Weekends dedicated to sleeping in could reap real health benefits and lead to a longer lifespan, according to a new study.
Past research has found that lack of sleep can increase one's risk of death, but the latest study, published in the Journal of Sleep Research, found that compensating by sleeping in on the weekend could counteract the risk.
“Possibly, long weekend sleep may compensate for short weekday sleep,” the study said, contradicting previous claims that you can’t make up for nights of little or no sleep.
The study’s researchers found that adults under the age of 65 who received five or fewer hours of sleep per night but slept in for eight or more hours on the weekend were able to avoid increased mortality rates normally associated with lack of sleep.
"The results imply that short (weekday) sleep is not a risk factor for mortality if it is combined with a medium or long weekend sleep," the report said. "This suggests that short weekday sleep may be compensated for during the weekend, and that this has implications for mortality."
WGN Morning News weatherman Paul Komrad observed one problem parents may have trying to catch up with sleep on the weekends when he tweeted, “Someone please share this post with my children.”
Twitter was way ahead of the research.
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