- Nearly half of people caught up on sleep by spending more time in bed on weekends
There’s nothing like resting for a while on the weekend.
Now, experts have discovered another reason why it’s wise to stay in bed: People who “catch up on 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, they found that people who slept one to two hours more on weekends were up to 46 percent less likely to show signs of depressive symptoms.
There’s nothing like resting for a while on the weekend. Now, experts have discovered another reason why you should stay in bed: People who “catch up on sleep” are less likely to experience symptoms of depression (file image)
Depressive symptoms can include persistent feelings of sadness and lack of interest in activities that were once pleasurable.
Further analysis revealed that the benefit of sleeping on weekends to catch up on sleep on depression symptoms was primarily present in people who slept six hours or less on weekdays.
The link also appeared to be stronger in men and those under 65 years of age.
Writing in the Journal of Affective Disorders, the team said: “Depression is the most common mental disorder, with approximately 280 million people worldwide suffering from it.”
“Our goal was to investigate the association between restful sleep on weekends and depressive symptoms in adults.”
In their conclusion, they wrote: “0 to 2 hours of weekend recovery sleep was associated with lower odds of depressive symptoms.”
“Our findings may provide additional epidemiological evidence on the effects of sleep on depressive symptoms.”
Despite the findings, previous studies have indicated that spending the weekend in bed can increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease and obesity.
Research has found that small inconsistencies in sleep patterns (for example, lying down on the weekend for just 90 minutes) could make a significant difference in gut health.
Experts found that people who used an alarm clock during the week but stayed up late and overslept on weekends ate less healthily, with more sugary drinks and lower intakes of fruits and nuts.
They were also found to have higher markers of inflammation (a sign of poorer health) compared to those with consistent sleep patterns.
Dr. Lindsay Browning, a psychologist and sleep expert, has also previously advised that people maintain regular bedtimes throughout the week, rather than trying to make up for lost sleep by going to bed on the weekends.