Think about your heart... and have a weekend lie-in because it will cut your stroke risk There's no reason to feel guilty if you enjoyed an extra hour in bed this morning - a weekend lie-in is good for your heart. A study found it can reduce the risk of high blood pressure - a major risk factor for heart attacks and strokes - by up to 39 per cent. But catching up on your sleep only boosts your health if you are deprived of sufficient rest during the week. Having a lie-in at the weekend is good for you, it's official Scientists from hospitals and universities in South Korea recruited 2,782 adults and recorded details of their sleeping habits throughout the week, as well as whether they had high blood pressure. Once they accounted for other factors that might trigger a rise in blood pressure - such as smoking or doing no exercise - the researchers were able to see precisely how sleep affected blood flow. Those getting less than six hours a night during the week were 70 per cent more likely to have dangerously high readings compared to adults snoozing between seven and nine hours. But if they stayed in bed just one extra hour at the weekend, they were able to slash their risk by almost 40 per cent compared to those that did not make up for their sleep loss with a long lie-in. In those getting plenty of rest during the week, there was only a six per cent drop in risk from staying in bed on their days off. In a report on their findings, published online in the journal Sleep Medicine, the researchers said: "Our results suggest sleeping more at the weekend to compensate for short weekday sleep duration could lower the risk of high blood pressure, especially in those who self-report a feeling of sleep insufficiency." But Professor Jim Horne, from the Sleep Research Centre at Loughborough University, said staying in bed might not be the best way to tackle blood pressure problems. Instead, he said they might be better off getting up early and going for a long walk. Those getting less sleep than six hours a night were more at risk of a stroke than those who did