By Amy Norton
health day reporter
THURSDAY, February 28, 2019 (HealthDay News) — People who are sleep-private during the week often try to catch up on the weekend. But a new study suggests the tactic could backfire.
The researchers found that the day of the week sleep the loss had negative effects on people metabolism — and “catch up” sleep the weekend did not knock him down.
In fact, there were signs that the additional weekend closure could make matters worse, said the study’s lead author Kenneth Wright, a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
The bottom line, according to Wright, is that people should consistently get enough sleep.
“If you want to live a healthy life,” he said, “it has to include good sleep habits.”
The study, published online Feb. 28 in the journal Current biology, included 36 healthy young adults. They were randomly assigned to one of three groups who all spent nine nights in the sleep lab.
One group was allowed to sleep until 9 a.m. each night. A second could only sleep 5 hours. The third group was allowed 5 hours of sleep for five days, then a weekend “recovery” period where they could sleep as late as they liked; after that, they went back to 5 hours of sleep for two nights.
Wright’s team found that in both sleep-deprived groups, people lost some of their sensitivity to insulin, a hormone who regulates blood sugar. They also started eating more at night and gained a little weight, on average.
The group that was allowed to sleep over the weekend saw an advantage: there was less late-eat at night those days.
However, they returned to after-dinner snacking once they returned to 5-hour nights. And their insulin sensitivity remained impaired.
Additionally, Wright said, they showed decreased insulin sensitivity in the liver and muscle, in particular – which was not seen in the group that didn’t sleep over the weekend. end.
Over time, a decrease in insulin sensitivity can be a precursor to Type 2 diabetes. And a number of studies have linked chronic sleep loss to increased risks of diabetes and obesity, Wright noted.
In general, experts recommend adults get 7 or more hours of sleep each night for their overall health. Yet studies show that more than a third of American adults fall short of this goal.
Dr Phyllis Zee, sleep specialist and professor at Northwestern University School of Medicine in Chicago, said: “We tend to believe in the myth that by ‘catching up’ on our sleep on the weekends, we [reverse] the harmful effects of repeated insomnia.”
But, according to Zee, who was not involved in the new research, “the results of this study confirm that this is indeed a myth. In fact, even the muscles and liver ‘remember’ the effects. harmful and persistent effects of sleep loss”.
It’s true, Wright said, that real life can get in the way of optimal sleep. But he added that people should take an honest look at their habits and see if they can find time for a good night’s sleep.
“Who are the ‘sleep thieves’ in your life?” says Wright. “Do you get up late in front of the TV or on your computer?”
Using “screens” late at night is a problem not only because it takes time away from sleep, he pointed out: Staring at a blue light before bed can actually disrupt your ability to fall asleep.
Sleep is vital for a range of bodily processes, not just metabolism. And Zee said there’s evidence that other effects of chronic sleep loss — including impaired alertness and mental performance — can’t be erased with a few nights of catch-up sleep.
“Regularity in the timing and duration of sleep is critical to brain and body health,” she said.
