Seven hours is the optimum length of time you should be asleep, according to multiple studies. Research has long found those who sleep between six and eight hours a day are less likely to develop a host of diseases – and even live longer.
We all know that a weekend lie-in is the perfect treat after five days at work. But research suggests that it does much more than simply recharge your batteries – it could actually save your life.
Scientists at China‘s Nanjing Medical University tracked 3,400 people to monitor how sleep cycles affect health.
They discovered that those who were sleep-deprived during the week but nabbed an extra two hours’ kip on a Saturday or Sunday were 63 per cent less likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke.
By contrast, workers who got less than six hours a night during the week and didn’t make up for it at the weekend had far higher rates of cardiovascular disease.
Adequate sleep – between seven and eight hours a night for most people – is known to protect against heart problems.
It reduces the effect of stress hormones on the body, keeping blood vessels free from inflammation.
But the latest research suggests that getting by on less is not a problem – as long as you catch up on your days off.
However, a recent global survey showed people in Britain manage an average of just 15 minutes extra sleep at the weekend, while in Finland – where lie-ins are longest – it’s still only 26 minutes.
Previous studies have found snoozing an extra hour or two at weekends can ward off obesity and depression.
But, say the Nanjing researchers, ‘Weekend catch-up sleep is [also] associated with a low risk of angina, stroke and heart disease – especially in those with short sleep durations during the week.
Don’t stress if you can’t fall asleep
Don’t stress if you can’t fall asleep at your scheduled bedtime though.
‘I think people get really worked up sometimes if they try to make their wake time or their bedtime really strict because then when they can’t fall asleep at that time. It’s okay,’ Dr Winter said.
‘The chances of you, over the next year, going to bed at 11 o’clock every night and always falling asleep in five minutes is slim to none. If you go to bed tonight at 11 o’clock, and you don’t feel like you’re falling asleep, I think the first thing to understand is this is normal.’
And if you do go to bed later one night, don’t take a long nap to make up for it. This could make it more difficult to fall asleep when bedtime rolls around.
‘The napping often perpetuates the sleep problem and turns an isolated, difficult night falling asleep into something that’s much more chronic and sustained,’ Dr Winter said.
Credit: dailymail.co.uk
