Weekend Catch-Up Sleep Lowers Hypertension Risk by Up to 9%, Large Korean Study Finds

A seven-year study of 40,727 South Korean adults, presented at the European Society of Cardiology congress in Munich on August 31, 2026, found that moderate weekend catch-up sleep lowers high blood pressure risk by up to 9%. The optimal extra sleep was roughly one hour and 37 minutes. Study author Nawon Lee of Korea University cautioned that excessive lie-ins disrupt circadian rhythms and may offset the benefit. The findings have not yet been peer-reviewed.