sleep at the weekend were at greater risk of hypertension.

“I think moderate weekend catch-up sleep may have a protective effect because, in people who are sleep-deprived during the week, the benefit of compensating for insufficient sleep may outweigh the potential harm from having an irregular sleep schedule,” said Lee.

“However, when weekend catch-up sleep becomes excessive, the degree of sleep irregularity and circadian disruption may increase, which could offset that benefit.”

She added: “Keeping a regular sleep schedule is still important, but getting a moderate amount of catch-up sleep may be beneficial rather than something to feel bad about.”

Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, a consultant cardiologist and clinical director of the British Heart Foundation, who was not involved with the research, said: “Many of us struggle to get enough sleep during the week due to work, family and social commitments, so it’s natural if we find ourselves enjoying a lie-in at the weekend in an effort to catch up on missed sleep.

“This study is not a green light for physical activity to take a back seat, but for now, perhaps we don’t need to feel guilty about getting up late at the weekend.”