Lie-ins could cut risk of early death

Weekend lie-ins are not merely a beloved tradition, but a boost to the health of sleep-starved workers, new research indicates.

A study of nearly 40,000 people by Sweden’s Karolinska Institute found that adults under the age of 65 who slept fewer than five hours per night on average were significantly less healthy than those who got between five and eight hours.

The study, published in the Journal of Sleep Research, was based on data from a 1997 lifestyle survey which included questions on sleeping patterns. Researchers used death registry records to track the fate of more than 38,000 adults who participated in the survey, dating up to 2010.

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They found that “once factors such as gender, body mass index, smoking, physical activity and shift work, were taken into account” those who slept less than five hours per night had a 65% higher mortality rate than those getting six or seven hours’ sleep”, says The Guardian.

But, crucially “there was no increased risk of death for those who slept five or fewer hours during the week but then managed eight or more hours’ sleep on weekend days”.

The new study also found that, contrary to popular belief, “those who got more than eight hours… had worse health”, The Times reports, “possibly because it meant they had an underlying condition”.

Torbjörn Åkerstedt, one of the authors of the study, said that previous studies had concentrated on average sleep during the working week.

“I suspected there might be some modification if you included also weekend sleep, or day-off sleep,” he said, adding: “The assumption in this is that weekend sleep is a catch-up sleep.”

However, despite its ostensible health benefits, the “mini jet lag” effect of extra sleep at the weekend may actually leave you feeling more tired.

A 2016 study from the same institute found that sleeping in late on Saturday and Sunday “messes with the natural rhythms of your body making you feel worse rather than more rested”, The Independent reported at the time.