Is it possible to get too much sleep?

Apparently so. Studies show that people who get more than the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep have an increased risk of developing health complications. This doesn’t mean that if you’re someone who needs 10 hours regularly, or if you’re sick or recovering from jet lag, that you’re compromising your health. This is for the people who consistently spend 11 or more hours a day in dreamland.

According to researchers at Université Laval’s Faculty of Medicine, patients who got too much sleep were just as likely to develop diabetes as those who got too little sleep. After 6 years of tracking nearly 300 patients, they discovered that 20% of these people developed diabetes or some other type of impaired glucose tolerance. This is 2.5 times more than patients who got the recommended amount of sleep.

Risk of stroke also increases with excessive sleep. Unlike diabetes, your chances of stroke are higher if you sleep too much than if you sleep too little, according to Neurology. Researchers tracked the sleep habits of more than 9000 adults for almost 10 years. After accounting for any other health factors that could have affected the risk for stroke, they found that those sleeping for over 10 hours a night were much more likely to suffer from one.

Excessive sleep is often associated with some kind of sleep or medical disorder, so if you regularly sleep for more than 10 hours a night, you should go to the doctor.

If you’re oversleeping because you just can’t sleep well, the problem may be your mattress. If your mattress is past its warranty, or if it’s sagging or hurting you, it’s time to invest in a new one. Check out our slashed Black Friday prices to make sure that you get the best possible deal on a new mattress.

Sleep Well,

The Snooze Guru

Tagged: how to sleep better, Life and Sleep, life hacks, sleep advice, sleep better