Over the years we have been informed again and again that a consistent sleep schedule is the key to success in life. If you miss out on those precious hours, even for one night, then these lost hours accumulate in a sleep debt.

However, a surprising research has stated that you can make up for your poor sleeping habits on the weekdays by sleeping a little more over the weekends. The diseases and illnesses associated with sleep deprivation, like heart attack, obesity and diabetes may be of less severity if compensated by sleeping more on your days off.  

The study analyzed 13 years of information to make inferences about peoples’ sleeping habits. According to the research, individuals who slept for 5 hours or less have a 65% high risk of dying prematurely than their counterparts who slept for 6 hours or more. What surprising is that the same people with the high death rate that compensated their sleep over the weekend did not face that high mortality risk anymore.  

Well we do not suggest that you skip on sleep over the weekdays and sleep for 20 odd hours on Saturday and Sunday. Such extreme inconsistencies in sleep schedule may confuse your internal biological clock and can make you ill in the long run. This is just one study that has this claim.

The truth is that every person sleeps differently. What works for one may not work for the other. This method is more of a temporary remedy as opposed to a permanent lifestyle. We all face days when we are stuck with daily activities that it may be difficult to stick to your ritual of an eight hour sleep. For such days, you can lessen the impact of sleep deprivation by sleeping more over the weekdays.

Next Article: Why you shouldn’t Skip Eight Hours of Sleep