The benefit of sleep banks

Is catching up on sleep a myth?

Colloquially, catching up on sleep has been talked about as a poor long-term solution to sleep deprivation. However, a recent study from the State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease at the National Centre for Cardiovascular Disease in Beijing found that catching up on sleep on the weekends is linked to a lower risk of heart disease.

Sleep deprivation has been proven to have negative effects on our health. Melanie Murphy Richter, MS RDN, spoke to Medical News Today about how a consistent lack of sleep can lead to metabolism imbalances, increase in inflammation, and an accumulation of stress hormones. The stress hormones in particular have a large impact on cardiovascular health. The heart relies on sleep to regulate blood pressure, maintain low cholesterol levels, prevent heart attacks, and reduce the risk of obesity. Sleep is also restorative and is linked to better psychological health, explains Dr. Nour Marakem of Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

“A consistent lack of sleep can lead to metabolism imbalances, increase in inflammation, and an accumulation of stress hormones.”

Compensatory sleep, or sleep bank, refers to the increased duration of sleep people get following a period of sleep deprivation. Author Yanjun Song’s study involved collecting data from 90,903 participants in the UK Biobank Study whose sleep data was recorded using activity tracking watches. The subjects were divided into four groups, from group four, who compensated the most for their sleep on their weekends, to group one, or those who compensated the least. Group one got 0.26 to 16.05 fewer hours of sleep on the weekends, while group number four got 1.28 to about 16 more hours of sleep on weekends than they did during the week. The researchers then followed up after 14 years to find that the group with the most amount of weekend sleep compensation was 19% less likely to develop cardiovascular disease, such as heart disease, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and stroke. Hospital records and cause of death registry were used to diagnose the various cardiac diseases. 

However, previous research has shown mixed results. A study done by researchers at the University of Colorado in Boulder found that sleep recovery, or compensatory sleep, still doesn’t prevent the dysregulation of metabolism. They concluded that sleeping extra over the weekend is not an effective strategy and our natural cycles continue to be disrupted, contributing to lower insulin sensitivity and weight gain.

Despite these contrasting studies, doctors do seem to agree on the idea that the healthiest option is to have a consistent sleep schedule. Richter further adds that the quality of sleep is far more important than the quantity, with consistent sleep that doesn’t rely on naps and “banking” over the weekend. Her recommendation is to avoid sleep debts in general.

“The quality of sleep is far more important than the quantity”

There are many unanswered questions with regards to sleep compensation, including what an optimal threshold for compensation is, the minimum amount of sleep that can be made up, and how the data mentioned in Yanjun Song’s study would compare to those who get an adequate amount of sleep every night. Whether or not catching up on sleep is a myth, the idea behind these findings will always be that compensation is better than total sleep deprivation.