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Weekend catch-up sleep linked to lower high blood pressure risk, study finds

A study presented at a cardiology conference suggests moderate weekend lie-ins may offset weekday sleep deprivation, though excessive sleep could cause circadian disruption.

Updated Aug 31, 2026 · 16:25 UTC1 reports

The short version

  • A seven-year observational study of 40,727 South Korean adults found that sleeping one to two extra hours on weekends was associated with a 6% overall reduction in the risk of high blood pressure.
  • The benefit was slightly higher for physically inactive individuals, and those who got an optimal extra sleep duration of about one hour and 37 minutes saw a 9% risk reduction.
  • Researchers cautioned against excessive weekend sleep, warning it could disrupt the body's natural circadian rhythm and negate health benefits.
  • The findings remain preliminary as they were presented at a conference and have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Key facts

  • A seven-year study of 40,727 adults in South Korea found that moderate weekend catch-up sleep of one to two hours reduced the prevalence of high blood pressure by 6 percent overall.[Al Jazeera]
  • Physically inactive individuals experienced a 6.9 percent decrease in the risk of hypertension from weekend catch-up sleep.[Al Jazeera]
  • An optimal weekend sleep increase of approximately one hour and 37 minutes was linked to a 9 percent reduction in hypertension risk.[Al Jazeera]
  • The research, authored by Korea University's Nawon Lee, was presented at the European Society of Cardiology’s annual congress in Munich, Germany.[Al Jazeera]
  • According to 2024 World Health Organization data, approximately 1.4 billion adults aged 30 to 79 globally have hypertension.[Al Jazeera]

What remains uncertain

  • The findings are based on an observational conference presentation and have not yet undergone peer review or publication in a scientific journal.[Al Jazeera]
  • The exact threshold where weekend catch-up sleep shifts from beneficial to harmful due to circadian rhythm disruption is not fully established.[Al Jazeera]

Sources