Moderate weekend catch-up sleep linked to lower teen anxiety

Moderate weekend catch-up sleep linked to lower teen anxiety

A new study to be presented at the Sleep 2025 annual meeting found that teens who bingeed moderately — but not excessively — had fewer anxiety symptoms on weekends.

The results show that teens who got up to two hours more sleep on weekends than weekdays had fewer anxiety symptoms than those who didn't sleep longer on weekends. However, on weekends, longer durations of catch-up sleep were associated with slightly more internalizing symptoms.

"The results show that both going to bed on weekends less than weekdays and more on weekends were associated with higher anxiety symptoms," said senior 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 serious symptoms with lower anxiety, suggesting that some sleep on weekends may be beneficial."

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that teenagers ages 13 to 18 should get 8 to 10 hours of regular sleep to promote optimal health. However, CDC data shows that only 23% of students get enough sleep on an average school night.

Many teenagers try to make up for lost sleep by sleeping on weekends. “

Sojeong Kim, lead author

Consistently getting enough 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, inadequate sleep in teenagers is linked to an increased risk of problems such as depression and suicidal thoughts.

The study included 1,877 adolescents with an average age of 13.5 years. Sleep duration was estimated using Fitbit devices, while internalizing symptoms were assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist Examination. Weekend catch-up was calculated as the difference between weekend sleep duration and weekday sleep duration.

Kim noted that it's important to identify the right amount of catch-up sleep, which is beneficial for teens who limit their sleep during the week.

"Too little or too much sleep variability from weekday to weekend can contribute to the symptoms someone is trying to combat, such as physical or mental fatigue and feelings of anxiety," she said.

The research abstract was recently published in an online supplement to the journal Sleep and will be presented on Wednesday, June 11, during Sleep 2025 in Seattle. Sleep is the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society.

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