Study Says Sleeping Longer Over The Weekend Could Help Prevent Heart Attacks

Feeling a bit sleep-deprived after a long week? Good news! A recent study published in the journal Sleep Health suggests that getting some extra sleep over the weekend might actually benefit your cardiovascular health.

A team of researchers from Nanjing Medical University in China conducted an analysis of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The survey collected information from a sample of over 3,400 adults aged 20 years and older in the United States during the period of 2017 to 2018.

The survey collected data regarding participants’ sleep duration on weekdays and weekends, along with their medical history of heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

Individuals who managed to get an extra hour of sleep on weekends, compared to their weekdays, demonstrated a notable decrease in the risk of cardiovascular diseases. This included conditions like stroke, coronary heart disease, and angina (which causes chest pain due to reduced blood flow). In contrast, those who did not prioritize catch-up sleep did not experience the same benefits.

The decreased risk was particularly notable among individuals who slept less than six hours on weekdays and managed to get at least two additional hours of sleep on weekends.

“Sleeping less than six hours per night can have serious consequences for our health,” warned Dr. Marc Siegel, a clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor. He emphasized that inadequate sleep increases the risk of stress hormone release, as well as the likelihood of heart attack and stroke.”

“According to the expert, it is possible to compensate for a lack of sleep during the week and restore your health by getting more than two additional hours of sleep on the weekend. This can help reduce the risk of heart disease to its normal level,” he explained to Fox News Digital.

On the other hand, not getting enough sleep on a regular basis can lead to chronic fatigue and higher chances of developing obesity and cardiovascular diseases, as highlighted by the expert.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), not getting enough sleep has been associated with an increased risk of various health issues, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, depression, high blood pressure, and more.