Poor sleep can increase the risk of heart disease, however, finding time for rest amidst a hectic work schedule could be often challenging. Fortunately, a recent study suggests a practical solution to mitigate heart disease risk: catching up on lost sleep over the weekends might help offset sleep deficits from the week.
Sleep debt is the gap between the amount of quality sleep we need, around seven hours each night, and the amount we get. Chronic sleep debt has been linked to various serious health issues, including heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, obesity, and depression.
To estimate the benefits of compensatory sleep on heart disease risk, the team of researchers from the State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease, Fuwai Hospital, and the National Centre for Cardiovascular Disease in Beijing examined 90,903 participants, who were part of the UK Biobank project.
Sleep data of the participants was recorded using accelerometers and categorized into quartiles, ranging from most to least compensated sleep.
The participants who reported less than 7 hours of sleep per night were classified as sleep deprived. In total, 19,816 participants, or 21.8%, were identified as sleep-deprived based on self-reported data.
Using hospital records and death registry information, the researchers estimated the incidence of heart diseases such as ischemic heart disease, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and stroke.
The researchers followed up the participants for an average of around 14 years, after which the participants in quartile 4, with the most compensatory sleep, were found to be 19% less likely to develop heart disease compared to those in quartile 1 with the least compensatory sleep.
"Sufficient compensatory sleep is linked to a lower risk of heart disease. The association becomes even more pronounced among individuals who regularly experience inadequate sleep on weekdays," said study co-author Mr. Yanjun Song in a news release.
The study results will be presented at the ESC Congress conducted in London this week.
"Our results show that for the significant proportion of the population in modern society that suffers from sleep deprivation, those who have the most 'catch-up' sleep at weekends have significantly lower rates of heart disease than those with the least," said co-author Mr. Zechen Liu.
