Study Says Catching Up on Sleep During the Weekend Won’t Undo the Damage Caused By Sleep Deprivation

Are you that type of person who needs cups of coffee at work simply because you look bleary-eyed, puffy, groggy and just can’t seem to focus? Well, the bad news is you are most probably suffering from sleep deprivation which is one condition that can result in a very negative response by your body leading to several diseases and disorders. Sleep deprivation shuts down normal function which is why you feel irritable all the time. It takes a huge toll on your mental health as well hiking up your stress levels, blood pressure and general feeling of well being. In fact, you won’t feel a being at all; you will feel like a zombie if it continues.

1Losing sleep on weekdays is bad lifestyle habit

Just a weekly sleep on your off days while you spend the rest of the week staying up late and losing sleep is not an ideal lifestyle for anyone. Research at the University of Colorado, Boulder found how catching up with sleep on weekends does nothing for the damage of sleep deprivation during the week. The study was published in Current Biology.

2Poor sleep and making up is a bad strategy

In fact, the study also mentioned that trying to get more sleep in spare time just to catch up is even worse especially if you again return to the sleep deprivation routine of the week. So what the study is trying to tell you is that there is no substitute for a healthy sleep routine and we all need it.

Senior Author and director of the UIC Boulder’s sleep and Chronobiology lab, Kenneth Wright said: “Our findings suggest that the common behavior of burning the candle during the week and trying to make up for it on the weekend is not an effective health strategy.” Unfortunately, that has become the lifestyle habit of millions of people around the globe who in spite of no real deadlines of work stay up for socializing, gaming and just out of plain habit.

3Sleep deprivation impacts health in more ways than one

It doesn’t take scientific degrees to know that sleep deprivation is bad for health. It is commonly linked to weight gain, obesity, diabetes and food craving. It can also decrease insulin sensitivity and decreases the body’s ability to regulate sugar. Just one night of restless sleep can impair your body’s metabolic function.

4Sleeping on weekends doesn’t make up for sleep lost during the week

There have been some studies in the past that said if you sleep more on weekends to make up for the lack of sleep, it can help the body to recover, but what about normal body function for every other day of the week. Your body responds to day to day activity and needs all of its protocols of health on a daily basis not a weekly one. Sleep is part of the normal body requirement for healthy function and metabolic activity every day. Thus such studies are inaccurate because a weekly make up of sleep has only a shirt and sweet effect on the body which is temporary.