Sleeping in on weekends does not guarantee putting a person in good stead throughout the coming week, according to a new study published Monday.
The researchers from Penn State University's Hershey Sleep Research & Treatment Center found that catching up on sleep during the weekends does not necessarily compensate for lack of sleep throughout the other days in the week. Entitled 'The Effects of Recovery Sleep After One Workweek of Mild Sleep Restriction on Interleukin-6 and Cortisol Secretion and Daytime Sleepiness and Performance', the study is published in the American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism.
Thirty health adults were instructed to sleep for eight straight hours for the first four nights, six hours for the next six nights and ten hours for the next three nights in order for them to stimulate sleep loos and sleep recovery thereafter. Researchers found that although sleeping in on weekends helped reduced tiredness and tension, it wasn't very much helpful in restoring a person's concentration, according to the University Herald. They also found that if a person has already lost a few days of sleep, she is usually faced with unpleasant consequences like increased daytime sleepiness, worsened performance during the day and even impaired blood sugar circulation.
Dr. Alexandros Vgontzas, lead author of the study told the Huffington Post that "the major take away message is that extended sleep helps, but only to some extent." "The repeated cycle of restriction/recovery may be harmful to your health in the long run. The long-term effects of a repeated sleep restriction/sleep recovery weekly cycle in humans remains unknown," he added.
This theory is also supported by the National Sleep Foundation of America which claims that "when we don't get adequate sleep, we accumulate a sleep debt that can be difficult to 'pay back' if it becomes too big. The resulting sleep deprivation has been linked to health problems such as obesity and high blood pressure, negative mood and behavior, decreased productivity, and safety issues in the home, on the job, and on the road."
