After a busy week of work and social events compromising your sleep, you may look forward to sleeping in on the weekend to make up for the lost hours of slumber. However, while some research finds that this may work in the short term, experts say that compensatory sleep cannot counteract regular sleep deprivation.

This is important because poor sleep is linked to obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease and other health conditions.

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“I learned this in medical training. I was up night after night after night, and I found out it just doesn’t work to play catch up,” says Chauncey Crandall, M.D., world-renowned cardiologist and director of preventive medicine at the Palm Beach Cardiovascular Clinic in Florida.

“Your body likes predictability,” Dr. Crandall tells Newsline. “It likes to be in a predictable state of waking and sleeping.”

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A research review published in Sleep Medicine found that sleep deprivation is a risk factor for chronic disease, including high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

According to Crandall, editor of the popular "Dr. Crandall's Heart Health Report" newsletter, pushing our bodies too hard as we age without adequate rest can lead to negative changes, such as elevated cholesterol, increased blood pressure and depression. “We need to be in a very strict program of proper rest every single day,” stresses Crandall.

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So how can we ensure a good night’s sleep? Crandall recommends going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, even on weekends. He recommends getting into bed at night and quieting down to get into a better nighttime pattern.

Try to stay off your computer late at night, and turn off the TV, where we have all sorts of stress today, says Crandall.

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“Sleep is so important. It is really something that causes heart disease and we need to get better control over it,” emphasizes Crandall.