The negative health effects of skimping on sleep during the week can't be reversed by marathon weekend sleep sessions, according to a sobering new study.

Despite complete freedom to sleep in and nap during a weekend recovery period, participants in a sleep laboratory who were limited to five hours of sleep on weekdays gained nearly three pounds over two weeks and experienced metabolic disruption that would increase their risk for diabetes over the long term. While weekend recovery sleep had some benefits after a single week of insufficient sleep, those gains were wiped out when people plunged right back into their same sleep-deprived schedule the next Monday.

"If there are benefits of catch-up sleep, they're gone when you go back to your routine. It's very short-lived." said Kenneth Wright, director of the sleep and chronobiology laboratory at the University of Colorado at Boulder, who oversaw the work. 

Wright said that the study suggests people should prioritize sleep -- cutting out the optional "sleep stealers" such as watching television shows or spending time on electronic devices. Even when people don't have a choice about losing sleep due to child-care responsibilities or job schedules, they should think about prioritizing sleep in the same way they would a healthy diet or exercise.

catch-up, n.补做；赶做

skimp, v.节俭，节约；吝啬

sobering, a.令人警醒的，使人冷静的

sleep in 睡懒觉

metabolic, a.代谢的，新陈代谢的

diabetes, n.糖尿病

plunge into, 经历，陷入

sleep-deprived, a.睡眠不足的

oversee, v.监督，管理