Classifying weekday-weekend sleep pattern subtypes via latent class analysis: Associations with daytime functioning

Individuals commonly exhibit different sleep patterns between weekdays and weekends, notably weekend catch-up sleep (wCUS: increased duration) and social jet lag (SJL: delayed timing). This study simultaneously examined both sleep timing and duration to identify distinct patterns of weekday-weekend sleep differences using latent class analysis and to explore their associations with chronotype, sleep disturbance, and well-being. A total of 850 adults (aged 20-55) without diagnosed sleep or psychiatric disorders and not engaged in shift work participated in an online survey assessing their sleep patterns and daytime functioning, including levels of sleepiness, fatigue, depressive symptoms, and stress. Four distinct latent classes of sleep patterns were identified: Regular Sleepers with minimal SJL and no wCUS, Mild Weekend Shift Sleepers with minimal SJL and mild wCUS, Moderate Weekend Shift Sleepers with moderate SJL and wCUS, and Extreme Weekend Shift Sleepers with high SJL and high wCUS. Individuals in the Extreme Weekend Shift Sleepers group reported significantly higher levels of sleepiness, depressive emotions, and insomnia symptoms compared to the other groups, while no significant differences were found among the remaining three groups. These findings suggest that extreme weekend sleep shifts are associated with poorer symptom profiles, consistent with the possibility that larger timing delays and weekday sleep restrictions jointly characterize this subgroup. The pattern indicates a non-linear association in which modest weekend extensions did not correlate with worse symptoms in this sample. These results are descriptive and highlight the need for longitudinal studies to confirm these associations.