Why is it bad to sleep over 10 hours?

Question

We are suggestions for sleep 8-10 hours. I've heard that if we sleep more than that we will be tired the next day. Why so?

Guys I love sleep. I'm not afraid of it. I'm just curious.

Answer 1

I looooovvvvveeee sleeping, in fact, i need about 10 hours a night to really feel rested. If I sleep more than that, I fell tired though, probably because it slows down your metabolism or something. Don't worry, get your beauty sleep.

Answer 2

You are more tired because your body was woken up at a point in the sleep cycle that it's not used to. Oftentimes it's because your body is just resting for too long. I know once someone explained it to me because it's the same logic that explains why when you only get 4 hours of sleep you can feel refreshed. I wish I could help you more but I can't.

Answer 3

ok...to much sleep is kinda bad 4 u cause u get lazy and u can wake up with a groggy feeling. i sleep a lot and i get headaches when i wake up after 2 much sleep

Answer 4

That's just a bunch of bull. Too much sleep can never hurt you.

Answer 5

I don't think too much sleep can harm you.

Answer 6

i think that it is just your matabilism slows down from not enough excersize and you get bed sores.



gl with ur ?q?

Answer 7

Hypersomnia is characterized by recurrent episodes of excessive daytime sleepiness or prolonged nighttime sleep. Different from feeling tired due to lack of or interrupted sleep at night, persons with hypersomnia are compelled to nap repeatedly during the day, often at inappropriate times such as at work, during a meal, or in conversation. These daytime naps usually provide no relief from symptoms. Patients often have difficulty waking from a long sleep, and may feel disoriented. Other symptoms may include anxiety, increased irritation, decreased energy, restlessness, slow thinking, slow speech, loss of appetite, hallucinations, and memory difficulty. Some patients lose the ability to function in family, social, occupational, or other settings.

Hypersomnia may be caused by another sleep disorder (such as narcolepsy or sleep apnea), dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system, or drug or alcohol abuse. In some cases it results from a physical problem, such as a tumor, head trauma, or injury to the central nervous system. Certain medications, or medicine withdrawal, may also cause hypersomnia. Medical conditions including multiple sclerosis, depression, encephalitis, epilepsy, or obesity may contribute to the disorder. Some people appear to have a genetic predisposition to hypersomnia; in others, there is no known cause. Hypersomnia typically affects adolescents and young adults.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypersomnia



Diferent perspectives on this site:


If you sleep too much, you don't feel refreshed; instead you feel sluggish, groggy, and generally disposed to more sleep. What is the scientific reason behind this? --Mimi Thomas, via AOL

Cecil replies:

Glad you want the scientific reason, Mimi, as opposed to the tawdry rumors. Unfortunately, in this case there's not much difference, as we shall see.

More has been written about oversleeping in the medical journals than you might think. In 1969 sleep researchers John Taub and Ralph Berger gave the phenomenon (or one aspect of the phenomenon) a name: the Rip Van Winkle Effect, the experience of feeling bad after extended sleep (more than 10 hours). Various studies by the above and other parties have established that:

1. Some people feel terrible after too much sleep, and their performance deteriorates. On the other hand,

2. Some people feel great. Always the way.

3. Experiments seemed to bear out the initial hypothesis that either too much or too little sleep would cause your mental state to crumble. But by the early 80s, a few investigators had concluded that:

4. Oversleeping made people feel terrible if they'd previously had sufficient sleep, but it made them feel great if they'd previously been sleep deprived. You have to wonder why it took 12 years to come up with this brainstorm. One can only guess that sleep researchers take a lot of naps.

5. Further research in 1985 found that "with or without a prior sleep debt, the subjects' alertness was either unchanged or improved after acute oversleeping. Furthermore, actually sleeping more proved to be better for subjectively reported mood and objectively measured alertness than simply lying in bed awake for the extra hours." In other words, the Rip Van Winkle Effect is a crock, and you don't really feel bad after oversleeping. You just think you do.

Attempting to salvage something from this fiasco, the sleep research community now offers such conjectures as the following: "People generally expect to feel better after getting a long night of sleep; their expectations may predict greater improvement than they actually obtain, in which case they feel worse" (Encyclopedia of Sleep and Dreaming). Whoever wrote that was clearly feeling a little groggy. Probably got too much sleep.


However this SITE is a legitamate doctors reference..

By Daniel DeNoon
WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Charlotte Mathis, MD


Feb. 14, 2002 -- Wake up! It won't kill you, but staying in bed just might.


A six-year study of more than a million Americans shows that a good night's sleep lasts seven hours. More sleep isn't better. People who sleep for eight hours or more tend to die a bit sooner. Six hours' sleep, on the other hand, isn't that bad.


Study leader Daniel F. Kripke, MD, tells WebMD that this is good news for most of us. The average American gets six-and-a-half hours of sleep on a weeknight.


"You really don't have to sleep for eight hours and you don't have to worry about it," says Kripke, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego. "It is evidently very safe to sleep only seven, six, or even five hours a night."


http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a990205.html

The findings confirm earlier studies, says sleep expert Donald L. Bliwise, PhD, director of the program in sleep, aging, and chronobiology at Atlanta's Emory University. However, Bliwise warns that they don't mean it's good to get way too little sleep for too long.


"Getting a couple of nights' short sleep is nothing to be concerned about," Bliwise tells WebMD. "If someone on a chronic basis is truly getting a short amount of sleep -- less than five hours, night after night -- there are some concerns. If you are a long-haul truck driver getting by on four hours of sleep, week after week, that is just not good."


Kripke and co-workers analyzed data from an American Cancer Society study conducted between 1982 and 1988. The study gathered information on people's sleep habits and health, and then followed them for six years. Study participants ranged in age from 30 to 102 years, with an average starting age of 57 years for women and 58 years for men.


Because the study included 1.1 million people, the study could detect relatively small risks. For too much sleep, the risk of death over six years went up 12% for people who slept eight hours, 17% for those


http://www.webmd.com/content/article/24/1836_50533.htm




Just for kicks I thought this was Rather interesting..Causes
Hypersomnia can be caused by genetics (heredity), brain damage, and disorders such as clinical depression, Uremia and fibromyalgia. Hypersomnia can also be a symptom of other sleep disorders such as narcolepsy, sleep apnea, and restless leg syndrome.

People who are overweight may be more likely to suffer from hypersomnia. This can often exacerbate weight problems as excessive sleeping decreases metabolic energy consumption, making weight loss more difficult.

Another possible cause is an infection of mononucleosis, as several instances of idiopathic hypersomnia have been found to arise immediately after such an infection (Dr. Givan, MD, Riley Hospital).

In some instances, the cause of the hypersomnia cannot be determined; in these cases, it is said to be idiopathic hypersomnia.


[edit] Treatment
Treatment is symptomatic in nature. Stimulants, such as amphetamine, methylphenidate, and modafinil, may be prescribed. Other drugs used to treat hypersomnia include clonidine, levodopa, bromocriptine, antidepressants, and monoamine oxidase inhibitors. Changes in behavior (for example avoiding night work and social activities that delay bed time) and diet may offer some relief. Patients should avoid alcohol and caffeine.

I always find sleep studies and research very interesting..GOOD question..hope this helped a bit..
Peace Misty~*