Weekend lies are packed with mixed emotions You should stick to your regular sleep routine or try to make up for lost sleep But findings from a new study could give you permission to snooze weekend alarms without guilt 

The study, conducted by Fuwai Hospital's National Centre for Cardiovascular Disease and presented at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Conference 2024 in London, says keeping up with weekend sleep reduces the risk of heart disease by 20% 

The authors recorded the association between compensated sleep and heart health using data from more than 40 subjects aged 69 to 90,000 from the UK Biobank project About 218% of the participants reported lack of sleep, while the rest occasionally showed signs of insufficient sleep 

Hospital records and cause of death registry information were used to diagnose heart disease, including ischemic heart disease (IHD), atrial fibrillation (AF), heart failure, and stroke Participants were grouped into 4 quartiles, from the most compensated to the least compensated, and their sleep data was recorded using accelerometers

The results showed that catching up on sleep lost over the weekend reduced the risk of heart disease to 5'1 compared to those who did not get extra sleep over the weekend, or who slept less 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 3 in 1 of US adults consistently get less sleep than they need In the short term, lack of sleep can impair cognitive function, which means critical thinking, memory and mood are affected In the long run, lack of sleep can lead to an increased risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, anxiety, and decreased heart health 

This happens when lack of sleep increases cortisol levels, increases blood sugar levels and pressure, and craves sweets and carbohydrates that lead to weight gain and other psychiatric problems This is a vicious circle of concern that begins with the absence of uninterrupted sleep 

To offset the negative effects of lack of sleep, you may be tempted to hit snooze on weekends Experts agree that a consistent sleep schedule is best for optimal sleep health, but the study found that keeping up with the weekend's lie is a good way to sleep

after a 14-year follow-up period in which all participants were found to have a lower risk of heart disease "In individuals who regularly experience inadequate sleep on weekdays, the association (between compensatory sleep and heart health) becomes even more pronounced," said Yanjun Song of the National Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases at the National Cardiovascular Center in Beijing, China

However, these findings go against the general advice that waking up simultaneously every day is best for optimal sleep health So, a weekend sleep or a regular sleep schedule is the best "Acute sleep deprivation can be compensated by going to bed for an extra hour on the weekend or going to bed 1 hour earlier than normal bedtime," Dr Shelby Harris, a board certified in Behavioral sleep Medicine by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, said in a conversation with the Peloton

"This can 'repay' a small amount of sleep debt caused by a few nights of bad sleep, but it's not a long-term solution for a large amount of sleep debt," she adds

Lack of sleep can affect sleep quality, cause mood swings and reduce productivity, whether you're pulling late nights for a project or losing sleep over a longer period of time 

Experts agree that the best way to reap the benefits of restful sleep is to have a consistent sleep routine This sets your circadian rhythm, the body's internal clock, and it's responsible for making you sleepy at the end of the day along all the physical and mental processes The more systematic your sleep routine is, the better your body's clock function will be, and your overall sleep quality will improve