Is Never Getting Enough Sleep Better Than Sometimes Getting Too Much?
As every parent knows, Friday morning doesn't look much different from Saturday morning. Because kids always wake up early, even when their moms and dads desperately need, crave, would do anything for sleep!
Well good news, exhausted parents! A new study out of the University of Pittsburgh says waking up early, even on the weekends, is good for you! The study, which was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, found changing up your sleeping pattern too much raises your risk for diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.
In other words, having your kids jump into bed with you at the same time seven days a week is better than if you pawned them off on Grandma and Grandpa on the weekends so you could snooze. Dare to dream, right? Of course, if you got to sleep in every single day of your life that would work, too. Anyway...
To reach their conclusions, researchers looked at 447 people, and found that 85 percent of them get up later on the weekends. Those with the biggest shifts in sleep schedules exhibited worse cholesterol, a higher BMI, and a larger waist circumference.
"Our findings suggest that a misalignment of sleep timing is associated with metabolic risk factors that predispose to diabetes and...cardiovascular disease," researchers said.
So the next time your kiddo starts calling "Mommy!" at 6:00 on a Sunday morning, just remember: He's actually helping you maintain better health!
Melissa Willets is a writer/blogger and a mom. Follow her on Twitter (@Spitupnsuburbs), where she chronicles her love of exercising and drinking coffee, but never simultaneously.
