On weekends, it is easy to indulge in lifestyle habits that could not be enjoyed during the week. Drinking alcohol, eating late-night snacks and sleeping in, all of which were held back because of busy weekdays, can disrupt the body’s rhythm when done all at once. However, habits repeated unconsciously every weekend could actually harm your health. What are the main weekend habits to watch out for?
▶Binge drinking=Alcohol damages the liver and increases inflammation, making blood sugar regulation more difficult. It can also disrupt sleep and negatively affect appetite control. In particular, even a single episode of binge drinking requires caution. When U.S. researchers compared binge-drinking and non-drinking conditions in 23 young adults, they found that heart rate variability decreased during sleep after binge drinking and that the heart’s autonomic regulation function declined. The researchers said, “These changes may be one mechanism explaining the risk binge drinking poses to the cardiovascular system.”
▶Lying down all day=Spending the entire weekend on the sofa or in bed is also not advisable. As the amount of time spent sitting or lying down increases, physical activity can become insufficient, potentially having negative effects on metabolic health, including blood sugar and blood pressure. Researchers from the University of Leicester, Harvard University, University College London, UCL, and the University of Sydney analyzed 63,591 British adults and found that people who engaged in moderate- to vigorous-intensity exercise even once or twice a week had an approximately 30% lower risk of death from any cause than those who did no physical activity at all. The researchers said, “Even if people cannot spread exercise over several sessions a week, engaging in a certain level of physical activity may benefit their health.” On weekends, rather than pushing yourself through intense exercise all at once, it is better to move your body frequently throughout the day with activities such as walking or light stretching.
▶Binge eating=Binge eating, consuming an explosively large amount of food at once, can place a burden on the body even if it does not happen repeatedly. In particular, if the stomach becomes abnormally distended due to extreme binge eating, it can compress surrounding organs and blood vessels, causing impaired blood flow and, in very rare cases, leading to stomach ischemia, necrosis or perforation. Researchers at Semmelweis University in Hungary reported a case of acute gastric dilation after binge eating, in which the stomach expanded down to the pelvis and compressed organs and blood vessels. The patient ultimately died after developing severe impaired blood flow. The researchers said, “Although acute gastric dilation caused by binge eating is rare, it can be life-threatening.”
▶Binge drinking=Alcohol damages the liver and increases inflammation, making blood sugar regulation more difficult. It can also disrupt sleep and negatively affect appetite control. In particular, even a single episode of binge drinking requires caution. When U.S. researchers compared binge-drinking and non-drinking conditions in 23 young adults, they found that heart rate variability decreased during sleep after binge drinking and that the heart’s autonomic regulation function declined. The researchers said, “These changes may be one mechanism explaining the risk binge drinking poses to the cardiovascular system.”
▶Lying down all day=Spending the entire weekend on the sofa or in bed is also not advisable. As the amount of time spent sitting or lying down increases, physical activity can become insufficient, potentially having negative effects on metabolic health, including blood sugar and blood pressure. Researchers from the University of Leicester, Harvard University, University College London, UCL, and the University of Sydney analyzed 63,591 British adults and found that people who engaged in moderate- to vigorous-intensity exercise even once or twice a week had an approximately 30% lower risk of death from any cause than those who did no physical activity at all. The researchers said, “Even if people cannot spread exercise over several sessions a week, engaging in a certain level of physical activity may benefit their health.” On weekends, rather than pushing yourself through intense exercise all at once, it is better to move your body frequently throughout the day with activities such as walking or light stretching.
▶Binge eating=Binge eating, consuming an explosively large amount of food at once, can place a burden on the body even if it does not happen repeatedly. In particular, if the stomach becomes abnormally distended due to extreme binge eating, it can compress surrounding organs and blood vessels, causing impaired blood flow and, in very rare cases, leading to stomach ischemia, necrosis or perforation. Researchers at Semmelweis University in Hungary reported a case of acute gastric dilation after binge eating, in which the stomach expanded down to the pelvis and compressed organs and blood vessels. The patient ultimately died after developing severe impaired blood flow. The researchers said, “Although acute gastric dilation caused by binge eating is rare, it can be life-threatening.”