You hear so much about the risks associated with not sleeping enough. That is because most adults do not get enough sleep, and enough sleep is optimally seven to eight hours of sleep per night. You can get by if you sleep for six hours a night or nine hours a night. However, if you are constantly getting five hours of sleep per night or less, then you will run into health problems as sleep deprivation accumulates. What happens if you sleep for ten hours a night or longer? You rarely hear about problems associated with sleeping too much. That is because who really has the time in this day and age to sleep more than eight hours a night anyway?
You would be surprised to know that there are plenty of adults that get too much sleep. Getting too much sleep means that there are risks that you will face from that as well. Let’s talk about what happens if you end up getting too much sleep.
You Raise Your Risk Of Getting Heart Disease
Even though there are not enough studies conducted to find the link between oversleeping and heart disease, researchers do say that sleeping too much can increase the chances of cardiovascular problems. If you sleep too much, that does not allow your heart to work properly as you need that right sleep and wake balance for your heart to function normally as much as possible.
Depression
Depression is a significant problem among a large percentage of younger and older people in all areas of the world. If you sleep too much, that can easily make depression symptoms much worse. And depression can also cause you to sleep too much, but it can also have the opposite effect on you. If you have depression and you are sleeping too much because of it, you will not be able to manage it which will cause you to sleep even more. That turns into a vicious cycle.
Obesity
If you sleep too little, that can increase the chances of obesity as it can hurt your metabolic system. The same applies if you are oversleeping. If you are sleeping too much, then your metabolism does not have the chance to work efficiently. Therefore, oversleeping will cause it to become sluggish, and that in itself causes obesity.
Diabetes
You can increase your chances of developing diabetes if you sleep too much the same way that you can if you do not get enough sleep. Oversleeping is not good for your blood sugar levels and pancreatic function. That will put you at risk for developing diabetes.
Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism is when your thyroid does not produce enough of the thyroid hormone which means it is not functioning. And when you are oversleeping, you are putting yourself at risk for that. That will also have an impact on your metabolic system which will make it harder for you to lose weight. You will face other challenges with hypothyroidism.
Other problems that you will face if you are oversleeping are narcolepsy, hypersomnia, sleep apnea, and headaches. Now, you may be wondering if the occasional time you oversleep when you are sick or making up for sleep debt is a bad thing to do. The answer is, no, not at all. In fact, there are times when you need to sleep more than nine hours which apply. When you are sick, you need that extra time to sleep to heal. And if you did not get much sleep days prior to the days you are sleeping too much, then you need that makeup time.
Oversleeping is only problematic if you are making a habit of it and you are doing it consistently. And if you are sleeping too much, then you may have an underlying condition that is causing you to oversleep. You will need to see your doctor and have an examination to find out if that is the case.
Changing your lifestyle habits can also help you improve your sleep such as limiting alcohol intake, and taking one short catnap each day if you need it that is for a half-hour or less. It is also important to maintain the proper sleep schedule and to stick to it. But if you are still struggling with oversleeping, then you need to see your doctor and be referred to a sleep specialist that can help.
