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Sure, it feels great to sleep in on the weekends. But in the long term, you might be hurting your body. It’s called social jet lag. Let’s say you typically fall asleep around 10 p.m. and wake up around 6 a.m. on the weekdays, but on the weekends, you go to sleep around 11 p.m. and wakeup around 7 a.m. That’s one hour of social jet lag.
A new study from an abstract supplement of the academic journal Sleep found that one hour of social jet lag raised heart disease risk by more than 11 percent. It also led to a worse mood and greater fatigue.
Interestingly, the study also found that people in the highest income category had more minutes of social jet lag compared with the lower-earning counterparts.
Sorry to spoil your fun night out. If you’re going out and about, remember that the American Academy of Sleep Medicine mentions that healthy sleep has appropriate timing and regularity.
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