Sleeping early on working days and late on weekends might be a common pattern for workers but a new study warns it might result to some dangerous health effects.
The Huffington Post reports a study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism has discovered a series of metabolic changes among people who take advantage of not having to wake up early the next day and shift their sleeping patterns on days off.
Among these effects include higher insulin resistance, triglycerides and body mass index as well as reduced amount of good cholesterol called high-density lipoprotein (HDL). These metabolic changes may result to health risks such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
For the study, researchers from University of Pittsburg observed the sleeping patterns of 447 people from age 30 to 54 who wore a device called Actiwatch-16. According to results, 85% of participants slept in on their days off while only 15% slept earlier just like on normal working days.
"Our findings suggest that a misalignment of sleep timing is associated with metabolic risk factors that predispose to diabetes and ... cardiovascular disease," the researchers concluded.
They added people should be informed about their work schedules when applying for a long-term job. "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," one researcher states.
Although the study was only conducted for seven days and researchers admitted "it's not clear yet that this is a long-term effect," the study's lead author Patricia M. Wong told The New York Times that "people having to sleep and work out of sync with their internal clock, and that having to be out of sync may be having these health effects."
Previous studies suggest irregular bedtime schedules could make you fat, too.
