Want to lower risk of heart disease? Stay in bed and do THIS on the weekend, a new study suggests

The hectic pace of a typical workweek, driven by school or job obligations, often causes sleep problems. However, getting extra sleep on weekends could reduce the likelihood of developing heart disease by up to 20%, recent findings shared at ESC Congress 2024 reveal.

The research was presented at the annual European Society of Cardiology (ESC) conference.

“Sufficient compensatory sleep is linked to a lower risk of heart disease. The association becomes even more pronounced among individuals who regularly experience inadequate sleep on weekdays,” said study co-author Yanjun Song

The Chinese researcher is from the State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease, Fuwai Hospital, National Centre for Cardiovascular Disease, Beijing.

The study led by Song's team examined sleep habits in 90,900 people from the UK. About 22%, or 19,800 individuals, were identified as lacking sleep since they slept under seven hours per night on average. The findings indicated no noticeable distinctions between the genders.

Over a period of nearly 14 years, researchers tracked these participants' hospital and death records for heart-related conditions such as heart failure, atrial fibrillation and stroke.

The findings revealed that those who made up for lost sleep had a 19% lower chance of developing heart problems. For the sleep-deprived group, getting more catch-up sleep reduced their risk of heart disease by 20%.

‘Well-conducted analysis’

Dr. Nisha Parikh called it a “well-conducted analysis”. The director of the Women’s Heart Program for Northwell Health’s Cardiovascular Institute and the Katz Institute for Women’s Health in the US spoke to the New York Post.

She explained that sleep disorders and lack of sleep are connected to health issues like high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and heart disease. Dr. Parikh added that catching up on sleep over the weekend might help reduce some of the negative effects caused by not getting enough sleep during the week.