Is Too Much Sleep Bad For You?

We all need sleep. We know those who sleep too little, and there is a bit of a loathsome attitude toward those who sleep “too much.” Who’s to say what “too much” is?  There is actually an amount of time you need to sleep.

It can be tempting to sleep in and catch some much-needed Z’s, but research shows that it’s important to get the right amount of sleep rather than getting too much sleep.

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  1. You Need Four to Six Sleep Cycles a Night
  2. You Risk Negative Health Effects From Sleeping Too Much
  3. You Need to Find the Right Amount of Time to Sleep
  4. It’s Important to Stay Balanced
  5. Bottom Line About Sleeping Too Long
  6. Cool Video: Can You Get Too Much Sleep?

You Need Four to Six Sleep Cycles a Night

People inadvertently think that they can catch up on their sleep. This is only partially true. Ideally, you want to achieve between four and six sleep cycles a night.

Each sleep cycle is roughly 90 minutes for adults. This means that people should aim between six hours to nine hours of sleep each night. Anything beyond this is too much.

If someone misses out on a sleep cycle or two at night, they can take a nap during the day to make up for it. That’s the limit though. You can’t make up for days of sleep.

You Risk Negative Health Effects From Sleeping Too Much

As it turns out, sleeping too much is just as bad for you as sleeping too little. While you might think your headache is due to too little sleep, you can actually get a headache from sleeping too much.

In fact, you risk diabetes, heart disease, obesity and depression in addition to frequent headaches from too much sleep. Many people think they need more sleep when they get a headache from sleeping too much.

Also, depression can cause a person to sleep too much while sleeping too much can add to their depression. Other problems, such as hypersomnia, sleep apnea and suffering from the effects of poverty can cause people to sleep too much as well.

You Need to Find the Right Amount of Time to Sleep

To determine how many sleep cycles you should get, you need a few nights of uninterrupted sleep. You need to go to bed feeling relaxed. Don’t drink anything before you go to bed, wear comfortable clothing, and make sure your room is a comfortable temperature.

You’ll want to record the times you went to sleep and when you awoke naturally. This will give you an idea of how many sleep cycles you need per night and how long each one is. Then, you can determine the correct time you should go to sleep in order to wake up refreshed at the right time.

It’s Important to Stay Balanced

Like all other things in life, it’s important to stay balanced. It all has to do with the neurotransmitters within your brain and how they affect your serotonin levels. Your serotonin levels need to be kept balanced at all times to avoid suffering negative health effects. This is why too much or too little sleep can affect your health negatively.

To get the best night’s rest, it’s important to get other matters in life under control. It’s no mistake that a poor quality of sleep affects the rest of your life. You will need to make changes to stop this domino effect. These changes are easy to make though, so you needn’t worry.

• Exercise

Exercise makes your body feel and respond to life in a healthier way. It helps to flush out toxins, increase muscles, improve your brain’s function, relieves pain, strengthens your immune system and helps directly and indirectly achieve a better night’s sleep.

Exercise helps you to feel more motivated, and you will get more done during the day when you have the energy to do so. This will prevent you from over-sleeping.

• Laugh and Smile More

Laughing and smiling make you feel better. Both help to relieve insomnia and help to regulate your brain and body to feel better, experience less pain, have less stress and many other benefits.

You can even fake laughter and smiling. Your brain won’t know the difference. Doing so makes you feel better. You can also watch funny videos or find something to be happy about.

• Lessen the Amount of Blue Light You Receive

Your body has an internal clock that relies on many things to make you sleepy and awake at certain times of the day. The sun provides blue light. This helps you to feel awake during the day.

However, laptops, TV’s and other devices emit blue light too. This can cause you to feel awake at night as well. This can cause you to sleep too late and get too much sleep in the morning.

You can either turn off all of these devices three to four hours before you go to bed or wear blue light blocking glasses. By correcting your body’s internal clock, you can avoid over and under-sleeping.

Bottom Line About Sleeping Too Long

One healthy change impacts others in your life. Start small, keep at it, and you will see a huge difference.

Video: Can You Get Too Much Sleep?