HOW EXCESSIVE SLEEP CAN NEGATIVELY AFFECT YOUR BODY?
What is the first thing that comes to mind when somebody mentions the word sleep? I asked my friends what associations they have with sleeping and the majority of the answers were recovery, relaxation, recharging, or replenishing. All the answers correctly reflect reality, sleeping is in fact the main component of human recovery and the lack of sleeping can significantly influence people’s health and in some cases even their life. However, what is the proper amount of sleep that is necessary for a full recovery? And what can happen if a person sleeps too much?
The arguments debating the optimum amount of sleep still take place. Some scientists claim that a proper amount of sleep should not exceed 8 hours while others argue that 9 hours is the norm. Another interesting opinion is that humans need only 5 hours to recharge and the rest of the sleep is optional. However, what I found is that there is no right answer to this question because, in general, there is not a universally accepted “optimal” (Ferrara & Gennaro, 2001). Every individual has their own optimal amount of sleeping which is necessary for the recovery of the body and mind. Nonetheless, it is still possible to exceed your own “optimal” and stay in the bed longer for a couple of hours on a weekend. The research provided some reasons as to why excessive sleep is not recommended for people and one of them is the increase in mortality. Studies provided among Americans of different ages concluded that the mortality risk is higher in those who exceed 7.5 hours of sleep per night (Grander et al., 2007). Why does this correlation occur? The researchers found a mass of possible explanations which include an increase in fatigue, change in immune function, lack of challenge, depression, and sleep fragmentation (Grander et al., 2007). Probably everyone has experienced at least once in life the exhaustion after a very long night's sleep and the great desire to go back to bed. This tiredness can be caused by sleep fragmentation - frequent awakening during the night which is one of the characteristics of long-sleepers. Such behavior decreases the body’s resistance to stress and as a result the increase in mortality. Individuals simply do not have enough challenges and positive stressors in their lives such as exercising, cold and heat, as well as hypergravity; all things that make us stronger. Aside from the biological effects, individuals with exceeding sleeping habits can experience some negative consequences in their social life. (Grander et al., 2007) revealed that individuals who exceed 9 hours of sleeping reported the use of antidepressants and depressive symptoms, furthermore, the majority of them were never married or divorced and have low income or unemployment status. We can conclude that long sleepers simply do not have enough daytime to build their own lives.
In conclusion, despite the fact that sleeping is a favorite activity for many people and the best treatment for fatigue, it was proven that excessive sleeping can be just as harmful as the lack of sleep. Make sure that you have enough sleep but not too much since the saying “more is better” does not apply to this case and too much sleeping can have negative effects on the quality of life. Do not oversleep your life!
Would you Rather: More or Less Sleep
HOW THE LACK OF SLEEP CAN NEGATIVELY AFFECT YOUR BODY
Lack of sleep or not getting enough quality sleep is a common issue among college students. Sleep is a critical component of overall health. The CDC recommends that adults get at least 7 or more hours of sleep and according to their statistics 35% of adults in the US do not reach this mark. Sleep deprivation can cause vast amounts of damage to overall health effecting cardiovascular system, immune system, endocrine system, digestive, and almost every other major bodily function.
When it comes to college students specifically, this sleep deprivation can be detrimental to academic performance. June J. Pilcher, PhD, and Amy S. Walters, MA performed a study in which they had two groups of college students take a cognitive performance tests. One group got a full night of sleep before the test and the other group was sleep deprived for 24 hours. The results were as follows, "As we expected, the results from our current study indicated that participants who were deprived of sleep for 24 hours performed significantly worse on a complex cognitive task than nondeprived participants. Although they actually performed worse, the sleep-deprived participants reported significantly higher levels of estimated performance, as well as more effort expended on the cognitive task, than the nondeprived participants did. In addition, sleep-deprived participants reported a significantly higher level of selfrated concentration than nondeprived participants did" (Pilcher & Waters). This study provides some evidence to the idea that academic performance can be negatively affected by sleep deprivation. These students not only performed worse, but perceived themselves to have performed better and were more focused when they clearly were not. The take home point for college students looking to succeed and adults looking to stay healthy is to get your 8 hours of sleep a night!