‘People should not feel guilty’: weekend lie-in may be good for you, experts say

Weekend catch-up sleep is associated with a 6% reduction in the odds of hypertension. Photograph: Westend61/Getty Images

For years, experts have stressed the risks of lie-ins, warning that catching up on missed sleep at the weekend can disrupt the body’s internal clock and trigger adverse health effects.

Now analysis has produced a heartening caveat to that advice: if you do not overdo it, weekend lie-ins may be good for you, with an ideal benchmark of 1hr 27min extra in bed to protect against high blood pressure.