Is catching up on sleep on your days off effective? Surprising facts revealed in an experiment

It's tough not getting enough sleep on weekdays.

We're all probably at some point in our lives where we're constantly being chased by our alarms in the mornings, and then suddenly it's late at night because of work, housework, social media, and videos.

But wait a moment. Does "catch up on sleep" really work?

This time, we'll introduce a study from the United States that answers this question directly. The results of a scientific study into the effects of sleeping in on the weekend on our health are very interesting.

Experiment overview: 9 days, divided into 3 groups

The study involved 36 healthy men and women aged 18 to 39, divided into three groups and observed for nine days.

• ① 9-hour sleep group: Get enough sleep for 9 hours every day.
• ② Group that only sleeps 5 hours: They slept 5 hours a day, regardless of whether it was a weekday or a weekend.
• 3. Sleep-catch group: 5 hours of sleep on weekdays. On weekends, they were allowed to sleep as much as they wanted.

The three groups were compared to see how sleep affected the mind and body.

The unexpected pitfalls of catching up on sleep

While we'd like to think that getting plenty of sleep on the weekend will help us recover, the research results were a bit disappointing.

The sleep-catcher group did indeed sleep more on the weekends, but their extra sleep was only about an hour per day, far from enough to make up for the loss they had during the week.

Not only that, but on weekdays I started having trouble falling asleep and my body clock became disrupted, which actually disrupted my daily rhythm .

In other words, the idea of ​​"resetting yourself by catching up on sleep" was a convenient illusion.

Weight gain? Unexpected side effects

Even more shocking was that some of the people in the sleep-deprived group experienced weight gain .

As people spend more time awake, they end up snacking more and becoming less active, with some people gaining up to 1.3 kilograms .

This isn't so much a case of "children who sleep well grow up," but rather "adults who sleep too much grow up too much."

Furthermore, negative health effects have also been suggested, such as an increased risk of diabetes.

So what should I do?

The answer the research team came up with is quite simple.

" Ideally, you should get at least seven hours of sleep at the same time every day."

You don't need any special supplements or expensive mattresses. What's important is the daily routine .

Cut back on the amount of time you spend watching TV or using your smartphone, and get a good night's sleep. This will improve your concentration the next day and improve your physical condition. In short, getting your daily routine in order is the quickest way to improve your sleep.

Three habits you can start today

• Turn off your smartphone an hour before bed!
  This can excite the brain and make it difficult to fall asleep.
• Create a bedtime routine. Prepare for sleep by having herbal tea, doing some light stretching, and turning down the lights.
• Wake up at the same time every day to prevent disruptions to your body clock and keep your rhythm from getting out of whack on the weekends.

Final words

We tend to think that if we just make up the difference on the weekend, everything will be fine, but it seems that our bodies are not designed to do that easily.

What this research has taught us is that "daily sleep is the best way to stay healthy."

Rather than relying on catching up on sleep, get a solid seven hours on weekdays. This is the secret to keeping your mind and body in order.

"People who sleep well work hard." Believe this and put your smartphone away a little earlier tonight and get into bed even 10 minutes earlier than usual.

May your tomorrow be a little lighter.

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source:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.01.069
“Weekend Catch-Up Sleep Is Not Sufficient to Prevent Metabolic Dysregulation”