Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41553563›Full record

ArticleJournal of neurology2026

Association of the "Weekend Warrior" and other leisure-time physical activity patterns with neurological disorders in adulthood: a UK biobank study.

Yanxu Zheng, Yiwei Liu, Tingpei Hu, Jin Wang, Haozhe Chang, Jingyu Liu, Xiangkai Huang, Zhaowei Zhu, Jinze Wu

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Article in Journal of neurology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Yanxu Zheng *Department of Neurology, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410000, Hunan, China.
Yiwei Liu *Department of Neurology, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410000, Hunan, China.
Tingpei HuXiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Hunan, 410013, China.
Jin WangXiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Hunan, 410013, China.
Haozhe ChangXiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Hunan, 410013, China.
Jingyu LiuXiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Hunan, 410013, China.
Xiangkai HuangBeijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, China.
Zhaowei ZhuCardiovascular Department, the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Hunan, 410011, China. zhuzhaowei@csu.edu.cn.
Jinze WuDepartment of Neurology, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410000, Hunan, China. wujinze1117@hotmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4345-848X

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China 82270422Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province 2025JJ50480
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe weekend warrior (WW) exercise pattern, where individuals accumulate the recommended 150-min moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) over 1-2 days, has become a popular alternative to daily physical activity routines. This study investigates the association of WW and other leisure-time physical activity patterns with the risk of neurological diseases, specifically sleep disorders, migraines, and epilepsy.

methodsThis study includes data from 93,684 participants, obtained from the UK Biobank. MVPA patterns were categorized into inactive, regularly active, and WW groups. Cox proportional hazards models, restricted cubic splines (RCS), and Kaplan-Meier curves were used to assess the impact of exercise patterns on the risk of neurological diseases.

resultsBoth the WW and regularly active groups exhibited significantly lower risks for sleep disorders, migraine, and epilepsy than the inactive group. In the fully adjusted analyses, weekend warrior activity was associated with a 16.8% lower risk of sleep disorders, a 23.9% lower risk of migraine, and a 25.3% lower risk of epilepsy compared with inactivity. The results of RCS curves for these disorders further supported these findings.

conclusionsThe WW pattern offers similar benefits to daily exercise in reducing the risk of neurological disorders, particularly sleep disorders, migraine, and epilepsy. This finding suggests that WW activity may be a practical and flexible approach to disease prevention in modern societies.

Indexed as

EpilepsyExerciseLeisure ActivitiesMigraine DisordersNervous System DiseasesSleep Wake DisordersAdultAgedBiological Specimen BanksFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedUK BiobankUnited KingdomEpilepsyMigraineNeurological disordersPhysical activitySleep disordersUK biobankWeekend warrior

Identifiers

PMID41553563

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.