Do you have a ‘sleep debt’? Expert reveals why you should ditch weekend partying for a good night’s sleep – and warns never to set an alarm on Saturday and Sunday

There’s nothing like the excitement you feel when you get off work on a Friday night and are ready for a weekend of partying.

But spending your Saturday and Sunday in town instead of in bed could disrupt your sleep and ruin the rest of your working week, warns Lisa Artis, deputy director of Simba’s charity partner, The Sleep Charity in Doncaster.

While drinking alcohol on the dance floor may seem like the perfect way to unwind, Lisa says you could be paying the price on Monday morning.

If you don’t get enough sleep on Saturday and Sunday, you’ll be “sleep deprived” for hours, leaving your brain tired and unprepared for the work week, she explains.

“It may seem boring to take it easy on the weekend, but it’s good for your body — especially when it comes to sleep,” she added.

Lisa Artis, deputy director of Simba’s charity partner, The Sleep Charity in Doncaster, says lack of sleep on Saturdays and Sundays leads to hours of ‘sleep debt’ (Stock photo)

‘We function according to a cycle of approximately 24 hours, the circadian rhythm, which is regulated by the suprachiasmatic nucleus in the hypothalamus.

‘By maintaining a regular sleep pattern over the weekend, i.e. not drinking and partying until the morning, this cycle is maintained and the body can recharge in the normal way.’

The expert stressed that the key to a good night’s sleep is to get uninterrupted sleep, which is why she recommended delaying your alarm on both Saturday and Sunday.

She said, “With a good, uninterrupted sleep, no alarm clock, and a few quiet days, you will go to work on Monday feeling rested and ready for the new week.”

Lisa explained that a high ‘sleep debt’ increases certain chemicals in our brains, leading to exhaustion and fatigue. The only way to reduce these chemicals is to catch up on your sleep cycle.

“In contrast, weekend living, staying up late and accumulating sleep deprivation leads to increased levels of adenosine — the brain chemical that makes us tired,” she continued.

‘And with work coming up, there’s not enough time to recover before the week starts again. Adenosine levels stay high until we get our sleep cycle back on track.

“This can make work more difficult than normal, affecting concentration and worsening our overall task performance throughout the workweek.”

She added that a weekend away in the city instead of in bed could ruin your work week (Stock photo)

Experts have discovered another reason why you should stay in bed on the weekend: People who get “sleep” are less likely to experience symptoms of depression.

Researchers from Central South University in China analyzed data from nearly 8,000 people who underwent an assessment of depressive symptoms and completed a questionnaire about their sleep.

They found that nearly half of people caught up on sleep by staying in bed longer over the weekend.

People who slept one or two hours longer on weekends were 46 percent less likely to show depressive symptoms overall, they found.

Depressive symptoms may include persistent feelings of sadness and a lack of interest in activities that were once enjoyable.

Further research found that the benefit of catching up on weekend sleep on depression symptoms was most evident among people who slept six hours or less during the week.

The association also appeared to be stronger in men and people younger than 65 years.

The team wrote in the Journal of Affective Disorders: ‘Depression is the most common mental disorder, affecting approximately 280 million people worldwide.

‘Our aim was to investigate the association between weekend catch-up sleep and depressive symptoms in adults.’

In their conclusion, they wrote: ‘At weekends, zero to two hours of catch-up sleep was associated with a lower risk of depressive symptoms.

‘Our findings may provide additional epidemiological evidence for the effects of sleep on depressive symptoms’.

Despite the findings, sleep and circadian rhythm expert Professor Russell Foster says a few extra hours of sleep on Saturday and Sunday is probably not enough to make up for the sleep deficit built up during the week.

Numerous studies show that even if you sleep just 10 hours a night on the weekend, your cognitive abilities do not return to normal.

In fact, it can even confuse the body’s internal clock, making it even harder to fall asleep at night.

Tips to fall asleep and sleep better

Insomnia means that you have trouble sleeping regularly. It can get better by changing your sleeping habits.

One in three adults in the UK and almost half of adults in the US suffer from insomnia, while millions more report being unable to sleep at night.

Long-term sleep deprivation can lead to obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Insomnia can be caused by stress, anxiety, alcohol, caffeine or nicotine, noise, shift work, and jet lag.

If you regularly have trouble sleeping, there are simple ways to improve your sleep hygiene.

Ensure regular sleeping hours

• Try to go to bed when you feel tired and get up at the same time every day.

Create a relaxing space

• In a dark, quiet and cool environment it is generally easier to fall asleep and stay asleep.

Get moving

• Exercise is good for your physical health and your mind. It can also help you sleep better. Just don’t do intense exercise too close to bedtime.

Don’t force it

• If you find yourself unable to fall asleep, get up and do something relaxing for a while, then go back to bed when you feel a bit sleepier.

Write down your worries

• If you find yourself lying awake at night worrying about your worries, write them down before you go to sleep.

Reduce caffeine

• Alcohol and caffeine can prevent you from falling asleep and sleeping deeply. Drinking less caffeine right before bed and drinking less alcohol can help you fall asleep.

Source NHS

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The Oxford University professor told MailOnline why sleeping in isn’t always the best way to catch up on rest.

According to Professor Foster, if a person cannot perform optimally during the day, they are not getting enough sleep.

People need an average of eight hours of sleep a night. But six to 10 and a half hours is a “healthy range,” he says.

People who fall within this time frame and are not exhausted during the day have nothing to worry about, according to Professor Foster.

But people who regularly feel tired, irritable, impulsive and crave sugary or caffeinated drinks may likely need more time in bed, he added.

However, sleeping in isn’t the best way to make up for lost hours of sleep over the weekend.

Professor Foster said: ‘If you’re completely exhausted and you sleep for four or five hours, you’re not getting enough sleep if you sleep in.

‘Laboratory research has shown that if you sleep 10 hours too long over the weekend, you still won’t have caught up on it on Monday.’

But sleeping in occasionally won’t hurt people who are only mildly sleep deprived, as long as they sleep about 30 minutes less per night, he noted.

But sleeping in on the weekend can have a domino effect on your biological clock if it means you can’t get out in the morning, the professor said.

Exposure to morning light helps the body get used to the pattern of waking up earlier and falling asleep earlier, he explained.

Professor Foster advised sleep-deprived people to go to bed earlier and maintain their normal sleep routine.

“You can sleep in on the weekend, but make sure you go to bed earlier rather than staying in bed later,” he added.