Is too much sleep a bad thing? 7 health consequences

Does sleeping too much have negative effects on our health? Let's see how it affects us.

Sleep is a vital necessity, and our body and brain must be able to replenish energy and reorganize all the information we have accumulated during the day, in addition to contributing to the growth process and the regulation of Biological rhythms. Experts recommend between seven and eight hours of sleep a day.

Less than that, as we all know, can take its toll on us: we find it hard to concentrate, we are more labile and irritable and our state of health can suffer, reducing, among other things, the functioning of our immune system.

But... what happens when we sleep too much? Is it bad to sleep too much? Throughout this article we are going to try to give answer to this question.

The importance of sleep

Each and every one of us sleeps, as sleep is an essential biological need linked to survival. It is a process through which our nervous system reorganizes itself and uses it to restore itself from the damage and activity typical of wakefulness, and which is also associated with the growth and evolution of the nervous system, as well as with the consolidation of useful and relevant memories.

All these are phenomena necessary for lifeIn fact, in a literal way: total sleep deprivation for long enough can even lead to death.

Sleep is not something watertight and homogeneous but consists of several phases, namely four phases of slow sleep (the first being drowsiness, the second superficial sleep, the third medium sleep and finally phase four of deep sleep) and one phase of REM or paradoxical sleep.. These phases follow one after the other in a cycle that is continuously repeated during the night, modifying the type of brain waves we use and each phase having different characteristics.

Interrupting this process or not carrying it out sufficiently so that we do not sleep as much as we should (around seven or eight hours a day in adults), whether it is voluntary (for example due to social and work needs) or involuntary (as in insomnia), can have the effect that the body and mind do not rest and repair themselves sufficiently, which can generate alterations such as increased drowsiness, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, and hormonal and mood disturbances..

Too much sleep: negative effects and risks

Sleep is, as we have indicated, a basic need. And taking this into account, when we talk about sleeping more than usual, most people might consider that we are facing something beneficial and that allows more and better rest. However, the truth is that just like not sleeping, sleeping too much (more than nine or ten hours a day) has also been linked to the appearance of different problems or to an increased risk of suffering from them.

In short, and although it is not usual, it is possible to sleep too much, enough to be unhealthy.Too much sleep is bad for us. Among the different risks of sleeping more than nine or ten hours a day are the following.

1. It alters cognitive capacity

It has been observed that just as it happens when we sleep too little, excessive sleep seems to reduce our cognitive capacity, observing an inverted U-shaped pattern in which too much or too little sleep generates deficits in different mental capacities. Among others, seems to affect especially reasoning and verbal capacityThe possible affectation of short-term memory is not so evident.

2. It ages the brain and may favor mental deterioration.

It has been observed that oversleeping contributes to the aging of the brain, and it has also been shown that there is a relationship between excessive sleep and cognitive deterioration, favoring the latter.

In this sense, it has been observed in different studies that people who chronically sleep too much tend to suffer a certain deterioration of their mental and cognitive functions. It also turns out that A risk factor for the development of some dementias..

3. Generates more drowsiness and "hangover".

Many people will have noticed that after an excessively long night's sleep they wake up slightly confused, in fact as if they had slept less than normal. And the truth is that oversleeping tends to make you even more sleepy. tends to generate even more drowsiness, something called a sleep hangover..

Not only that, but it is also common that we may feel dizzy, weak and with a headache. The exact reason is unknown, although some proposals may be the fact that this causes us to have a poorer quality and more superficial sleep, and that we wake up in one of the phases in which we should be in deep sleep.

4. Increases the probability of stroke

Although there are doubts as to why, it has been observed that those people who tend to sleep more than nine or more hours a day throughout their lives have an increased risk of suffering some type of stroke. Specifically, it is estimated that there is up to 46% more probability of suffering them than people with a normative amount of sleep.. It should also be taken into account that excessive sleep may not be the cause of the increase in this probability, but rather a prodrome or sign that something may be going wrong at the vascular level.

5. Facilitates the appearance of metabolic and endocrine disorders.

Another aspect that can be affected by an excess of sleep is the metabolism and endocrine system, favoring the appearance of problems such as type 2 diabetes, at least in men. Also obesity.

6. Increases the probability of suffering from depression

Mood can also be altered by too little or too much sleep. It has been observed that chronic oversleeping is associated with an increased likelihood of depression. is associated with a greater probability of suffering from depression.. It also happens the other way around: depression favors inactivity, drowsiness and fatigue that can lead the subject to sleep more during the day.

7. Poorer general health and shorter life expectancy

Finally, it has been observed that at a general level, people who sleep excessively have a worse state of health and life expectancy compared to those who sleep between seven and eight hours a day.

Bibliographic references:

• Bergland, C. (2018). Does Too Much Sleep Have Negative Repercussions? Psychology Today. [Online]. Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201810/does-too-much-sleep-have-negative-repercussions.
• Wild, C.J.; Nichols, E.S.: Battista, M.E.;Stojanoski, B. & Owen, A.M. (2018). Dissociable Effects of Self-Reported Daily Sleep Duration on High-Level Cognitive Abilities. SLEEP, 182.
• Leng, Y.; Cappuccio, F.P.; Wainwright, N.W.; Surtees, P.G.; Luben, R.; Brayne, C & Khaw, K.T. (2015). Sleep duration and risk of fatal and nonfatal stroke: A prospective study and meta-analysis. Neurology; 25.
• Spira, A.P.; Chen-Edinboro, L.P.; Wu, M.N. & Yaffe, K. (2015). Impact of Sleep on the Risk of Cognitive Decline and Dementia. Curr. Opin. Psychiatry, 27 (6): 478-483.