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Weekend lie-ins may offer a modest benefit for blood pressure, according to an analysis of 40,000 adults in South Korea followed for seven years. The study found that people who slept longer on weekends than on weekdays had a 6% lower likelihood of hypertension overall.

The analysis identified 1 hour and 27 minutes of additional weekend sleep as the strongest benchmark. People who reached that amount were 9% less likely to have high blood pressure. The association appeared slightly stronger among physically inactive participants, whose likelihood of hypertension was 6.9% lower when they caught up on sleep at weekends.

Dr. Nawon Lee of Korea University in Seoul said insufficient sleep places extra strain on the body, forcing the heart and blood vessels to work harder and potentially increasing blood pressure. She said moderate weekend sleep could give the body time to recover from lost sleep.

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Not getting enough sleep puts extra stress on the body. It keeps the heart and blood vessels working harder and can increase blood pressure.

“People should not feel lazy or guilty for sleeping a little longer on the weekend,” Lee said. The findings do not overturn advice to maintain regular bedtimes and wake-up times, stay active, maintain a healthy weight and eat well. Lee also cautioned that more than four extra hours of weekend sleep was associated with a higher risk of hypertension.

The research was presented in Munich at the annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology. Hypertension affects more than 1.3 billion people worldwide and increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney disease and premature death.

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People should not feel lazy or guilty for sleeping a little longer on the weekend.