One of the world’s most blissful feelings is hitting bed after a long, tiring day. You might want to spend as much time sleeping, snuggling up in your soft, cozy bed as tomorrow doesn’t exist. It might not be that big a deal if you oversleep once in a while, but if it becomes a habit, then it may affect your health in more than one way. If you are worried about this, we recommend you read the following article to know the effects of oversleeping on your health.
Signs Of Oversleeping
Sleep is important, but there are no favors in too much sleep on a regular basis. Excessive sleep can lead you to the following symptoms:
- Productivity problems
- Low energy in the daytime
- Anxiety symptoms
- Issues with memory
- Extreme unresolved sleepiness by napping
- Extreme exhaustion not affected by how much you’re sleeping
If you are worried about any excessive sleeping symptoms you might experience, a sleep expert or a doctor may direct you towards a solution. A medical professional will help you decide if your prolonged sleep is induced by a sleep disorder or by your sleeping patterns.
Possible Causes of Oversleeping
Oversleep is when you sleep more than your body needs. Therefore, a person who sleeps more than 10 to 12 hours a day may fall under the category of hypersomnia.
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How Much Sleep is Too Much Sleep?
Your sleep needs will vary throughout your life, sleep, age, level of activity, overall health, and lifestyle. As a general principle, the AASM recommends the following amounts of sleep based on the age:
Newborns: 16-18 hours a night of sleep
Preschoolers: 11-12 hours per night of sleep
School-aged and adolescents: about 10 hours of sleep a night
Adults and seniors: 7-9 hours a night of sleep
Bear in mind that your personal needs for sleep can deviate from the norm, but this does not inherently mean there is a problem. If you’ve always been one that wants a little extra sleep, that’s not really a problem. Look for abrupt changes in your sleep routine instead. Did you usually get 7 hours of sleep and feel okay, but now you need closer to 10 and you feel awful? There could be a problem if that’s the case.
Similarly, there are often sometimes temporary causes of oversleeping. If you’re sick, when your body attempts to rest and build up the energy reserves required to fight off an infection, you’re more likely to need some extra shuteye. Or, if you have run a marathon or have undergone a high degree of acute stress, your body may naturally need more rest to recover your brain and body as a result. Such one-off scenarios are not caused for concern.
Effects Of Oversleeping On Your Health
Sleep nourishes the senses of our body, as our body nourishes from food. After a quiet sleep, we feel relaxed and rejuvenated. Sleeping more than our body requires may not be good for us, though, and may contribute to different physical and mental issues. The following are some physical and mental risks that may arise from oversleeping.
1. May Make You Hefty
You eat to give your body energy and your body burns calories during the day while doing your simple work. However, your body can keep piling on the extra calories when you spend much of the time sleeping, which eventually leads to weight gain.
2. Cause Headaches
There is a strong chance that you would be in too much sleep if you have persistent headaches.
3. Cause Anxiety
Anxiety is when you are more worried than usual about things and circumstances. Often it can deprive you of sleep, but sometimes just the opposite may happen. That can make you more groggy and tired, so you might want to shy away from reality and sleep for a while.
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4. Cause Depression
Oversleeping can have an effect on your serotonin levels, which can lead to symptoms of depression or other mental conditions in turn. Therefore, it may not be nice to sleep those extra hours to get your mood to soar, but it may make you feel all gloomy or doomed, so keep a check on your snooze-time.
5. Meddle with Your Fertility
Do they have any connection to snoozing and fertility? Well, if you’re planning to get pregnant, it might be wise to consider how much time you spend sleeping because long-term sleep can hinder your fertility by upsetting the hormonal balance and affecting the circadian cycles.
6. Cause Heart Strokes
People who sleep more than 8 hours a day were found to be at about 50% more likely to suffer from a stroke than people who slept about 8 hours a day or less. Therefore, you may be at risk of stroke for longer sleep hours. Snooze less to keep your heart strokes at bay.
Benefits of Oversleeping
We have talked about the adverse effects of oversleeping and can ask you if there are any advantages. Well, it can be good for your health sometimes when you sleep for the extra hours. There are instances where research has shown that oversleeping can actually help:
- For increased sports performance in athletes
- For performers and actors to feel fresh and energized
- To improve the accuracy of athletes
You must prepare your body and mind accordingly if you want to take advantage of the extra hour of sleep.
How To Avoid Oversleeping
There are several steps you might take to avoid this if you’ve slept away or slept over. Here are some oversleeping remedies, which can help.
- Set your sleep routine and try to stick to it.
- To cure your oversleeping condition, get an alarm clock to the rescue, and set a wake-up alarm.
- Expose yourself to more natural light and ensure that your room also has a bright light, as bright lights are very helpful in coping with symptoms of oversleeping.
- This condition can also be caused at times by some medication prescriptions. You can request a change of your prescription from your doctor.
These tips will help you deal with sleep problems and help you keep them in check.
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Although oversleeping may not be that prevalent in individuals and only 2 percent of individuals may experience this disorder, if you believe you are struggling with this condition, you must act quickly and take corrective steps. Ask for the same doctor’s support!
Also Read: Sleep Deprivation: Effects ,Symptoms & Treatments
