Results show that teens who got up to two more hours of sleep on weekends than on weekdays exhibited fewer anxiety symptoms compared with those who did not sleep longer on weekends. However, longer durations of catch-up sleep on weekends were associated with slightly more internalizing symptoms.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that teenagers 13 to 18 years of age sleep 8 to 10 hours on a regular basis to promote optimal health. However, CDC data show that only 23% of high school students get sufficient sleep on an average school night.
Consistently getting sufficient sleep is associated with better health outcomes including improved attention, behavior, learning, memory, emotional regulation, quality of life, and mental and physical health. In contrast, insufficient sleep in teenagers is associated with increased risks of problems such as depression and suicidal thoughts.
The study involved 1,877 adolescents with a mean age of 13.5 years. Sleep duration was estimated using Fitbit devices, while internalizing symptoms were assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist survey. Weekend catch-up sleep was calculated as the difference between weekend and weekday sleep duration.
"The results show that both sleeping less on weekends than weekdays and sleeping substantially more on weekends were associated with higher anxiety symptoms," said lead author Sojeong Kim, a doctoral candidate in the department of clinical psychology and psychology graduate advisor at the University of Oregon in Eugene. "In contrast, moderate catch-up sleep -- defined as less than two hours -- was associated with lower anxiety symptoms, suggesting that some weekend recovery sleep may be beneficial."
Reference: Sojeong Kim, Jason Carbone, Melynda Casement. 0263 The Sweet Spot of Weekend Catch-Up Sleep: A Protective Factor Against Depressive Symptoms? SLEEP, 2025; 48 (Supplement_1): A115 DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsaf090.0263
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