Most people only dream of a solid eight hours of sleep. We know that not getting the proper amount of rest each night zaps us of energy and productivity, but a new study shows that allowing yourself to catch some extra zzz’s over the weekend is a huge boost to your brain power.
The study, lead by Dr. David Dinges, chief of the Division of Sleep and Chronobiology at the University of Pennsylvania, followed 159 adults with an average age of 30. They spent two consecutive nights sleeping 10 hours, then 17 of the participants continued the 10-hour trend while the rest followed up with only four hours of sleep for five nights in a row.
The sleep deprived people were then allowed randomized nights of recovery sleep, ranging from 0-10 hours per night. The participants were given a series of tests during their waking hours. The results concluded that those who didn’t get much slumber time had a lower attention span, alertness and reaction time. However, after just one night of recovery sleep normal levels were restored!
“The additional hour or two of sleep in the morning after a period of chronic partial sleep loss has genuine benefits for continued recovery of behavioral alertness,” said Dinges in the UK’s Telegraph. ”The bottom line is that adequate recovery is important for coping with the effects of chronic sleep restriction on the brain.”
Though sleeping in on the weekend should provide extra protection against the Monday blues, the researchers note that staying up partying will do nothing to boost your energy, and those that are chronically sleep deprived need more time in the slumber sack to repair damage.
“Getting recovery sleep is important and that may take more than a day,” said Dinges according to CNN.
He also warned, “Don’t get chronically sleep deprived in the first place,” and emphasized prioritizing shut-eye in your daily schedule.
So having a lazy weekend may not be so lazy after all. It’s responsible preparation!
Photo by pusspaw via Flickr.