The body needs to get enough sleep and rest every day, but excessive sleep can have adverse effects on health. What are the disadvantages of sleeping too much?
The disadvantages of sleeping too much: a list of the most important ones
Let us learn about the harms of sleeping too much and its causes in the following:
The disadvantages of sleeping too much
Oversleeping may increase the chances of developing a range of complications and health problems, such as:
1. Cardiovascular disease
Sleeping too much can negatively affect the health of the circulatory system, and it has been shown that women getting 9-11 hours of sleep at night may increase the chances of developing coronary heart disease.
It has also been shown that sleeping too much or too little sleep may increase the chances of heart attacks, but the link between too much sleep and cardiovascular disease is still not completely clear.
2. Various psychological disorders
One of the harms of sleeping too much is that it may cause a range of different psychological disorders, here is a list of the most important ones:
Depression
However, it should be noted that the link between depression and excessive sleep is still a matter of controversy. While some experts believe that excessive sleep may cause depression, others believe that excessive sleep is what causes depression, not the other way around.
worry
Sleeping a lot or lack of sleep may cause increased anxiety in some people, which may negatively affect various aspects of their lives, and it has been shown that chronic insomnia may increase the chances of developing anxiety.
Problems with comprehension and concentration
Sleeping too much can accelerate brain aging and reduce the ability to perform some tasks with usual efficiency, even simple tasks.
Other mental disorders
It may push a person to some unhealthy or even dangerous practices, such as: suicide attempt, illegal drug use or some types of medication.
3. Headache and back pain
Sleeping a lot can lead to stimulating different pains in the body or exacerbating the pain already present in the patient. For example, sleeping too much may cause things such as:
Increasing the severity of headache pain in people who are prone to headaches, as excessive sleep may cause an imbalance in neurotransmitters in the brain.
Feeling of general pain in the body and increasing acute pain in the back in people who suffer from back pain in particular.
4. Other damage
The damages of sleeping too much do not stop at what was mentioned above, but too much sleep may have many other damages that are still being researched and studied, such as:
Obesity, as some studies have shown that sleeping for 9-10 hours a day may increase the chances of obesity.
Diabetes, as it has been found that sleeping a lot may increase the chances of developing type 2 diabetes.
Death, as it was found that people who sleep more than 9 hours a night and regularly have an increased chance of death compared to people who get 7-8 hours of sleep a night, and too much sleep may increase the chances of death in people with some diseases.
Reasons to sleep a lot
Oversleeping may not be just a type of transient laziness, but there are many things that may cause sleeping too much, here is a list of the most important ones:
1. Narcolepsy
Narcolepsy is a neurological disorder that arises when the brain suffers from a defect that prevents it from controlling the sleep-wake cycle, which may lead the patient to fall asleep without warning anytime and anywhere.
2. Depression
Depression is one of the most common causes of hypersomnia. A depressed person feels low energy levels and tired most of the time, which can cause him to sleep for longer periods than usual.
3. Sleep apnea
This disease causes the patient's breath to be interrupted for a short period during sleep, which may lead to him waking up repeatedly at night and interrupting the usual sleep cycle, which may increase the body's need to sleep for longer hours during the day and night.
4. Hypersomnia
It is a term usually given to the condition in which a person's desire to sleep for longer hours during the day increases, and it is a desire that does not decrease and is not satisfied even when taking a long or short daytime nap.
Oversleeping may cause a range of health complications, such as anxiety and memory problems.
5. Other reasons
Such as taking medications that may cause fatigue and drowsiness, and drinking alcohol.
Recommended sleeping hours
This is the recommended number of hours of sleep, depending on age:
Babies up to 3 months of age: 14-17 hours of sleep per day.
Babies aged 4-11 months: 12-15 hours of sleep per day.
Children aged 1-2 years: 11-14 hours of sleep per day.
Children aged 6-13 years: 9-11 hours of sleep per day.
Adolescents aged 14-17 years: 8-10 hours per day.
Adults aged 18-64 years: 7-9 hours daily.
Older adults over 65 years of age: 7-8 hours daily.
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