There’s no denying that the body needs rest every day and sleep becomes a critical activity in our daily lives. While many view sleeping as just a state of rest, there’s much more to it. With very little common knowledge and some misconceptions amongst people, sleeping is generally not given much attention to with regard to mental and physical health. For instance, people tend to oversleep considering it to be healthy and wholesome. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Oversleeping doesn’t necessarily mean one is resting well, it often is a cause for many ill effects. Here are the top seven health issues resulting from oversleeping.
Obesity
Oversleeping limits your body activity and contributes to obesity. Obesity problems start when the energy from the food intake is higher than the energy spent from consuming the food. Merely exercise doesn’t help negate the obesity problem relating to oversleeping. This is mainly because oversleeping effects how the body stores and loses fat.
Fertility Ebb
Reproductive hormones are closely linked with the quality of our sleep. Too little or too much sleep can negatively impact fertility. Fertility is linked to sleep and wake cycle, as a result, the hormones needed for ovulation in women and producing sperm in men get affected causing fertility difficulty.
Depression and Mental Health
Extra hours in bed also tend to worsen mental health and increases anxiety. While disrupted and less sleep regularly co-relate with mental health and depression, oversleeping delays recovery. Irregular and oversleeping also cause Serotonin imbalance which could lead to depression.
Diabetes
A recent study analyzed the link between sleep patterns and diabetes concluded that oversleeping puts people at an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Oversleeping negatively impacts the body’s glucose tolerance which is linked to insulin resistance. This can also lead to heart disease.
Back Pain
Oversleeping is known to increase back pain. Lying down for long hours, especially in incorrect positions can lead to muscle stiffness. Those with existing back pain are recommended to exercise and take part in more activities to help ease it.
Heart Disease
Sleeping longer could actually be a symptom of heart disease. Oversleeping, in this case, will be elevating it. Researchers have linked a higher risk of stroke and coronary disease with oversleeping and lesser sleep hours. Consult a medical professional if heart disease runs through the family and oversleeping is a pattern.
Sleep Hangover and Fatigue
Just as the name suggests, oversleeping can cause the body to feel more tired after waking up. While the common understanding is - the body rests more with longer sleep, this isn’t really true. Sleep hangover impairs cognitive functioning. Longer sleep can sometimes also mean an interrupted and lesser quality of sleep through the night. This can cause fatigue which impacts focus and productivity.
Scientists and experts agree that seven to nine hours of quality sleep is ideal for healthy adults. While this varies from person to person, anything over nine hours isn’t recommended to maintain a healthy lifestyle. One way of ensuring comfortable and non-disruptive sleep is by upgrading your sleeping environment. We recommend switching to bamboo sheets. The eco-friendly sheets better the sleeping environment and should help to regulate sleep hours. Read our article on getting the right amount of sleep here.