We often hear about the real dangers of getting too little sleep, but on the other end of the spectrum, sleeping too much also appears to have some risks..
It's true a good night's sleep is essential for health. But oversleeping has been linked to a host of medical problems, including diabetes ,heart disease, and increased risk of death.
. Sleeping too much could make you weigh too much, as well. One recent study showed that people who slept for nine or 10 hours every night were 21% more likely to become obese over a six-year period than were people who slept between seven and eight hours. This association between sleep and obesity remained the same even when food intake and exercise were taken into account.
Oversleeping is considered a potential symptom of depression. While many people with depression report insomnia,about 15% tend to oversleep.
People who sleep too much during the day and disrupt their nighttime sleep may also find themselves suffering from headaches in the morning.
People with long sleep durations are also more likely to have persistenet depression or anxiety symptoms compared to normal sleepers. A recent twin study also found that sleeping too little or too much seemed to increase genetic heritability of depressive symptoms compared to normal sleepers.
The relationship between back pain and oversleeping is a tricky one. Unless you sleep on a special, expensive mattress you will eventually get back pain from oversleeping. At the same time, people that already have pain in their lower back should try to be as active as possible which, obviously is not the case if you are lying in bed all day.
For those who suffer from hypersomnia, oversleeping is a medical disorder. The condition causes people to suffer from extreme sleepiness throughout the day, which is not usually relieved by napping. It also causes them to sleep for unusually long periods of time at night
when oversleeping becomes a medical condition. These people often feel tired throughout the day, even after getting a full night of sleep. Constantly feeling tired often compels them to take naps at inopportune times. It also results in a number of side effects, including anxiety, irritability, lack of energy, loss of appetite, and memory loss
Researchers speculate getting too much sleep has an effect on certain neurotransmitters in the brain, especially serotonin.
