Getting more sleep on the weekend may be bad for your health

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Monday 23 Nov 2015 - 12:45 Makkah mean time-11-2-1437 Pittsburgh, (IINA) - A new study found that disruption to regular sleeping patterns can increase the risk of developing metabolic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes, UPI reported. Disruption is used to refer to changes in sleeping schedule. Most people with a day job get up early on workdays, but like to sleep late on off days simply because they can. Older research showed that individuals with irregular work hours or work in a duration other than day hours have a detrimental effect on health. The new study conducted at the University of Pittsburgh shows that "social jetlag" such as getting up late may also be bad for health. Social jetlag refers to a mismatch between a person's socially imposed sleep schedule and their natural circadian rhythm. Researchers said social jetlag is known to relate to obesity and other cardiovascular conditions, however, the link to healthy people is new. "This is the first study to extend upon that work and show that even among healthy, working adults who experience a less extreme range of mismatches in their sleep schedule, social jetlag can contribute to metabolic problems", said Patricia Wong, a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh. "These metabolic changes can contribute to the development of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease". The researchers worked with 447 people between the ages of 30 and 54, of whom 53 percent were women and 83 percent were white. All the participants were healthy and worked part- or full-time day shifts for at least 25 hours per week. The participants wore wristbands to monitor their movement and sleep 24 hours a day, and answered questionnaires about their diet and exercise habits. The researchers found that nearly 85 percent of participants had a later halfway point, called mid-sleep, in their sleep cycle on free days as compared to workdays, while the rest had an earlier mid-sleep on free days than on workdays. Among the people with larger differences in their sleep schedules from workdays to free days tended to have poor cholesterol profiles, higher fasting insulin levels, higher BMI and were more resistant to insulin than people with more consistent sleep schedules throughout the week. Wong said future studies will need to be larger, and if they show similar results, it may indicate that changes to sleep habits could help people lead healthier lives. "There could be benefits to clinical interventions focused on circadian disturbances, workplace education to help employees and their families make informed decisions about structuring their schedules, and policies to encourage employers to consider these issues", Wong said. AG/IINA