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Thank god it's Friday - sleep improved.

Helena Petersen1,2, Göran Kecklund1,2, Paolo D'Onofrio1

  • 1Stress Research Institute, University of Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden.

Journal of Sleep Research
|April 21, 2017
PubMed
Summary

Weekend sleep is longer and shows more deep sleep (N3) and light sleep (N1) compared to workdays. This sleep recovery may be linked to reduced stress before days off.

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Area of Science:

  • Sleep Science
  • Chronobiology
  • Occupational Health

Background:

  • The weekend is often perceived as a recovery period, suggesting sleep quality may improve before days off.
  • Limited polysomnographical research exists on sleep differences between workdays and days preceding rest.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare sleep patterns before a workday versus before a weekend day using polysomnography.
  • To investigate the impact of work stress on sleep architecture.

Main Methods:

  • Seventeen teachers underwent polysomnography on a worknight and the night before a day off (Friday).
  • Sleep diaries and actigraphy were used to supplement polysomnography data.
  • Analysis included sleep duration, stage distribution (N1, N2, N3, REM), and sleep spindles.
Keywords:
arousalscortisolday offdiarypolysomnographyratingsrecoverysleepinessstress

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Main Results:

  • Weekend sleep exhibited delayed bedtime/wake time, increased total sleep duration (45 min), higher N3 and N1 sleep stages, and decreased N2 and REM sleep.
  • Sleep spindle density was reduced during weekend sleep.
  • These findings persisted even after standardizing sleep duration.

Conclusions:

  • Weekend sleep is characterized by increased duration and altered sleep architecture, specifically more deep sleep (N3) and light sleep (N1).
  • The observed increase in N3 sleep before a day off may be attributed to reduced stress.
  • The concurrent increase in N1 sleep could be a consequence of N3-mediated sleep spindle suppression, impacting N2 and REM sleep.