Catch up on sleep the night after a late night, rather than saving it for the weekend

Cost

Free. The hour or two you make up is sleep you wanted anyway.

What you get

UK Biobank, 85,618 people with an average age of 61.8, wore wrist watches that recorded sleep night by night, with a median follow-up of 8 years. The study first worked out each person's own sleep need to define “short nights,” meaning sleeping 2.5 or more hours less than the person needs. The first night after a short stretch was counted as the “recovery night,” and sleeping more than one's own need that night counted as made up. People were sorted into five patterns this way. Compared with people with a regular schedule, those who slept short and did not make it up had about 15% higher risk of death from all causes (HR 1.15, 95% CI 1.01–1.31, the plausible range). Those with a cumulative shortfall of more than 3.5 hours who did not make it up were about 42% higher (HR 1.42, 1.24–1.63). The two groups that made it up showed no significant association; among them, short sleep followed by catching up was HR 1.12 (0.98–1.28). Among people who already slept short, short sleep not made up was about 19% higher (1.19, 1.01–1.40), and severe short sleep not made up about 38% higher (1.38, 1.17–1.63). This result was also repeated in a separate U.S. health survey of 4,586 people.

Notes

This is an observational study, not assigning groups. People who can't catch up may be busier and in poorer health to begin with, and this layer can't be removed completely. “The two groups that made it up showed no higher risk” only means no difference was found; their point estimates are still above 1, so making it up does not mean you are in the clear. So pay back a late night as soon as you can, and don't use this as an excuse to stay up. Catching up in this study means sleeping a little more on the first night after the shortfall; it does not include saving it all for one weekend make-up. Making “stay up on workdays, catch up on weekends” a fixed weekly rhythm is called social jet lag, and it is linked to cardiovascular disease on its own; see §2.13 (sleep about 7 hours a night on a regular schedule). The item about getting up at the same time on weekends too, §3.2 (fix your wake-up time, weekends included), does not conflict with this one: this item asks you to go to bed earlier that night, not to sleep until noon the next day.

Evidence grade

B : Supported by research but without a precise number, or based on small or single studies.

Sources

1. Li X, Zhang M, Li Z, 等 (2026). Acute sleep rebound following sleep restriction is associated with reduced mortality risk. Nature Communications. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-72461-1

Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 2, tip 38. This section is about health and medicines. It is general information, not a substitute for a doctor’s diagnosis or prescription. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer