We are all looking forward to lingering for some few extra moments in bed, clutching onto our soft blankets.
Sleep is an important part of our lives since it restores our mental and physical health, helps process all the information we gather during the day, synthesises our hormones and allows the repair of muscles and tissues.
Not sleeping enough can have devastating consequences our health. So it is important to catch your precious forty winks at any cost.
But try not to overdo it since excessive sleep can be harmful to your health too. Here are seven ways in which oversleeping can affect your health:
1. It can impair your brain functions
It is said that a good night’s sleep helps us remember what we have studied the night before. But overdoing it is not the way to go either because it can backfire. Too much sleeping — i.e. sleeping for more than 8 hours — has a direct impact on your cognitive abilities. Researchers have tied excessive sleeping with decreased brain functions.
2. It affects your memory
Sleep is probably the best memory tonic. But here’s the catch. Less sleep and too much sleep tend to have the same impact on your memory retention. A 2011 study on Chinese senior citizens found that too much sleep can impair your memory like too less sleep does.
3. It can increase risk of Alzheimer’s
The risk for neurodegenerative diseases like dementia increases with oversleeping. This is particularly dangerous for people who have Alzheimer’s risk.
4. It can worsen depression
Mood disorders can be worsened by excessive sleep. Studies point to the positive correlation between persistent depression and oversleeping. It can also increase your genetic risk of inheriting depressive disorders.
5. It can worsen inflammation
A Finnish study concluded that oversleeping for ten hours can cause low grade inflammatory tendencies in the body.
6. It can trigger “Weekend migraine”
It’s common for people to oversleep on weekends to make up for the sleep deficit for the rest of the week. The habit is associated with increased episodes of migraines on Saturdays and Sundays. This phenomenon is called Weekend migraines.
7. It can lead to weight gain
When it comes to making you fatter, excessive sleep is as bad as inadequate sleep. Study shows that sleeping for too long makes you more prone to weight gain.
