Are you one of those who don’t have a routine to sleep on weekdays, and when Saturday and Sunday are approaching, are you already thinking about recovering sleep?
So, here’s an alert!
Despite replacing lost hours of sleep, this habit is not able to help your health and prevent problems such as obesity and diabetes . But calm down, we’ll explain it better.
According to a new study published in the current journal Current Biology , sleeping more on the weekend does not improve metabolic health , which is nothing more than the way the body provides and uses the energies necessary for its functioning.
Sleep and changes in metabolism
In this research, the scientists analyzed healthy men, divided into groups with different sleep times (between 9 and 5 hours) and different routines (between regular and irregular sleep).
From the study, it was possible to assess whether sleep replacement is able to circumvent the negative effects of poor nights. And the answer is: no .
Read more: 6 hours a night is the minimum sleep time to avoid heart disease
In general, the scientists noted that both groups with restricted sleep had an increase in weight – regardless of the extra hours of sleep on the weekends.
In those who slept more in these two days, insulin sensitivity (a hormone that controls blood sugar levels) was 9% to 27% lower than in the other groups.
This puts the person at risk of having problems with blood pressure, increased blood sugar levels ( hyperglycemia ) and weight gain.
How to sleep well even on days of weeks?
A few tips can help you stay up to date in the midst of all the hustle and bustle. Check out:
- Follow a routine at bedtime : it may take a while for you to get used to it, but with that your body will work in favor of your schedules, regulating your sleep at the right time and in a healthy way.
- Take care of meals before bedtime : it is recommended that you eat 3 hours before, as this is the average time that your metabolism takes to completely digest food, preventing you from waking up at dawn.
- Choose the right foods : eating at these times should be limited and not include foods that contain caffeine and alcohol, as both substances interfere with sleep.
Simple habits like these can be included in your routine, both Monday through Friday, as well as on weekends. This change will leave you rested and give you more time for other activities.
Just sleeping as recommended is not enough for you to wake up with that feeling of being new the other day. It is necessary to have a good quality, at all stages of the night to avoid problems related to sleep.
