No one disputes the necessity of sleep. However, there is a question of how much sleep we really need and whether there is a health problem behind our need for more.
Sleep, experts say, acts like food for the body. I might not agree more. I remember the first few months following giving birth to my daughters: If you asked me what I needed more, to eat or to sleep, I would just pull the blanket over my head and turn on my side.
Sleeping more hours than most of the people around you is not unreasonable, especially if you are going through an exhausting period or if you have always been a sleeper anyway. But what does above mean? How many hours is it “normal” to sleep each day and what can it mean for health or hypersomnia?
How many hours is it normal to sleep?
The duration of sleep depends on various factors, such as the age and lifestyle of each person. For example, according to the National Sleep Foundation of America:
- Newborns up to 3 months old need between 14 and 17 hours of sleep per day, which gradually decreases as they grow older.
- Children 3-5 years old should sleep from 10 to 13 hours.
- School children from 9 to 11 hours.
- Teenagers 8-10 hours.
- Adults can make do with 7-9 hours a day.
- After 65, sleep hours usually decrease following 65 to 7-8.
Do you suffer from hypersomnia?
You may sometimes sleep more hours than “normal” to meet the needs caused by the lack of sleep of previous days. But if this condition lasts more than a few days, you may suffer from excessive sleepiness or hypersomnia.
Hypersomnia is “a sleep disorder characterized by prolonged sleep, excessive sleepiness, and excessively deep sleep. This does not necessarily mean that the quality of sleep is good, since the person may feel tired and sleepy despite the many hours he has slept”, describes psychotherapist Anestis Ramnalis.
The characteristics of hypersomnia are:
- Sleep duration that can add up to 18 hours per day.
- Sleeping several times during the day.
- Not feeling like you’re really awake while you are.
- What else can increase your need for sleep?
Other reasons why you sleep more hours can be:
- Other sleep disorders (eg, narcolepsy, sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome).
- The Depression.
- Taking certain medications (eg, tranquilizers, antidepressants, opioids, anticonvulsants) and substances.
- Some serious head banging.
Why can sleeping too much be a problem?
Dr. Meir Kryger, a doctor who specializes in sleep disorders, says that whether or not sleeping too much is a problem has to do with the cause of it and the effects it can have on your health. For example, if you oversleep for a certain short period of time, you may wake up feeling groggy, low on energy, and inexplicably stressed.
However, if this period lasts too long, it can increase the risk of more serious health problems, such as:
- Obesity.
- Cardiovascular disease.
- Stroke.
- Coronary disease.
- Diabetes.
According to ow.gr, in this case it is necessary to contact a specialist, either a neurologist-psychiatrist or a pulmonologist-ENT if you are dealing with apnea problems, who will proceed with the exact diagnosis and give you the appropriate treatment.
In fact, what should be addressed is the underlying cause, i.e. the root of the problem. By dealing with it, either with lifestyle changes or with some pharmaceutical treatment, you will probably adjust the duration of your sleep, so that it “nourishes” you without harming you.
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