A new study has proven that sleeping in on weekends is useless.

For those who sacrifice sleep during the week in favor of work in the hope of catching up on sleep on the weekends, there is bad news. A new study published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine shows that sleeping less than five hours during the week worsens cardiovascular health, and that sleep on weekends is not enough to improve it. This pattern of sleep deprivation can make a person more susceptible to cardiovascular disease in the future.

Heart is under attack

So, everyone who naively believes that lack of sleep during the week can be compensated by sleeping in on the weekends is mistaken. A recent study from the University of Pennsylvania found that limiting sleep to just five hours each day was associated with worse cardiovascular health, including heart rate and blood pressure. At the same time, attempts to restore lost sleep on weekends are not sufficient to return these indicators to normal.

According to one of the study’s authors, Anne-Marie Chang, assistant professor of biosafety at the University of Pennsylvania, only 65% ​​of adults in the United States regularly get the recommended seven hours of sleep a night, and there is ample evidence that this lack of sleep is associated with cardiovascular disease. in the long term. A new study reveals a potential mechanism for this connection.

The researchers recruited 15 healthy men aged 20 to 35 years to participate in an 11-day hospital-based sleep study. For the first three nights, participants were allowed to sleep up to 10 hours per night to achieve a baseline sleep level. For the next five nights, participants’ sleep was limited to five hours a night, followed by two recovery nights in which they were again allowed to sleep up to 10 hours a night.

The researchers measured resting heart rate and blood pressure every two hours throughout the day. What’s unique about the study is that heart rate and blood pressure were measured multiple times throughout the day throughout the study, allowing for the effect of time of day on heart rate and blood pressure. For example, your heart rate is naturally lower when you wake up than it is at the end of the day, so measuring your heart rate multiple times throughout the day can account for this difference.

The scientists found that heart rate increased by almost one beat per minute with each subsequent day of the study. Specifically, the average baseline heart rate was 69 beats per minute, and the average heart rate at the end of the study on the second day of recovery was almost 78 beats per minute. Systolic blood pressure also increased by approximately 0.5 mm Hg. in a day. The mean baseline systolic blood pressure was 116 mmHg. and by the end of the recovery period it reached almost 119.5 mm Hg.

At the same time, both heart rate and systolic blood pressure increased with each subsequent day and did not return to the original level by the end of the recovery period. Thus, despite the additional opportunity to rest, by the end of the study weekend the cardiovascular system of the study participants had not recovered.

How to get rid of insomnia

A famous joke says: “A person spends 30% of his life sleeping. The remaining 70% dreams of getting enough sleep…” Sleep problems are now becoming a global epidemic, affecting 45% of the world’s population. A reduction in the normal duration of sleep, distributed over the physiologically optimal period of the circadian cycle, causes chronic sleep deprivation, contributes to chronic fatigue, the occurrence of diseases, the onset of premature disability and premature mortality. Still, the ideal sleep duration is a very individual parameter. “Everyone’s need for sleep is different,” says professor, general secretary of the Russian Scientific Medical Society of Therapists, member of the Association of Somnologists Andrei Malyavin. – However, one recipe for solving sleep problems is suitable for everyone: you need to get up and go to bed at the same time, both on weekdays and on weekends. And it is advisable to sleep for at least seven hours. But in general, our need for sleep is poorly satisfied: we sleep either too little or too much, we go to bed and get up at different times.

Unfortunately, napping is not a very good solution to the problem. It only brings muscle rest, but does not give vigor – only weakness. After all, in daylight the sleep hormone is not produced. Professor Malyavin notes that daytime sleep is good if it lasts at least an hour: during this time, the necessary phases of sleep are realized. In addition, during daylight the sleep hormone is not produced. The most active production of hormones occurs between 2 and 4 am. “The golden rule for good sleep is not to go to bed the same day you get up,” doctors say. Doctors also agree with popular wisdom that an hour of sleep before midnight is equivalent to two after.

Chronic lack of sleep and the resulting excessive daytime sleepiness are the scourge of modern civilization. A reduction in the normal duration of sleep, distributed over the physiologically optimal period of the circadian cycle, causes chronic sleep deprivation, contributes to chronic fatigue, the occurrence of diseases, the onset of premature disability and premature mortality. And the most common causes of disturbances in circadian and sleep rhythms and their further destabilization are excessive light stimulation and behavioral activity at night. In this case, disturbances occur in the functioning of the body’s “biological clock”.

The most common sleep disorders are insomnia, parasomnias (sleepwalking, night terrors, nocturnal appetite syndrome), REM sleep disorder, narcolepsy, sleep deprivation and obstructive sleep apnea.

Most problems of people suffering from sleep disorders can be resolved through medical or cognitive behavioral therapy. People who have sleep complaints or suffer from excessive daytime sleepiness should visit a doctor and, if necessary, a sleep medicine center.

The World Sleep Medicine Organization has developed recommendations for healthy sleep for everyone.

1. Set an exact time for waking up and going to bed;

2. If you have a habit of sleeping during the day, try not to do it for more than 45 minutes

3. Avoid excessive alcohol consumption 4 hours before bedtime, as well as smoking;

4. Do not consume caffeine less than 6 hours before bedtime. Caffeine is found in coffee, tea, many carbonated drinks and chocolate;

5. Do not eat heavy, spicy, sweet foods less than 4 hours before bedtime. A light snack before bed is allowed;

6. Exercise regularly, but not before bed;

7. Try to make the place to sleep as comfortable as possible;

8. Ventilate the room before going to bed;

9. Try to remove all annoying sounds, leave a minimum of light;

10. Leave the bed only for sleep and intimacy. Don’t use your bed as a place to work or play.