Is Sleeping Too Much Bad For You?
Also Known As: oversleeping
Short answer
Sleeping too much is most likely bad for you. A number of studies have described mental health problems and chronic conditions related to sleeping too much.
Harmful to your health. Very few, if any, benefits are present. Things in this category should be avoided as much as possible.
View Full Grading System
Category 'A'
Very healthy and numerous health benefits. Side effects are rare. Things rated an 'A+' are typically necessary for survival (for example, water).
Very healthy and numerous health benefits. A few harmful qualities may be associated, but only under certain circumstances such as an allergic reaction.
Very healthy and numerous health benefits. Harmful qualities may be associated, but aren't usually serious.
It is important to note that even the best things in life can become bad in immoderate amounts. So, although something may be rated an 'A+', overconsumption/overdoing can bring unwanted effects.
Category 'B'
Very beneficial to your health. Things rated a 'B+' may have a few harmful qualities to pay attention to.
Overall beneficial to your health. Things rated a 'B' may have some harmful qualities to pay attention to.
More beneficial to your health than not. However, harmful qualities are most likely associated and shouldn't be overlooked.
The main difference between category 'A' and category 'B' is the harmful qualities typically present in 'B' items. Serious side effects are usually uncommon, but are still possible and should be taken note of.
Category 'C'
Both beneficial and harmful qualities associated. Things rated a 'C+' are typically a bit more on the beneficial side. Still, moderation is important.
A fairly even ratio of beneficial and harmful qualities. Moderation is important. Very general topics that can lean towards both sides of the spectrum will be placed here as well. Rice, for example, can be good or bad depending on the type.
More harmful than beneficial. Side effects are common, especially when consumed/done excessively. Moderation is very important.
Category 'C' usually denotes to both good and bad qualities. When it comes to this category, it is important to keep this word in mind: moderation.
Category 'D'
Harmful to your health. Although benefits may be associated, the bad most likely outweighs the good. Moderation is very important.
Harmful to your health. A few benefits may be associated, but the bad outweighs the good. Moderation is extremely important.
Harmful to your health. Very few, if any, benefits are present. Things in this category should be avoided as much as possible.
Category 'D' is typically for things that are more harmful than beneficial. While consuming/doing something unhealthy once in a blue moon shouldn't hurt, we definitely recommend eliminating 'D' items as a regular part of your routine/diet.
Category 'F'
Category 'F' is for things that fail to bring anything beneficial to the table, and are very harmful to your health. We recommend completely avoiding anything in this category. Long-term side effects of 'F' items are usually very serious.
Category 'N'
'N' stands for neutral. Things placed into this category are generally (a) neither good nor bad for you, or (b) lack the necessary evidence to reach any conclusions.
Long answer
Sleeping too much may increase your risk of dying a premature death. A group of scientists did a meta-analysis of sixteen different studies and found that sleeping more than eight hours a night can raise your risk of a premature death by 1.3 times.
That may because sleeping has been linked to a whole range of chronic diseases. A study and meta-analysis published in the American Journal of Neurology found that prolonged sleep significantly increased your risk of having a stroke - 1.4 times in the study and 1.45 times in the meta-analysis. A cross-sectional study that surveyed 50,000 adults in the United States found a link between oversleeping and a higher risk of coronary heart disease. The National Health Service in the U.K. published an easy-to-read explanation of the study's findings and limitations; while the study isn't perfect, there's a growing body of evidence that such a connection may exist. Another study done in Quebec - this one much smaller - found that too much or too little sleep increased the risk of insulin resistance or diabetes by a factor of two.
Sleeping doesn't just increase your risk of chronic conditions. It can also have an effect on your mental health. A Harvard published in the Journal of American Geriatrics looked at sleep duration in older women and found that those who slept more performed worse on various measures of memory and cognition. The effect appeared in those who slept nine hours or more a night. The effect was borne out by another paper, this one published in the Journal of American Psychiatry: they found a statistically significant decline in the cognitive function of men and women who slept more.
This may be because the physical conditions that sleeping too much is linked to, such as heart disease or stroke, restrict the flow of blood to the brain. It may be because too much sleep scars the brain with deposits of beta-amyloid, which interferes with memory; that much has been demonstrated in mice.
Whatever the cause, there seems to be a connection between too much sleep and the health of the brain. A 2014 study looking at the heritability of depression in twins found that sleeping too much can up your risk of becoming depressed. Those who slept between seven and nine hours a night ran a heritability of depression around one in three; those who slept too little or too much upped the heritability to around one in two. That suggests that too much sleep may open up epigenetic pathways that lead to depression.
Possible short-term side effects
- lethargy
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fatigue
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drowsiness
Possible long-term side effects
- premature death
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stroke
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heart disease
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diabetes
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depression
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reduced memory and cognition
Healthier alternatives
- getting 7-9 hours of sleep
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