We all love to sleep. Laying down in your bed at night is one of the best feelings the day can bring. It can be especially difficult to climb out of bed if you have an ultra comfy bed situation, such as a memory foam pillow or mattress. However, there are a wide range of dangers associated with oversleeping. We’ve collated the top 6 health factors you need to consider next time you’re reluctant to get out of the sheets.
1. Drowsiness
Have you ever taken a sleeping tablet before bed, and suffered from a ‘sleep hangover’ the next day? Oversleeping has a similar effect. It has been proven that cognitive ability eaks when people have around 7 hours sleep, and drops when people have less. Other studies have also found general drowsiness, memory impairments and decreased cognitive function with longer sleep.
2. Mental health
A potential symptom of depression, oversleepers are more likely to have persistent depression or anxiety symptoms compared to normal sleepers. Irregularities in the body’s sleep clock may play a role in depressive symptoms, and returning sleep to a healthy pattern is often a focus of treatment.
3. Inflammation
Previous studies have found links between inflammation and longer sleep. Chronic inflammation leads to many dangerous diseases, ranging from diabetes to heart disease to Alzheimer’s disease. Inflammation in the body is measured by levels of cytokines (also called C-reactive proteins, or CRP).
4. Pain
Although we need to feel some pain to be intuitive to our body’s wants and needs, research shows that in some cases too much sleep can exacerbate symptoms. Back, neck and shoulder pain can worsen from too little activity or spending too much time in bed. Sleeping in a bad position or using an unsupportive mattress can also contribute to these symptoms.
5. Fertility
A study of Korean women undergoing In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) therapy found that women who slept seven to eight hours had the best chances of conceiving. Studies also suggest sleep outside the normal range could be affecting hormones and circadian cycles, impairing fertility.
6. Weight gain
A 2008 Canadian study done in found that both short and long sleepers gained more weight than normal sleepers over a six year period. As well as this, they were more likely to experience a significant weight gain. If that’s not reason enough to get out of bed, we don’t know what is!
7. All mortality risk
As if all the aforementioned factors weren’t enough, another danger of oversleeping is higher risk of death in general. Linked with other health issues such as obesity, heart disease and stroke, oversleeping leads to contributing factors to death such as fatigue, sleep fragmentation, decreased immune function and underlying disease.
We often hear about the dangers of not getting enough sleep, but on the other end of the spectrum, sleeping too much also has some very real risks. Keep these 7 surprising hocks of oversleeping close to your chest, so you can learn about the effects of oversleeping, what to look out for and how to work towards getting healthy, quality slumber.
