Can you sleep too much?

We spend approximately one-third of our lives sleeping. Sleep quality and the amount of time we sleep at night are crucial for a healthy everyday life. It's widely known that too little sleep negatively impacts our health and performance. But what happens when we regularly sleep too much? Find out here whether we can really sleep too much and what the effects of a long sleep duration are.

Table of contents

1. The importance of sleep duration
2. Can we sleep too much?
3. Consequences of too much sleep
4. The right amount of sleep is crucial
5. Conclusion

1. The importance of sleep duration

During sleep, numerous repair and recovery processes take place. The immune system is running at full speed, we process information, and gather new energy for the next day. Good sleep quality and the right amount of sleep are therefore essential for us to be able to cope with our daily lives healthily and productively. How much sleep we really need is individual and depends on various factors. Experts generally recommend between 7 and 8 hours of sleep. At night, we go through several sleep cycles, which in turn consist of different sleep phases. We explain this in this Article in more detail. For us to be properly awake in the morning and throughout the day, the time we wake up is also important. We are usually tired when we wake up during the wrong sleep phases.

One in two Germans suffers from sleep problems, which are usually related to difficulties falling asleep or staying asleep, reducing the amount of sleep we get and preventing the body from recovering sufficiently. It's well known that too little sleep has numerous negative consequences for our health and well-being. But what happens when we sleep too much?

2. Can we sleep too much?

What many people don't realize: Just like too little sleep, "oversleeping" and exceeding the optimal sleep schedule is bad for the human body. If we sleep longer than our body actually needs for regeneration, we disrupt the natural sleep-wake rhythm and disrupt important biological processes, including metabolism and hormone regulation. For this reason, regularly oversleeping can also be harmful in the long term. What are the consequences of too much sleep?

3. Consequences of too much sleep

Severe daytime fatigue

The more we sleep beyond our own needs, the less we reach the restorative phases of deep sleep. In addition, our circadian rhythm causes the release of the stress hormone cortisol towards morning, which wakes us up. The brightness of daylight and rising body temperature also contribute to less restful sleep, and we suffer from sluggishness, fatigue, or headaches during the day despite sleeping long hours.

Health risks

Various studies show that not only too little, but also too much sleep can be harmful to our health. More than 8 hours of sleep per night increases the risk of Parkinson's disease, various Heart disease or diabetes and lead to a higher likelihood of suffering a heart attack or stroke. Furthermore, excessive sleep also promotes the development of high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar levels, and obesity.

Mental health also suffers in the long term from too much sleep. Sleep researchers have shown that people who regularly sleep more than nine hours are more susceptible to depressive illnesses.The probability of developing depression is 49%, which is 20% higher than for those who sleep between seven and nine hours.

Reduction in brain and memory performance

During sleep, we process, sort, and store the information and impressions of the day. Sleep quality is crucial for our memory performance, both at night and during the day. As already mentioned, a consistently high sleep load can negatively impact sleep quality and disrupt important processing processes. This is especially true for people with older age the risk of mental impairments increases, such as increasing forgetfulness or reduced memory, which are precursors to dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

4. The right amount of sleep is crucial

The right amount of sleep determines our well-being and health in many ways and has numerous effects on how we cope with our daily lives. It's important to remember that too much sleep can also have negative long-term effects. It's therefore worth paying attention to your own sleep needs and adjusting your sleep rhythm to the amount of sleep you individually need.

5. Conclusion

• Regular excess sleep, as well as persistent sleep deprivation, has numerous negative consequences for our health and performance.

• Sleeping too long reduces the quality of sleep and can lead to fatigue, lethargy or headaches during the day.

• Too much sleep is detrimental to both physical and mental health, increasing the risk of heart disease, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and depression, among other conditions.

• Important memory processes can be disrupted by a persistently high amount of sleep and can lead to increasing forgetfulness or reduced memory.