Feeling much like a hangover induced by alcohol, a sleep hangover is characterised by heavy limbs, sensitivity to light, difficulty getting up, headaches, and a sense of exhaustion. This is because your circadian rhythm has been thrown off balance. If your body is in the habit of waking at 7am every morning, dragging yourself out of bed at 11am on the weekend will cause a feeling of jet lag in the body because your cells will have kick started their energy cycle at the usual time of 7am.
While we seem to know a lot about the dangers of not getting enough sleep, it appears that getting too much sleep can have similar risks. As more studies come out, there is growing evidence to suggest that spending an excessive amount of time in bed can be linked to certain health hazards, influencing some health issues and showing as a symptom of others.
Oversleeping occurs when you sleep over the recommended amount of hours for a normal and healthy individual, i.e. between 7-9 hours. Some studies suggest that 7 hours is the most optimum time for rest, as links have been made between better brain health and life longevity for those who average 7 hours per night. Though this is the recommended amount of time, it obviously varies from individual to individual and depends wholly on the circumstances that person is being exposed to. However, generally, it has been agreed that over 9 hours is considered oversleeping and means you will incur a sleep hangover.
Of course, sleeping in a little later every now and then shouldn’t have too much impact on your long-term health, however, if you find you are regularly sleeping over 9 hours per night, it may be worth studying the reasons for that.
Research indicates that longer sleep patterns can result in:
- Depression
- Increased risk of stroke, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity
- Inflammation
- Cognitive impairment
- Pain
- Impaired fertility
One way of keeping track of your sleep habits is to use a sleep monitoring system to observe changes in your sleep patterns. This will help you to identify if you are regularly sleeping for longer than 9 hours and whether you need to seek advice on how to manage your sleep hangovers.
If you would like to find out more about how the REM-Fit Sleep 400 Mattress, REM-Fit Sleep Monitoring technology or Zeeq Smart Pillows can help you to get a better night’s rest, please get in touch with our experienced, knowledgeable staff by calling 020 8731 0020 or email us via sales@rem-fit.co.uk.
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