"Weekend Sleep Compensation in Middle-Aged Adults Reduces Depression Risk"

Professor Oh Yun-hwan's Team at Chung-Ang University Gwangmyeong Hospital

From the left, Professor Oh Yun-hwan of the Department of Family Medicine at Chung-Ang University Gwangmyeong Hospital, Professor Park Jeong-ha of the Department of Family Medicine at Jeju National University Hospital, and Professor Oh Beom-jo of the Department of Family Medicine at Seoul National University Boramae Hospital.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwanju] A study has found that weekend sleep compensation in middle-aged adults reduces the risk of depression.

Professor Oh Yunhwan of the Department of Family Medicine at Chung-Ang University Gwangmyeong Hospital, Professor Park Jeongha of the Department of Family Medicine at Jeju National University Hospital, and Professor Oh Beomjo of the Department of Family Medicine at Seoul National University Boramae Hospital announced on the 25th that their research confirmed this in a study investigating the association between weekend sleep compensation and the risk of depression.

The research team used data from the 7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to examine the relationship between weekday and weekend sleep duration, circadian typology, and the risk of depression among 3,196 participants. As a result, the group sleeping less than six hours on average during weekdays showed nearly half (49%) lower risk of depression when they compensated for sleep on weekends compared to those who did not.

Generally, when sleep duration is insufficient during weekdays, people tend to sleep more on weekends to make up for the lost sleep. Weekend sleep compensation is presumed to be beneficial to health as it replenishes the lack of sleep. Although studies have suggested that it may help prevent obesity, cardiovascular, and metabolic risks related to sleep deprivation, no research had previously clarified the association between weekend sleep compensation in middle age and depression.

Professor Oh explained, “Weekend sleep compensation may not reduce the risk of all types of depression, but for those with risk factors such as weekday sleep deprivation, actively trying to compensate for sleep on weekends can be considered. If weekend sleep compensation is not adequately achieved, it may indicate a problem with the sleep compensation mechanism, suggesting a high-risk group for depression, so further follow-up studies are needed.”

This study was published in the SCI-level international journal Sleep and Biological Rhythm.