The Truth About Catching up on Sleep

Counting Sheep: The general recommendation around sleep hygiene has been that it’s important to prioritize consistency over anything else. That means going to bed and waking up at the same time, and rarely deviating — even if you’re trying to “catch up.” Or at least that was the case up until recently. A newer set of recommendations from the National Sleep Association published in 2023 state some sleeping in is OK to combat sleep deficiency. 

The Study: A panel of sleep experts evaluated 63 existing sleep studies to address three questions: Is daily sleep timing regularity important for health? Is it important for performance? When you don’t get enough sleep, should you try to catch up on weekends (or non-work days)? Voting in two different rounds, the experts reached a consensus of “yes” for all three.

The Takeaway: This doesn’t mean you can stay up (and wake up) hours past when you normally do. The experts said it’s OK to occasionally sleep in an extra hour or two on weekends, or supplement with short naps.

Keep in Mind: Regular quality sleep on weekdays is the goal, but when necessary, it won’t hurt to sometimes hit snooze on weekends.