The short answer
Longer sleep at the weekend may ease sleepiness without removing every effect of insufficient sleep during the week. Moving bedtime and waking time much later can also make it harder to fall asleep on Sunday and get up early on Monday. Rather than simply cutting weekend sleep, look at both the time available for sleep during the week and the changes in timing at the weekend (Pejovic et al., 2013; Taylor et al., 2008).
Key points
- Catching up on sleep on days off can help; there is no need to dismiss it altogether
- Feeling less sleepy and recovering attention or other abilities do not necessarily happen together
- Separate sleeping longer from going to sleep and getting up later
- Avoid making sleep deprivation worse by only setting an earlier weekend alarm
- Look at Apple Watch records and how you feel across the weekdays, weekend and following weekdays
1. Sleeping longer on days off can be worthwhile
Hearing that catching up on sleep is pointless might make you feel you must get up at your weekday time, even when sleepy. But that does not mean making up for missing sleep is of no use.
A National Sleep Foundation expert consensus statement published in a scientific journal in 2023 emphasises regular bedtimes and waking times while acknowledging that catch-up sleep on days off may benefit people who have not slept enough during the week (Sletten et al., 2023).
If you need a much longer sleep every weekend before you can get up, first consider whether you have enough time to sleep during the week, rather than assuming you sleep too much on days off. Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare also describes a need for long weekend sleep as a reason to review weekday sleep sufficiency (Sleep Guide for Health Promotion 2023).
Work, commuting, childcare and caring for others can leave little freedom to add sleep. Needing rest on days off is not a sign of weak willpower.
2. Feeling less sleepy does not mean everything has recovered
Feeling a little better after a longer sleep on a day off matters. At the same time, the speed of recovery can differ depending on what is measured.
In a 2013 study, 30 healthy young adults had their time in bed reduced from 8 to 6 hours a night for 6 nights, followed by a sleep opportunity of 10 hours a night. Recovery was assessed after 2 of these longer nights. The 10 hours refers to the time available for sleep, not the amount of time actually spent asleep (Pejovic et al., 2013).
Daytime sleepiness improved, but on a task requiring sustained attention and responses to a signal on a screen, delayed responses remained more frequent than before sleep was restricted.
This was a short experiment in healthy young people, without a separate control group, so it cannot tell us how many days everyone needs to recover. It does, however, suggest that feeling less sleepy alone does not establish that all the effects of insufficient sleep have disappeared.
3. Sleeping longer and sleeping later are different
For example, ignoring awakenings during the night, both of the following give 9 hours of sleep.
In the first example, you fall asleep at 11 p.m. and wake at 8 a.m.
In the second, you fall asleep at 2 a.m. and wake at 11 a.m.
The duration is the same, but sleep occupies a different part of the day. These examples illustrate timing; they are not a recommendation that everyone sleep for 9 hours or go to bed at 11 p.m.
Researchers use the difference in the midpoint of sleep between work or school days and days free of scheduled obligations as a measure of social jetlag (Wittmann et al., 2006).
For sleep from midnight to 7 a.m., the midpoint is 3:30 a.m. For sleep from 2 a.m. to 11 a.m., it is 6:30 a.m. In this example, sleep is 2 hours longer and the midpoint is 3 hours later.
However, that difference is calculated from everyday sleep times. It is not a measurement showing that the body clock itself has shifted by exactly 3 hours. Sleeping longer to make up for missing sleep and a shift in the body clock are not the same thing.
4. Trouble falling asleep on Sunday can carry into Monday
If you slept longer at the weekend but do not feel sleepy on Sunday night, look at when you got up on Saturday and Sunday too.
A small 2008 experiment compared two conditions in 16 people: getting up at their usual time over the weekend, and getting up later on both weekend mornings. In the later condition, they got up about 3 hours later on average. The onset of melatonin secretion, a marker of the body clock, was delayed, and participants reported more sleepiness and fatigue on the following Monday and Tuesday (Taylor et al., 2008).
The small sample does not mean everyone who sleeps in will struggle on Monday. It does give a reason to look beyond total weekend sleep and consider whether you could fall asleep on Sunday and had enough time before Monday’s alarm.
Worries about work, alcohol and changes in your health may also contribute to a difficult Monday. Do not assume weekend catch-up sleep is the sole cause; note other things that stood out too.
