Most people understand that not getting enough sleep is bad for one’s health, safety, and well-being. What you may not appreciate, however, is that habitually oversleeping can be just as bad.
Why is oversleeping potentially harmful?
The Right Amount of Sleep
Sleep is critical for good health and well-being – and just like for Goldilocks, there is a “just right” amount of sleep we should all be aiming for and ideally achieving every night.
Some people do need more (or less) sleep than others, but there is a sweet spot – and the average healthy adult aged between 18 and 64 needs between 7-9 hours of good quality sleep every night. Daytime napping should not be habitually required by adults in this age group if they achieve this amount of sleep at night; if it is, a nap should not be any longer than 20-30 minutes taken in the mid-afternoon.
Daily sleep guidelines for younger people are as follows:
- Newborns to 3 months = 14-17 hours*
- Infants 4-11 months = 12-15 hours*
- Toddlers 1-2 years = 11-14 hours*
- Preschoolers 3-5 years = 10-13 hours*
- Older Children 6-13 years = 9-11 hours
- Teenagers 14-17 = 8-10 hours
(*naps included)
It’s a fact of life that we all have the occasional late night or big day. This will naturally mean we need more sleep to “catch up”. But regularly not getting enough sleep at night, or not getting good-quality sleep, can cause issues including:
- Sluggishness
- Headaches
- Irritability
- Fatigue
- Poor concentration
- Memory issues
- Higher risk of accidents
- Higher risk of health issues including heart disease, stroke, obesity, obstructive sleep apnea, Alzheimer’s disease, mood disorders, diabetes, and more.
Oversleeping Can Be Just as Harmful as Undersleeping!
Scientists have discovered that sleeping too much can also be problematic – and just as unhealthy as not getting enough sleep.
Did you know that regularly sleeping 10 (or more) hours per night can be harmful? It may also indicate a sleep disorder or another medical issue requiring attention.
Sleeping too long has been linked with having an increased risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes, depression, and obesity in adults aged over 45 years. These risks are even higher for oversleeping than they are for sleeping too little. Furthermore, if you sleep for longer than 7-9 hours each night and still feel tired, a health issue could be the cause.
(Researchers have found that depression and low socioeconomic status are strongly linked with oversleeping. Some of the negative health impacts linked with sleeping too much may, in fact, be caused by these rather than the oversleeping itself. This may be, at least in part, because people of lower socioeconomic status are often limited in their access to timely healthcare. As such, chronic health conditions often remain undiagnosed and untreated, and oversleeping can be an outcome of this.)
Why Am I Always So Tired?
If you feel tired and sluggish despite having a solid 8 hours in bed at night, you need to understand why. This is the only way you’ll be able to address and resolve this issue.
Causes of feeling this way include physiological or environmental conditions that disrupt or otherwise interfere with the quality of your sleep. These include but are not limited to:
- Snoring
- Obstructive sleep apnea
- Insomnia
- Bruxism (teeth clenching/grinding)
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Restless legs syndrome
- Chronic pain
- Alcohol/caffeine consumption
- Smoking/vaping
- Device overuse (smartphones, gaming consoles, backlit e-readers)
- TV in the bedroom
- Some medications
- Bedroom too hot/cold/light/noisy
- Sleeping with children or pets
Sleep requirements can also change as a natural result of ageing, especially in later life.
Some health conditions also increase the amount of sleep you need:
- Pregnancy
- Acute illness (e.g. flu, Epstein Barr Virus)
- Idiopathic hypersomnia
- Circadian rhythm disorders
- Chronic diseases like cancer (and their treatments)
Medical Conditions Caused by Oversleeping
Oversleeping can cause an array of medical issues:
- Obesity: participants of a study who slept 9-10 hours each night were shown to be 21% more likely to become obese. These results were unchanged when exercise and food intake were accounted for.
- Diabetes: the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes increases in people who get too much or not enough sleep.
- Headaches: serotonin is a brain chemical that influences mood and sleep, and it also plays a role in headaches and migraine. For people who are prone to headaches and/or migraines, oversleeping makes them more vulnerable, especially waking with a headache in the morning. This includes sleeping in on weekends or while on holidays.
- Depression: under-sleeping and insomnia have a known link to mood disorders. Oversleeping also plays a role for 15% of people with depression, and sleeping too much is likely to be both a cause and effect of depression.
- Heart Disease: researchers have found that women who sleep 9-11 hours each night are almost 40% more likely to have coronary heart disease. The connection between the two is not yet understood – including which contributes more to the other.
- Death: a significant number of medical studies have determined that death rates are significantly higher for people who sleep too much – specifically 9 or more hours every night. While the reasons for this are not currently understood, some surmise that depression and low socioeconomic status may play a role and be more causative than the sleeping amount itself.
When To Visit Your Doctor
If you habitually feel tired or sluggish after a long night’s sleep, wake up feeling exhausted or with a headache, or generally need more than 9 hours, you should visit your GP for a checkup. They will be able to perform an examination, listen to your concerns, and order any relevant tests you might need. This will help them rule out or diagnose any medical condition that needs to be treated or otherwise managed and help to understand why you need so much sleep. (Some of these potential conditions include snoring, sleep apnea, insomnia, thyroid issues, anaemia, or other medical issues.)
Getting answers and treating issues appropriately is the best way to take control of your sleep and your life and to feel better.
In the meantime:
- Practice Good Sleep Hygiene
- Avoid Caffeine After 4 pm
- Implement a Sleep Schedule
- Address Snoring and Bruxism
Sleep Better & Feel Better with ApneaRx
The quality of sleep you get matters – and improving it is an important way to ensure you don’t need to sleep too much.
ApneaRx is among NZ’s most popular and effective snoring cures – and it can help you sleep better.
ApneaRx snoring treatment in NZ is a device that is worn in the mouth during sleep. It helps prevent snoring by moving the position of the lower jaw slightly forward. This helps to open the airways for smoother breathing, minimising the vibrations of the tissues in the mouth and throat that cause snoring. It has also been clinically tested to treat some of the symptoms associated with mild to moderate sleep apnea and may help users achieve a healthier, deeper night’s sleep.
