After a long week of working and playing hard, most of us look forward to a sneaky lie-in at the weekend.
However, a new study by the Medical Research Council has found that rewarding yourself with a few extra hours in bed could be making you sick and put on weight.
The research found that ‘social jet-lag’ or having a different sleep pattern at weekends could make you more likely to become obese, suffer from inflammation and diabetes.
The study, which took into account over 800 people, determined that those with the biggest discrepancies between workday sleep and off-day sleep were more susceptible to obesity-related diseases and even two hours of a difference in routine could contribute.
According to Yahoo, further research is being carried out to elaborate on the findings as the initial results have not categorically found whether it is the sleeping discrepancy itself that leads to poor health or whether those who tend to sleep in are also less likely to make time for healthy diets and exercise.