5. How much longer can you sleep on days off?
There is no single upper limit for everyone. It depends partly on how much sleep you have missed during the week, how much you need and your schedule.
The 2023 consensus statement mentioned earlier suggests extending sleep by around 1–2 hours on days off, or taking naps when possible, as ways to supplement insufficient weekday sleep. This is guidance from experts reviewing research, not an experiment establishing the best duration for every person (Sletten et al., 2023).
Those 1–2 hours refer to extra sleep duration. They do not mean you must move only your waking time 1–2 hours later. Nor is 2 hours a boundary beyond which sleep suddenly becomes dangerous.
You do not need to cut already insufficient sleep further in order to get up at exactly the same time. Protect the rest you need on days off while considering what could help you avoid repeating the same shortfall next week.
6. Four things to try before the next weekend
Make a little room on weekday evenings
Start by considering whether one evening task could move to another time. For example, prepare for the next day earlier and bring your evening plans forward by 30 minutes. This is an example of an adjustment, not a rule that 30 extra minutes will erase a sleep shortfall.
Avoid adding an extra late night before a day off
Notice whether the thought of sleeping in tomorrow keeps you up later than usual. If you feel sleepy, use that time to rest. You do not need to force yourself to lie in bed when you are not sleepy just to achieve an earlier bedtime.
Get some daylight after waking
Open the curtains or go outside if you have time, creating a routine after getting up. Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare also recommends morning sunlight and avoiding overly bright surroundings at night as ways to support sleep.
Leave some space in Sunday evening
Avoid leaving preparations for the week until late at night, and check that there is time to sleep before Monday’s waking time. If you cannot sleep, noting one thing that was different from usual is enough; there is no need to blame yourself.
7. Use Apple Watch or Feelmo to look at the whole week
Looking only at weekend sleep can make it seem that sleeping a lot must have been enough. When possible, look continuously from the preceding weekdays through the weekend and into the following weekdays.
These three things are enough to start recording.
Duration: the time you believe you spent asleep, or the sleep duration estimated by your device
Timing: roughly when you fell asleep and when you woke. If you do not know, record when you got into bed and label it as such
How you feel: how rested you feel in the morning and how sleepy you are during the day
Apple Watch sleep duration is also an estimate. A sleep score or HRV cannot directly tell you how many more hours will make up for missing sleep, or how many hours your body clock has shifted (Feelmo sleep guide).
In a short Feelmo note, you could write ‘Woke at 11 a.m. on Sunday’, ‘Didn’t feel sleepy at night’ or ‘Still sleepy at lunchtime on Monday’. A paper notebook or your usual notes app works too (Feelmo Mood Log guide).
Keeping records for around 1–2 weeks is one example of how to notice your own pattern across weekends. It is not a test that identifies the cause, and your records do not have to be perfect every day.
8. When you still feel unwell after resting on days off
If you keep feeling unrefreshed despite allowing enough time for sleep, feel very sleepy during the day, or someone notices loud snoring or pauses in your breathing during sleep, consult a healthcare professional rather than trying to solve it only by changing how you catch up on sleep (Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare sleep information).
If sleepiness interferes with work, chores or driving, you do not need to wait until you have a full set of records. Do not keep driving when very sleepy; stop somewhere safe and rest.
References
- Pejovic S, et al. (2013). Effects of recovery sleep after one work week of mild sleep restriction on interleukin-6 and cortisol secretion and daytime sleepiness and performance — American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism, 305(7), E890–E896. DOI: 10.1152/ajpendo.00301.2013
- Wittmann M, Dinich J, Merrow M, Roenneberg T. (2006). Social jetlag: misalignment of biological and social time — Chronobiology International, 23(1–2), 497–509. DOI: 10.1080/07420520500545979
- Taylor A, Wright HR, Lack LC. (2008). Sleeping-in on the weekend delays circadian phase and increases sleepiness the following week — Sleep and Biological Rhythms, 6(3), 172–179. DOI: 10.1111/j.1479-8425.2008.00356.x
- Sletten TL, et al. (2023). The importance of sleep regularity: a consensus statement of the National Sleep Foundation sleep timing and variability panel — Sleep Health, 9(6), 801–820. DOI: 10.1016/j.sleh.2023.07.016
- Sleep Guide for Health Promotion 2023 — Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
- Still tired after sleeping? Check your sleep quality — Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare