A New Reason to Sleep In This Weekend

For years sleep experts have been saying that people should try to get out of bed at the same time during the weekend that they do during the week. But now researchers are starting to think that if you've had an exhausting week, sleeping in Saturday or Sunday morning could be a smart move.

According to the study from the Division of Sleep and Chronobiology at the University of Pennsylvania, you can actually recover from a sleep-deprived week by turning off your alarm clock on one weekend morning. Apparently it can help make you a better employee the following week, boosting your energy, alertness, and attention span.

Related: Decode His Sleep Position

This new research also challenges the widely accepted theory that you can't make up for a lack of sleep in just one night. The scientists found that subjects who slept just four hours for five nights were able to restore their normal cognitive function after getting 10 hours of shut-eye.

Related: How to Fall Asleep (When You Can't Shut Your Brain Off)

We're hesitant to take this as gospel, but we're definitely intrigued. And we're just happy to have an excuse to lounge around in bed this weekend. In the name of research, of course. Just one question for the scientists, though: Do we actually need to be asleep to get the brain-power boost? Or can we be engaging in other activities in bed?

Do you try to get up at the same time every day? Or do you let yourself sleep in on Saturday and Sunday? Do you feel more refreshed after waking up late? Or do you find that just makes you feel more exhausted?

Read more at Cosmopolitan.com!

Become a fan of Cosmo on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Want More Sex & Love Advice? Subscribe to Cosmo & Save up to 77%!

Reprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc.