Beijing, China – People who struggle to get enough sleep during the week may find solace in a new study conducted by researchers at Fuwai Hospital in Beijing. This study suggests that catching up on sleep over the weekend can reduce the risk of heart disease by up to 20%. Lead researcher Yanjun Song emphasized the importance of compensatory sleep in lowering the risk of heart disease, particularly for individuals who regularly experience insufficient sleep on weekdays.
The research, which analyzed sleep data from 90,900 UK residents over a span of almost 14 years, revealed significant findings. Nearly 22% of the participants were categorized as sleep-deprived, sleeping less than seven hours on average each night. Among these participants, those who made up for lost sleep on weekends were 19% less likely to develop heart disease. Additionally, those who slept the most on weekends experienced a 20% lower risk of heart disease, showing the protective effects of catch-up sleep.
However, the study did not find any differences in the results between men and women. Dr. Nisha Parikh, the director of the Women’s Heart Program for Northwell Health’s Cardiovascular Institute, commended the study for its well-conducted analysis. She highlighted the link between sleep disorders, including deprivation, and various cardiometabolic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases. Parikh also emphasized the importance of weekend catch-up sleep in mitigating the negative effects of weekday sleep deprivation.
Presented at the annual European Society of Cardiology (ESC) conference, the research suggests that individuals suffering from sleep deprivation can benefit from catching up on sleep during weekends. Lead researcher Zechen Liu stressed the importance of adequate sleep, recommending adults to get seven to nine hours of sleep every night to avoid accumulating sleep debt.
In a separate study presented at the ESC Congress, researchers from Denmark revealed that women with endometriosis face a 20% higher risk of heart attack and stroke compared to those without the condition. Endometriosis, a painful condition affecting millions of women globally, involves the growth of endometrial-like tissue outside the uterus. On the other hand, men with coronary artery disease can reduce their risk of a major cardiac event by almost half by quitting smoking altogether, as cutting back on cigarettes is not sufficient to lower the risk significantly.