The average adult probably has heard and read of the dangers associated with getting too little sleep. Pretty much sane to lay emphasis on the subject as busy work schedules have made getting reasonable shuteye nearly impossible. A good sleep is crucial for well-being and facts support it. Not only does it help you stay focused and alert when you are awake, a quality sleep helps cut your risk of developing life-threatening health conditions like high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes.

Dangers of oversleeping

While it’s worrying how some of us scarcely get a shuteye, there could be such a thing as being on other end the spectrum. Yes, we just might be ‘overdoing sleep’ (hard to believe as a lot of people wish they could sleep more). ‘’ individuals who sleep more than 10 hours per day generally have worse health profiles than those who sleep 7-8 hours’’, says Susan Redline, MD, professor of Sleep Medicine at the University of Harvard. Sleeping for longer than normal could be an indication of an underlying medical condition. In the absence of any medical condition, you may just be plainly overdoing it and of course, you put yourself in danger of some health hazards associated with oversleeping and interestingly, they are similar to the problems that could emanate from sleeping too little.

How much do you sleep?

With sleep, perception of normal could vary though lately there has been some interesting findings. 6-7 hours of sleep could have the same effect as sleeping for up to 10 hours says findings from recent studies. Note here that our body makeup differ as a person can function splendidly on just 6 hours of sleep while another may require up to ten hours to optimally perform. However, recent studies have proved that anything longer than that can hardly be considered as normal. Understand here that sleeping a few extra hours on weekends is probably no cause for concern at all. It becomes worrying if the range is exceeded too often and this is often connected with a health condition. Professor of Sleep Medicine (UCLA) Michael Irwin M.D defines long sleep as more than 8 hours as he notes than individuals who sleep longer than that may actually be having a poor sleep as they are hardly soundly asleep the whole time. Summed up; oversleeping could be as injurious as sleeping too little! Below are some of the risks associated with oversleeping;

Obesity

Quite a number of studies have linked obesity with having too little sleep. The same is true for sleeping too much, you gain weight. If you sleep too much, it is safe to infer that you probably have little or no time to be active or engage in exercises. This translates to more sleep, less movement and of course calories retention. In 6-year Canadian study, long sleepers were reported to be 25% more likely to gain weight over the study period and this same set also had their risk of obesity snowballed to a whopping 21%. So much for a shuteye!

Depression

While having enough sleep is often recommended for emotional and physical well-being, overdoing it on the other hand has been linked to depression. One salient symptom of depression is oversleeping, hence the reason you have a hard time getting up could be linked to depression going unnoticed as long sleeps could be directly associated with mental distress . A 2014 study of adult twins found that sleeping longer than normal increased depression symptoms. Participants who slept between seven to nine hours nightly had a 27% heritability of depressive symptoms while those who slept 9 hours and more had 49% heritability.



Cardiac problems

One of the disturbing consequences of oversleeping is cardiovascular diseases. People who sleep for more than 8hrs per night are twice likely to suffer from angina (pain in the chest) and coronary heart disease says researchers from Chicago School of Medicine. The risk of stroke also increases. A British study presented an increased chance of suffering from stroke in long sleepers.

Diabetes


Oversleeping could cause you to develop diabetes. How? Your sugar levels can be raised from too much sleep and inactivity (as it does with oversleeping). Definitely not how you pictured sweet sleep. High glucose levels in the blood increases your risk of getting type ii diabetes and leading a highly sedentary life could lead to obesity which in turn spikes this risk factor.

Foggy brain

We all get fuzzy up there sometimes. Quite normal if you understand how endlessly we use our brain. However, more than occasionally brain fogginess could be a direct result of the extended time you spend slumbering. Research published in the Journal of American Geriatrics made a startling discovery; chronic long sleeping can age your brain by as much as 2 years also making it challenging to perform everyday duties. Also, disrupted sleep suffered by many long sleepers may lead to ‘poor cognitive functioning’ says experts

Risk of early death

Frightening but true, controlled studies have shown that people who sleep longer than normal are more likely to die early. Not a direct reason why but experts say they could be linked to problems like diabetes, heart diseases and so many ailments connected to too much or too little sleep.

Conclusively, sleep is a dicey subject as what works for another may not do same for you but ‘playing it safe’ is key as having too little or too much of it can be hazardous to your health hence balance is essential.

Lalasticlala, Dominique, Seun, Sissy3 frontpage please.

sleep much; problem
sleep less; problem
no sleep; wahala
sleep normal; gbege

all these are becoming so annoying, which one do they want us to do??

the best is to sleep the way you know works for you

Bogus unproven shyte


Adhere at your own peril

OceanmorganTrix:

sleep much; problem
sleep less; problem
no sleep; wahala
sleep normal; gbege

all these are becoming so annoying, which one do they want us to do??

the best is to sleep the way you know works for you

clearly stated there...understand what works for you while you try not to overdo it.

Drink T&TVirginNONI juice as it helps high blood pressure.
Distributors wanted.

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Ogba, Lagos

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