Weekend lie-ins boost life expectancy

Just five more minutes…

Sleeping in on a Saturday to make up for lost sleep during the week is key to keeping alert, healthy, and can even help you live longer, according to new research. A study by Stockholm University has revealed that despite claims that you can’t simply ‘catch up’ on tiredness, maybe the idea isn’t too far removed from the truth.

Examining the nighttime habits of 43,000 individuals, the team discovered that those who regularly have less than five hours sleep each night were at a much higher risk of reducing their life expectancy. Too much sleep isn’t too great for you either, however, with reports that those who consistently slept for longer than 8 hours also found themselves with an increased likelihood of health problems.

“It seems like you actually can compensate by catching up on sleep during weekends,” explains Torbjörn Åkerstedt, lead researcher of the study, as reported by Business Insider Nordic. “This is in effect an argument for lazing around all weekend.”

The results imply that a regular change in your sleep pattern could in fact be a way to maintain alertness and keep you going through your stressful week. There are, of course, many other factors that affect your health and how much rest you get, but an increased understanding of how you sleep and how many hours you get can increase your productivity throughout daily life, but management should also start taking note of their employee’s bedtime habits if they want to make the most of their team.

“Managers should be trained to notice the signs and act on them promptly”, said Ines Respini Jones last year. “While employees themselves can take action to prevent burnout by adopting healthy eating habits, exercising regularly, getting a proper amount of sleep, sleeping without artificial lights, and setting work boundaries to ensure a proper work-life work balance.”

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