The survey gathered information on how long the participants slept on weekdays and weekends, as well as whether they had heart disease, high blood pressure and/or diabetes.
The reduced risk was most significant among those who got less than six hours of sleep on weekdays and slept for at least two extra hours on weekends.
Catching up on sleep over the weekend could provide the bonus of improved cardiovascular health, according to a new study. (iStock)
“Sleeping less than six hours per night increases our risk of stress hormone release and increased heart attack and stroke,” said Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor.
“Making up sleep debt does not fully reverse the effects of chronic sleep deprivation.”
“The study found that you can make up for a sleep debt during the week and reset with more than two extra hours on the weekend, bringing your risk of heart disease back to baseline,” he told Fox News Digital.
“Though this is observational and not proof, I believe this finding is real, because more sleep brings your metabolism down to a lower level where the risks are lower,” he added.
People who slept for at least one hour longer on weekends than on weekdays were shown in a study to have lower rates of cardiovascular disease. (iStock)
Fox News Digital reached out to the study author for additional comments.
Dr. Biquan Luo, a San Francisco sleep expert and CEO of LumosTech, which produces a smart sleep mask to promote healthy circadian rhythms, shared her reaction to the study findings. She was not involved in the research.
“Under normal circumstances, when you are not sleep-deprived, a consistent sleep schedule helps maintain the body’s circadian rhythms, supporting higher-quality sleep, better energy and cardiometabolic health,” Luo told Fox News Digital.
“That’s why sleep experts recommend not sleeping in during the weekend.”
The reduced risk was most significant among those who got less than six hours of sleep on weekdays and slept for at least two extra hours on weekends. (iStock)
“In this case, catching up on sleep on the weekend is more beneficial for your health,” she said.
The Sleep Research Society and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommend at least seven hours of sleep per night for adults.
Insufficient sleep has previously been linked to a higher risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, depression, high blood pressure and other diseases and conditions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Melissa Rudy is health editor and a member of the lifestyle team at Fox News Digital.
