New findings about how much sleep you need each night.

A new study published in the academic journal Psychosomatic Medicine shows that even a few days of sleep deprivation followed by catching up on sleep over the weekend can have negative effects.

Therefore, sleeping 5-6 hours is not enough for good health; you need to sleep 8 hours each night . And even one or two nights of sleep deprivation can negatively affect heart rate and blood pressure , and this cannot be compensated for, according to the Indian Express .

Even sleeping six hours and then catching up on sleep on weekends can't completely eliminate the negative effects.

In a study conducted by scientists at Pennsylvania State University, USA, 15 men aged 20 to 35 participated and were monitored for 10 days as follows.

For the first three nights, participants slept a maximum of 10 hours each night. For the next five nights, they restricted their sleep to 5 hours each night, followed by two recovery nights – sleeping a maximum of 10 hours each night.

Researchers measured participants' heart rate and blood pressure every two hours.

The results revealed that both the heart rate and blood pressure of the participants increased daily and did not return to baseline levels by the end of the recovery period.

This means that even short-term sleep deprivation , followed by two nights of good, restful sleep, is not enough to reduce the increased blood pressure and heart rate caused by staying up late , according to the Indian Express.

Lack of sleep can worsen obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and high blood pressure.

The harmful effects of sleep deprivation

Dr. Sandeep Bansal, Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, PGIMER, Chandigarh (India), stated that over time, lack of sleep can cause and worsen obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and high blood pressure.

How many hours of sleep do you need each night?

According to Dr. Virendar Sarwal, Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, IVY Hospital, Mohali (India) , sleep duration can vary depending on age, individual health, and environment, but 7-9 hours of sleep is recommended , according to Indian Express.

Cardiologists explain: "Some hormones are only released during nighttime sleep, and lack of sleep reduces these hormones, leading to increased blood pressure, heart rate, weight gain, and insulin resistance."

Lack of sleep also increases stress hormones, inflammation, and impairs the function of the inner lining of arteries, negatively affecting cardiovascular health, increasing atherosclerosis and heart attacks.

1. Secrets to sleeping soundly and feeling like an ox.
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3. 5 things to avoid when napping that are bad for your health, but many people don't know about.