New research published in the academic journal Psychosomatic Medicine shows that even a few days of sleep deprivation followed by catch-up sleep over the weekend cannot prevent the negative effects.
According to the findings, it’s not enough to sleep 5 to 6 hours for good health; you need to get a full 8 hours of sleep every night. Furthermore, even missing sleep for 1 to 2 nights negatively impacts heart rate and blood pressure and cannot be “made up,” as reported by Indian Express.
Even sleeping 6 hours and then catching up on the weekend cannot avoid the negative effects.
The study conducted by researchers from Penn State University in the United States involved 15 male participants aged 20 to 35, who were monitored over a span of 10 days.
During the first 3 nights, participants were allowed to sleep up to 10 hours each night. For the next 5 nights, their sleep was limited to 5 hours per night, followed by 2 recovery nights where they could sleep up to 10 hours each night.
The researchers measured the participants’ heart rates and blood pressure every 2 hours.
The results revealed that both heart rate and blood pressure increased daily and did not return to baseline levels by the end of the recovery phase.
This means that even short-term sleep deprivation, followed by “catch-up sleep” with 2 nights of adequate rest, is not sufficient to lower elevated blood pressure and heart rate caused by sleep loss, according to Indian Express.
Sleep deprivation exacerbates conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and high blood pressure.
The Dangers of Sleep Deprivation
Dr. Sandeep Bansal from the Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery at PGIMER, Chandigarh (India), states that over time, sleep deprivation can lead to and worsen conditions like obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and hypertension.
How Many Hours of Sleep Do We Need Each Night?
According to Dr. Virendar Sarwal from the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at IVY Hospital, Mohali (India), the duration of sleep can vary depending on age, individual health, and environment, but aiming for 7 to 9 hours of sleep is ideal, as noted by Indian Express.
Cardiologists explain: “Some hormones are only released during nighttime sleep, and a lack of sleep reduces these hormones, leading to increased blood pressure, heart rate, weight gain, and insulin resistance.”
Sleep deprivation also increases stress hormones, inflammation, and reduces the function of the endothelial lining of blood vessels, adversely affecting cardiovascular health, and increasing the risks of atherosclerosis and heart attacks.
