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If you love sleeping in on weekends, here’s some bad news: sleeping just 90 extra minutes beyond your usual wake-up time can disrupt your body’s biological clock and harm your health.
Long Sleep on Weekends Disrupts Biological Clock
A new study found that different sleep schedules on weekdays and weekends can increase the number of gut bacteria linked to obesity, heart attacks, and strokes. The researchers say that just 90 extra minutes in bed can throw off your internal biological clock, affecting everything from immune function to digestion.
British researchers found that even a small change in wake-up time can shift a person’s biological rhythm. The analysis came from a large nutrition project that evaluated 934 mostly lean, healthy people who slept at least seven hours a night. Scientists collected blood and stool samples to profile gut microbes and measured glucose levels, comparing participants with regular sleep schedules to those with irregular ones.
Regular Sleep Schedule is Key to Health
Kate Birmingham says sleep is a core pillar of health, and the study comes at a time of growing interest in circadian rhythms and the gut microbiome. Even a 90-minute shift in sleep patterns can encourage types of microbiota that are linked to worse health outcomes.
The study linked those bacteria to higher diabetes and cardiovascular risk. It also found that people who napped more often consumed more sugary drinks and ate fewer fruits and nuts.
The Daily Mail noted that past studies have linked this “social jet lag” to mental fatigue and weight gain. Dr. Sarah Berry emphasizes that keeping a regular sleep schedule — consistent bed and wake times — is an easy lifestyle change that can benefit health by stabilizing the gut microbiome.
