To most people, it is difficult to understand how sleep may become “too much” and why that may be a bad thing for the health. But just with every other thing, too much of something is harmful. This is why there is a recommended number of hours one is expected to sleep, and though people will get concerned if they are sleeping for less than the recommended hours, you should also get concerned if you are sleeping for more than the recommended hours.
This is not just about hitting the snooze button or sleeping for extended hours on weekends to make up for the lost sleep during the week. We are talking about sleeping for more than ten hours every day if you are an adult and you are not pregnant or sick. If you know you are a victim, then you have been doing a lot of disservice to yourself, and here are some of the health implications you may encounter by the virtue of spending too much time on the bed.
Risk being diabetic
If you are afraid of being diabetic and having to completely overhaul your lifestyle, then you have every reason to watch out the number of hours you spend in bed. This is because a very clear link has been established between diabetes and sleep and it is suggested that both sleep deprivation and oversleeping may increase the risks of one being diabetic.
The reasoning behind the studies that came with such conclusions is that erratic sleep patterns can impact the body in the same manner as resistance to insulin does. Erratic sleeping patterns, including both sleeping for fewer hours and oversleeping, may make the body to have a lot of problems in processing the sugars, and this is a clear forerunner for diabetes.
Infertility
The amount and quality of sleep you get every night may have a direct impact on your fertility. These may not be of concern to ladies past menopause, but to the younger folks who are hoping to conceive, be careful not to ruin your chances by sleeping too much. A study looking into the relationship between sleep and fertility concluded that women who slept for between seven and eight hours had 53% improved chances of conceiving compared to those who slept for more than eight hours.
The reason for this is that with too much sleep, the circadian rhythm will be interrupted, and when this happens, the monthly cycles will also be disrupted and so is the ovulation process. As such, getting pregnant will be harder. Therefore, if you have the most comfortable mattress from Tuft & Needle and you are trying for a family, just be sure to no hamper your chances by spending too much on that mattress.
Increased risks to heart diseases
A good night’s sleep is a chance for your heart to rest. The heart rate will go down and the cardiac muscles will also lower down their contraction, thus not working as hard as when you are fully awake. If you sleep for too long, however, your heart muscles may get damaged since they are spending too much time in an inactive state.
In other words, your heart should be active, pumping blood after a given number of hours or you may increase your chances of being affected by conditions such as angina. Besides, the side effects of oversleeping such as obesity may also increase your likelihood of getting a myriad of heart diseases.
