A new study finds that sleeping in may reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
Lower stress, rest for the heart… Shifting your alarm clock to the weekend is good for your health. This is what a study presented this Thursday, August 29, at the annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology assures us.
People who “catch up” on sleep by sleeping longer at the weekend may see their risk of heart disease reduced by a fifth, researchers say.
“Adequate compensatory sleep is associated with a lower risk of heart disease,” said Yanjun Song, a co-author of the study at the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases in Beijing. “The link is even more pronounced among people who regularly suffer from sleep deprivation on weekdays.”
Sufficient duration and regularity
The study analyzed sleep data from more than 90,000 patients over a median follow-up of nearly 14 years. In this group, 19,816 were sleep deprived. Among them, those with the most compensatory sleep had a 20% lower risk of developing heart disease than those with the least sleep.
While the study appears to support the link between compensatory sleep and cardiovascular disease, it does not mention the importance of regular sleep and the risks of sleeping too little during the week.
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“We have shown in other studies that if there is an irregularity in the schedules, with big differences, there are more metabolic disorders, notably diabetes, recalled Sylvie Royant-Parola, psychiatrist and specialist in sleep disorders, on BFMTV.
The honorary president of the Morphée network added: “On a moral level, it is also an element which is rather linked to depressive disorders. We must therefore remain cautious about these elements of sleep.”
According to a study conducted by Odoxa-MNH for Figaro Santé published this Thursday, February 29, the French sleep on average 6h58 per night. Among them, 33% even sleep 6 hours or less, while health authorities recommend at least 7 hours of sleep.
