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For everyone, the negative effects of sleep deprivation seem quite obvious. But how does excess sleep affect our health and functioning? If we sleep more hours than recommended every once in a while, we’ll probably get away with it.
7-9 hours of sleep is not optimal for everyone. The need for sleep depends on factors such as age, physical effort, and may also increase after surgery or changing the time zone, before the body has time to adapt to the new conditions.
How important is the sleep regulation mechanism?
Each person has an innate mechanism that is responsible for the circadian rhythm, however, as a result of various factors, it can be disturbed. A significant impact on its efficient functioning is exerted by the multitude of duties, the resulting rush and stress, as well as the time spent in front of the TV or computer. Also sleep disorders, which include apnea, affect the reduction of its quality, which results in drowsiness, so it is worth treating them.
As the Americans have shown, both sleeping less than 6 hours a day and more than 10 hours are likely to develop chronic diseases in us, e.g. neurosis. Most often, the development of diseases will affect people over 45 years of age.
The effect on the body of regular sleeping for too long
Common ailments resulting from excessively long sleep time are malaise and a feeling of intoxication after waking up. With unnecessary hours of sleep, the risk of overweight and obesity, as well as diabetes, increases. Not only do we run the risk of developing sleep disorders, but we also increase our susceptibility to depression and heart disease. In addition, the likelihood of chronic pain syndromes and the frequency of migraines increases. By allowing ourselves to sleep too long, we ourselves are trapped in a sleep disorder. In simple terms – if one night we had enough sleep, the next it will be harder for us to fall asleep, which in turn will make us wake up the next morning with a feeling of lack of sleep and the need for longer sleep.
The need for sleep
Infants are record holders in terms of need for sleep, as they need it from 16 to even 18 hours a day. On the other hand, children up to the age of 5 sleep 11-13 hours, and teenagers from 8-10. After the age of 60, the number of hours necessary to sleep decreases drastically. Of course, excessive physical activity and strong mental stress play a significant role in the need for sleep. It is estimated that the average adult should sleep between 7 and 9 hours each night. Meanwhile, the problem of excessive sleepiness affects 4 percent. society.