Do you have a “sleep debt”? An expert reveals why you should stop partying on the weekend to get a proper rest and warns that you should never set your alarm on Saturday or Sunday

There’s nothing quite like the excitement of finishing work on a Friday night and starting a weekend of partying.

But spending Saturday and Sunday out on the town instead of in bed could wreak havoc on your sleep and ruin the rest of your working week, warns Lisa Artis, deputy chief executive of Simba’s charity partner, The Sleep Charity in Doncaster.

While drinking alcohol on the dance floor seems like the perfect way to relax, Lisa says you might pay the price for it on Monday morning.

Not getting enough sleep on Saturdays and Sundays leads to hours of “sleep debt,” leaving the brain tired and ill-prepared for the work week, he explained.

“Taking it easy on the weekend may sound boring, but it does a lot of good for the body, especially when it comes to sleep,” she added.

‘We function on a roughly 24-hour cycle called the circadian rhythm, regulated by the suprachiasmatic nucleus in the hypothalamus.

‘Maintaining a regular sleep pattern over the weekend, i.e. not going out drinking or partying until dawn, preserves this cycle, allowing the body to recharge normally.’

The expert stressed that the key to quality sleep is to ensure that it is uninterrupted; to do so, she suggested postponing the alarm on both Saturdays and Sundays.

She said: ‘With quality, uninterrupted sleep, no alarm and a few days of rest, you’ll go to work on Monday feeling refreshed and ready for the week.’

Lisa explained that a high “sleep debt” increases certain chemicals in our brain, leading to exhaustion and tiredness. The only way to reduce these chemicals is to catch up on your sleep cycle.

‘On the contrary, living for the weekend, staying up late and accumulating sleep debt leads to increased levels of adenosine, the brain chemical that makes us tired,’ he continued.

‘And with work just around the corner, there’s not enough time to recover before the week starts again. Adenosine levels will remain high until we get our sleep cycle back on track.

“This can make work harder than usual, affecting concentration and reducing our overall performance on tasks during the work week.”

Experts have also discovered another reason why you should stay in bed on the weekend: People who get “enough sleep” are less likely to experience symptoms of depression.

Researchers at Central South University in China analyzed data from nearly 8,000 people who completed an assessment of depressive symptoms and answered a questionnaire about their sleep.

They found that almost half of people caught up on sleep by spending more time in bed on weekends.

Overall, people who slept one to two hours more on weekends were up to 46 percent less likely to show depressive symptoms, they found.

Depressive symptoms may include persistent feelings of sadness and lack of interest in previously enjoyable activities.

Further analysis revealed that the benefit of getting enough sleep on weekends on depression symptoms was primarily apparent in people who slept six hours or less on weekdays.

The link also appeared to be stronger in men and those under age 65.

In a paper published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, the team said: ‘Depression is the most common mental disorder, affecting an estimated 280 million people worldwide.

‘Our aim was to investigate the association between weekend restful sleep and depressive symptoms in adults.’

In their conclusion, they wrote: ‘Refreshing weekend sleep of zero to two hours was associated with lower odds of reporting depressive symptoms.

‘Our findings may provide additional epidemiological evidence on the effects of sleep on depressive symptoms.’

Despite the findings, Professor Russell Foster, an expert on sleep and circadian rhythms, says spending a few extra hours in bed on Saturday and Sunday is unlikely to make up for the sleep debt built up during the week.

Numerous studies show that even sleeping 10 hours a night on the weekend will not restore your cognitive ability.

And it can actually disrupt your body’s internal clock, making it even harder to fall asleep at night.

The Oxford University professor explained to MailOnline why sleeping in is not always the best way to catch up on lost rest.

A person is not getting enough sleep if they struggle to perform at their best during the day, Professor Foster said.

People need eight hours of sleep a night, on average, but six to 10 and a half hours is a “healthy range,” she says.

Those who fall within this window and are not exhausted during the day need not worry, according to Professor Foster.

But those who regularly feel tired, irritable, impulsive and crave sugary or caffeinated drinks probably need more time in bed, she added.

However, making up for lost sleep hours over the weekend by sleeping in is not the best way to do so.

Professor Foster said: ‘If you’re drained of energy and you sleep four or five hours, you won’t get enough sleep if you stay in bed.

‘Laboratory studies have shown that if you sleep too much on the weekend, even if it’s just 10 hours, you won’t have caught up on sleep on Monday.’

But an occasional nap won’t do much harm to those who are only mildly sleep deprived if they sleep about 30 minutes less each night, he said.

But sleeping in on the weekend can have a knock-on effect on your body clock if it prevents you from getting outside in the morning, the professor said.

Exposure to morning light helps the body get into a pattern of waking up earlier and going to sleep earlier, he explained.

Professor Foster suggested that those suffering from sleep deprivation should go to bed earlier at night and maintain their normal routine.

“You can sleep in too much on the weekends, but make sure you go to bed earlier rather than staying in bed later,” she added.