SIDE EFFECTS AND HEALTH RISKS OF SLEEPING TOO MUCH
Guss Hansen - Tuesday, August 26, 2019 Tuesday, August 27, 2019
WHEN YOU SHOULD KNOW YOU ARE SLEEPING TOO MUCH
HEALTH IMPACT OF SLEEPING TOO MUCH
SETTING THE STAGE FOR A BETTER SLEEP
We usually hear about the risks of getting to sleep little, but people do not discuss on the part that involves sleeping too much which appears to have some risks too. Sleep is becoming a topic that is often researched and we tend to learn more all the time about how sleep or rest affects both the mind and body. it is discovered that sleep is a time when the body repairs and restores itself, and having little rest can lead to different health problems.
Therefore, sleeping for a longer period is better right? Don’t conclude yet, say some researchers. Enough proof is showing that spending excess amount of time in bed is also connected to health hazards. In many ways, sleeping too much itself looks to directly influence certain risk factors, and in another case, it probably is a sign of other medical conditions.
Researchers are extremely careful to note, nevertheless, that two other factors such as depression and socio economic status are strongly related with sleeping all the time. The two factors may be the reason for the negative health effects. For instance, individuals of lower socioeconomic status may not easily have access to health care and so more undiagnosed illnesses like heart disease may result to oversleeping.
First, let us look at what oversleeping means. The normal standard has been long considered to be 8 hours, and it is a good median benchmark. A review of recent of current research from the extraordinarily capable individuals at the National Sleep Foundation gives a detailed explanation. They say that somewhere in the range of 7 to 9 hours is normal and healthy for adults between the ages of 18 to 64 years.
In addition, according to Arizona State University professor Shawn Younstedt, he says that closer to seven hours could even be better. The lowest mortality and morbidity is with 7 hours. Other many researchers have also agreed with 7 hours as it helps with better brain health and longevity.
The right amount of sleep shows that some people will feel great on 7 hours while some others may need extra time. Nevertheless, in many studies and for extraordinarily capable people, over 9 hours is considered a long amount of sleep for adults.
Supposing you sleep in a little sometimes during the weekends, it is no big deal. Supposing that you also regularly sleep more than 9 hours every night or don’t feel well rested on less than that, then it probably be worth taking a closer attention. It is estimated that about 2 percent of the population usually sleep for a longer period, typically since childhood.
The kind of people that suffer from hypersomnia, oversleeping is a medical disorder. The condition results when they suffer from extreme sleepiness throughout the whole day, which is not often relieved by napping. In addition, it causes them to sleep for uncommon long periods of time at night. Many individuals with hypersomnia go through symptoms of anxiety, memory issues and low energy which are as a result of their almost regular need for sleep.
Obstructive sleep apnea is another disorder that enables people to pause while breathing momentarily during sleep which can also lead to a high need for sleep. That is because it affects the normal sleep cycle.
In another scenario, not everybody who oversleeps possess a sleep disorder, rather there are other possible causes that can result to oversleeping. Other possible causes include; alcohol, prescription medications and other medical conditions like depression which may result to sleeping too much. Lastly, there are also people who naturally sleep a lot.
Looking to discover the sleep sweet spot for a good health, researchers have made lots of searches looking at how different habits link up with both physical and mental well being. Numerous trends have come out connecting oversleeping with higher rates of mortality and disease as well as things such as depression.
Research connects longer sleep habits with; depression, cognitive impairment, increased pain, impaired fertility, increased risk of obesity, increased inflammation, higher risk of diabetes, higher risk of stroke, higher all cause mortality and higher risk of heart disease.
Sleep science as a field is still searching into the effect relationship between health and oversleeping, but some habits that enhance better quality sleep and healthy sleep duration have been discovered.
While a small amount of people naturally sleep longer, for many people that sleep for a longer period particularly those whose sleep needs have change, there are some conditions, behaviours and environmental factors that lead to an increase in sleep need or probably affect the quality of sleep.
According to Dr. Robert Rosenberg, he says that ‘too much sleep on a regular basis can increase the risk of diabetes, stroke, heart disease and death. He added by saying that too much is defined as greater than 9 hours.
The most known cause is not getting enough sleep during the night or probably during the week, rather they are followed by sleep disorders like apnea, depression and idiopathic hypersomnolence.
There are different ways of preventing oversleeping and they include;
• Get enough sleep; between 7 to 9 hours every night
• Do not oversleep on weekends because it throws your circadian rhythms off and makes falling asleep more hard than before during the work week
• Expose yourself to sunlight at every awakening
• If possible, get dawn sunlight emitting alarm clock
• Prevent excessive naps particularly after 4pm because it might be difficult to fall asleep and lead in oversleeping.
These five different ways will help in getting a better sleep but if after this, you continue to have the same problem, then there is an underlying sleep disorder.
