Feeling all groggy in a weekend after the stressful week at work? Well, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh reveal that this is bad for the health.
Scientists found out that changes in sleeping patterns can cause serious diseases. The study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism revealed that this habit increases a person's risk to cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disease like diabetes and obesity.
"This is the most prevalent disorder in an urban scenario and there is an alarming increase of social jet lag, especially among young adults," Dr. Preeti Devnani, sleep disorder specialist, said. "Everything from work pressure, social commitments and our basic lifestyle choices are such that we don't give adequate importance to sleep. And we don't realise how detrimental it can be. You try and catch your 40 winks at odd hours to build up on sleep debt, but eventually, it leads to chronic sleep deprivation. This can impact the mood, hamper immunity, lead to insulin resistance and a risk of cardiovascular disease," she added.
This is the first study to associate "social jetlag" and negative health effects of healthy people. "Social jetlag refers to the mismatch between an individual's biological circadian rhythm and their socially imposed sleep schedules," said Patricia M. Wong, lead author of the study. "Other researchers have found that social jetlag relates to obesity and some indicators of cardiovascular function."
The study tested 447 individuals aged between 20 and 54 years and who work 25 hours weekly. Findings revealed that most of them (85%) woke up at different times in their work days and day offs, while the remaining 15% woke earlier during weekends than workdays. This prompts that huge sleep difference, taking diet and exercise into account, resulted to increased cholesterol level and BMI and bigger waist circumference.
With such alarming results, researchers warn people of their choice of work. "If future studies replicate what we found here, then we may need to consider as a society how modern work and social obligations are affecting our sleep and health," study authors revealed.
