A scientific way to avoid depression

It turns out to scientists at Central South University in Hunan Province, China, that getting enough sleep on the weekend can significantly reduce the appearance of symptoms of depression.

The Journal of Affective Disorders (JAD) indicates that, according to researchers, this method helps men under 65 years of age who sleep only a few hours during the week.

The primary symptoms of depression include persistent feelings of sadness and a lack of interest in or enjoyment of activities that were previously enjoyable. This condition may lead to a range of emotional and physical problems that impair a person's ability to function at work and at home.

The researchers reached this conclusion by analyzing data from the results of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted in 2017 and 2020. They studied data from 7,719 participants who underwent depression screenings.

The results showed that about 46 percent of participants slept longer on the weekend, to compensate for the lack of sleep accumulated during workdays. And that participants who slept one or two hours more on the weekend had fewer depressive symptoms compared to those who did not sleep on the weekend. They were approximately 38-46 percent less likely to experience symptoms of depression.

These results did not apply to people who reported getting three or more hours of sleep later.

Additional analysis showed that the association between weekend sleep and depressive symptoms was mainly observed in people who slept six hours or less on workdays.