Introduction

A new study has found that varying weekday and weekend sleep patterns can actually increase gut bacteria linked to obesity, heart attacks, and strokes.

Impact on Internal Clock

Scientists believe that just an extra 90 minutes in bed is enough to disrupt our internal clock, affecting a range of functions from the immune system to the digestive system.

Kings College London’s ZOE Predict study showed that even a small change in wake time can affect our circadian rhythms.

The Study

The website ZOE Predict, the largest nutrition project of its kind, estimated 934 “essentially lean and healthy” people who got at least seven hours of sleep each night.

The study took a number of samples, including blood, stool, and gut microbiome samples, as well as glucose measurements, and compared them to people with regular and irregular sleep patterns.

KCL Birmingham said: “Sleep is a fundamental pillar of health and this research is especially timely given the growing interest in circadian rhythms and the gut microbiome. Even a 90-minute difference in the middle of a sleep period can stimulate types of germs that have unfavorable associations with your health.”

Conclusions

The study concluded that sleep on weekends, as opposed to waking up on weekdays, was associated with poor nutrition, obesity, heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and risk of cardiovascular disease.

It was also found that those who napped more often drank sugary drinks and ate fewer fruits and nuts.

Source

Source: Daily Mail