Over the past year, I’ve written several posts about sleep, with warnings, recommendations and various studies.

In April 2017, we looked at a study that showed non-regular sleeping patterns, such as sleeping in on weekends, can increase one’s risk of developing certain cancers.

In September 2017, we looked at a study that found that having a dog to care for and love, helps many people sleep, especially for those who are alone. Not just owning a dog helps many people sleep, but allowing the dog to sleep in bed with you was found to improve sleep as reported in a study by the Mayo Clinic.

In August 2017, we looked at how a lack of sleep can impact your daily activities, school work, job and health. Not enough sleep often leaves people with the feeling of being chronically tired, trust me I know. I have 3 different sleep disorders and I live in constant pain, so getting 5 hours of sleep in an 8-hour period is really a great feeling for me, but it does leave me with being constantly fatigued and sleepy. At times, I’m so tired that I can’t hardly stay awake and yet when I fall asleep, I hurt so much I can’t stay asleep. This does impact many of my daily duties, including my job.

Also in August 2017, we looked at how a lack of sleep can result in your gaining weight.

In September 2017, we looked at a study that showed that kids who got enough sleep tended to be smarter and do better in school than kids who didn’t get their needed sleep.

On January 2018, we looked at sleep apnea, a disorder that prevents millions of people of getting a good night’s sleep. Some people with apnea can stop breathing numerous times every minute. This condition, if not treated can lead to serious health concerns and an early death.

In April 2018, we looked at a study to determine if being a night owl or early bird made any difference on health and life expectancy. This study showed that night owls have many more health problems and tend t have a shorter lifespan, where early bird people tend to be healthier and live longer.

All of these reports had one thing in common – a lack of sleep is bad for your physical and mental health and can shorten your lifespan. They also agree that it is near impossible to catch up on lost sleep. Once you miss a couple hours several days in a row, those hours of sleep are lost, or are they?

A new study from Sweden seems to show that you can catch up on lost sleep:

“Not getting enough sleep can be detrimental to your health; many studies even link the lack of Z’s to higher odds of dying during a certain time period. But a new study from Sweden suggests that if you can’t sleep as much as you need during the week, you may be able to make up for it on the weekends.”

“The researchers found that people ages 65 and under who slept 5 hours or less a night had a 65 percent higher risk of death during the 13-year study period than those who got 6 or 7 hours of sleep a night. But individuals who balanced their short weekday sleep with longer weekend sleep did not appear to have any increased mortality risk.”

“The findings suggest, in other words, that you may be able to make up for the damaging effects of lost sleep.”

So, should you sleep in the weekend or whatever days off you have? One study says no, it may increase risk of cancer and yet this study says yes, as it could help reduce the effects of too little sleep. Guess the decision is up to you.